March 2009 Archives

50 may be the new 40, but this fashion plate never seems to move beyond her 20s. Barbie celebrates her 50th birthday today, and whether you love her or hate her, you can't deny her impact on pop culture. Moms on our Ten- to Fourteen-Year-Olds and Minnesota message boards shared their Barbie memories:

"Barbie, her siblings and Ken played a huge part in my growing up years. I think I played with Barbies until the 6th grade. My girlfriends and I loved creating fantasy stories. My grandmother had the original Barbie created 50 years ago -- still in the original box. She created and made us incredible Barbie outfits." -- okiee

"Love, LOVE, Loved my Barbies. Had a bunch of them and a ton of clothes. Sadly, I never got the Barbie dream house:(  But my friend had it, so it was all good ;) " -- crit99

"I know as a kid that my Barbie dolls were fun to play with because of the adventures my friends and I made up for them, and I liked the clothes. I liked making my own outfits for my Barbies.  [My daughter] played with Barbies and I haven't seen any damage to her self image, nor have I noticed that she's more self-confident due to having played with them." -- ikirbysmom

 

iVillager nancymc offers her perspective, which I suspect may be familiar to a lot of moms:

"Well, this topic is one that makes me chuckle a bit, because it is an area in which *I* have evolved as a parent! I was one of those NO BARBIE parents, I resisted, hated, avoided, and otherwise thought they were evil and horrible (well, not evil, but creepy definitely!).  But of course my [daughter] got Barbies. Many, many of them over time. She never played with them in any major way, and she's given them all away long ago. I'm still not in love with them but I don't see them as harmful either."

 

Of course, like many famous female icons, Barbie's life has not been without controversy. Even at 50, she's still making headlines: this time reincarnating as a trendy tattoo gal, "Totally Stylin' Tattoo Barbie". While some may think a tattooed Babs is sending the wrong message to kids, others point out that a tattoo isn't such a taboo as it might have been in years past. The ladies on the Parenting Issues Debate message board weigh in on this tat-tastic doll:

"Wow! they finally came out with a Barbie that my [daughter] (who is now 27) would actually like!" -- foxymom2

Last fall we saw a lot of confusion and concern over the chemical BPA, its inclusion in plastic items like baby bottles and other children's products and the FDA's conflicting advice about its safety. Last week the largest manufacturers of baby bottles in the US announced that they will stop selling bottles that contain bisphenol-A, a chemical that is used to harden plastics. Our Expecting Club and Playgroup moms react to the news:

 

 "I've noticed many bottles stamped BPA free. There also seems to be a LOT of glass bottles out that I don't remember seeing before." -- gapeachpc

"Last year when the scandal came out a lot of companies were super fast to respond to the new demand for the BPA-free bottles. Babies R Us wouldn't even carry bottles that contained it. I think it's great that companies are really taking stuff like this seriously."  -- eeyorezchick 

"I wonder if other brands in other countries will follow as well. I was in Switzerland last July and watching a consumer rights show and there was something about baby bottles, and not a SINGLE one available on the market in Switzerland is Bisphenol free! The only one that passed the test were glass bottles but glass isn't always convenient to carry around." -- cynhaller

"With my daughter there was no mention about BPA, so we have regular Avent bottles. But that was 2 1/2 years ago and I personally feel better with the BPA-free bottles. I just don't want to take any chances." -- laurspt01

Some moms, though, are wondering how we've survived so far using plastics with the now-verboten chemical. Are we being overly-cautious or better safe than sorry? Sound off here and let us know how concerned you are about plastics and chemicals in your home. 

Related content:

Controversial Chemical Lingers in Body
Message board: Bottlefeeding

When I read about Lisa Pagan, the soldier mom who was recalled to active duty and appealed the orders citing that no one would be left to care for her children due to her husband's travel schedule, I was curious to know what our Military Wives would have to say about it. When I read that she made the decision to bring her two small children with her as she reported to duty in Georgia, I knew we'd be in for a *ton* of opinionated responses. How did Pagan's actions fare with other military families? Some feel she's vying for attention and has an obligation to meet her commitment:

"I kind of feel like she's being a bit over the top. I realize that her husband's job probably doesn't allow for him to stay at home with the kids, but when she signed her original contract with the army she knew this was a possibility. There are lots of military families where both parents work and they find suitable care for their children." -- bradsarmybride

"People are doing this every day. Parents are leaving their children behind. Families are having to utilize daycare because both parents work. She knew, when she signed that dotted line, that this was a possibility, so IMO she should not have special privileges just because her DH works. If she's called up, she's called up." -- mom2wakjlar

"She went public knowing it would cause a whole lot of controversy and put a lot of pressure on the military to 'do the right thing'. What irritates me even more is that while there are 30% of the IRR that have been able to get out of duty.  No one is mentioning the 70% that sucked it up and are completing their commitment as agreed when they initially signed on the dotted line." -- izzyandalexsmommy

But others feel that this is one case where the Army should side with the family:

One Ohio mom took the concept of "doing it all" to the extreme last week: breastfeeding her baby while talking on her cell phone as she drove her other kids to school. Local police cited her for violating child restraint laws and child endangerment, but Genine Compton of Dayton says she'd do it again if she felt it was necessary! Of course iVillage moms had a lot to say about this story but mrst_plus_nute from the September 2008 Playgroup offered up my favorite quote:

"I follow the 'Britney Spears' rule as I call it, which basically means if it sounds similar to something she has done then I'm not doing it!"

For more chatter on this outrageous parenting stunt, join us on the Breastmilk vs. Formula Debate message board.