So this morning all the DCKs were playing Barbies. DCB4 starts undressing them and saying he wants to see her butt and boobies. I explain to him that those are private areas and we need to keep the Barbies dressed. He continues to keep talking about her butt so I told him if he couldn't play by the rules, he couldn't play with the Barbies.

How do you handle this kind of situation? Do you have rule(s) regarding Barbies?

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To be honest I just don't have Barbies in my daycare. Let me say I LOVE Barbie. Played with her until I was in my teens (with my little sis of course ) My girls played with Barbie... but just for the reason you described I just don't think they belong in daycare. I would put them away and let your kids play with them outside of daycare hours.

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I HATE Barbies.

They are fine for older kids but not for preschool aged kids in a mixed age setting. (for the reason you are having issues with them now )

I have baby dolls and that's it.

...and yes, if a kid that age continued to speak about butts and boobs after being told not to...he would be spending some time in time out AND having a discussion with the parent.

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Yes, I will definitely be talking to DCPs!

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I have a fun solution for you! I saw this idea on Pinterest and I did it to all my barbies! I took red/blue/green nail polish and painted shorts on them, and then painted white tank tops on all of them. Some people just paint underwear or swimsuits, but I went for a little less skin just in case. They're never clothed anyway. No more naked Barbies! Why does Mattel still make them naked anyway?

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/258534834828917334/

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Welcome to the forum!

Great idea too!! Thanks for posting!

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Wow! Awesome idea. Thank you!

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Thanks for the idea!! Just got done painting mine! - I must say I felt a little dirty positioning the barbies in order to get them completely painted and then positioning them so they could dry. Thankfully no dcps came in while I was doing it.

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Lol, it's a naughty job, but somebody's got to do it!!

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I played with Barbies, my daughter hated dolls, she wouldn't even take them out of the box, so we always regifted them. In general, dolls freak me out a bit because my grandmother collected dolls and they were super spooky. I have a few play babies in the daycare though.

BUT...FUNNY story speaking of boobies, lol. Yesterday, at pickup one of the moms who has 2 kids here was getting her baby into the car and the DKB started hitting at my boob and said "ball", it was super funny. The mom was dying laughing. He has been patting them once and while for a week and I just tell him, no no, that's not for you, but he thinks it is so funny! Kids! You gotta love their innocense!

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You could use a permanent marker (or paint) to put on a bikini and "cover" those areas (though some Barbies have painted on underwear). My older cousin's used to have weird parties with their friends (don't ask) where they would take old Barbies and cut their hair and draw on them with permanent markers.

At that age it's normal for them to be curious but in a group setting it can be very awkward (that's probably why they aren't anatomically correct). And taking the Barbie's away, especially after this incident, the other children might get upset and blame him.

ETA: I just saw the other comment on that after I posted. Nail polish probably would work better. I would probably do that with ken dolls too.

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I've seen this suggestion before about covering Barbies up permanently. I feel like it sends the wrong message, like there is something wrong with nudity or something shameful about the female body. In any case, Barbie is mostly used for dramatic play from an older child, who enjoys imitating a teenager or tween. A younger child is more inclined to play house so a baby doll would probably be more appropriate

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Well, I would cover the Ken dolls too, even though they are not anatomically correct (which technically the Barbie doll isn't either).

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Personally for smaller kids I like the Groovy Girls dolls. They have removable clothes, flat chests and underwear painted or stitched on (I can't remember which). I love that they come in all different skin tones, they have cute faces and hairdos. They're made from cloth. You can buy accessories for them if you want.

More appropriate for preschoolers than barbies IMO.

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Totally cute and I couldn't agree more. I don't have any Barbies because I have only under SA kids and I don't think Barbies are really aimed at that age group.

I love the Groovy Girls though! Super cute!

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And they have boy dolls so my son likes playing with them too. Plus they have animals like horses, also mermaids, cars, beds, stuffed chairs and sofas....they're really fun!

And I agree, barbies are not aimed at the preschool and under set. But I admit I'm biased. I don't believe they're for any kids. With the sexualization of little girls' clothing, TV shows etc. We need more body positive and just positive in general and non-sexual influences in our children's lives. But that's just my opinion.

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I normally do not allow Barbies being played with during DC. My daughter was home from school for 2 days last week (MLK and Teacher's Workshop). Her and another DCG5 were playing nicely with them while DCB4 (one who made bum and boobie comments) and DS were playing with cars.
The following day, DCM of DCB4 came to drop off and said the DCB told her that I didn't allow him to play Barbies with the girls. She said she didn't mind him playing with them. Neither did I (at the time), but he never asked, so when my DD asked to play with Barbies, DCG5 and DCB4 asked to play too. My daughter wanted to play with them and I didn't think anything of it as I have never had Barbies for the DCKs to play with. That is when this incident happened.
I talked to DCPs about it and they understood why I stopped him from playing.

Now I am curious - what do you do in situations like this?
I don't want to forbid my DD from playing with her Barbies - she loves them and loves playing with "her friends" (DCKs).
Would you just not allow it unless she wants to play alone or after DCKs leave?
Would you allow it for the kids who play nicely?

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I don't allow Barbie type dolls in my daycare. I don't like the image they portray to children. There are few real people that look like them. I prefer doll house people with permanent clothing, baby dolls and child dolls, non- paper dolls that have permanent undies, things like that.

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Daycaremom, if it were me I'd either let my child play with them in her room or when the daycare kids are gone and that's all. Then you won't have to police them with the daycare kids. And you won't have to have any controversy with daycare parents who do or don't want their kids playing barbies.

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Just ordered 2 Groovy Girls for DD! They are perfect for her. She got a generation girl for Christmas but she's just a bit too big even though she likes the idea. I think these are great! Thanks or the tip!

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I own lots of barbies and clothes and houses along with groovy girl dolls and all sorts of other dolls. And really unless you make a big deal out of it, kids don't care. I did have a dcb who was a bit naughty with the barbies and I told him that he can't act this way and if he wanted to play with them he was to play nicely.

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