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Say goodbye to “Hello Barbie”

Photo credit: technewsworld.com

As a parent to my girl, it’s so tough to say no when she request for a new toy. My fellow mummies around me exclaimed how their daughters would plead with them to buy them the popular Hello Barbie toys. This toy has an embedded microphone to record your kids’ voices and engage them in conversations.

But for some, this toy isn’t a good choice when it comes to your kids’ learning development. Angela Campbell, a faculty adviser to the school’s Center on Privacy and Technology, told Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. “In Mattel’s demo, Barbie asks many questions that would elicit a great deal of information about a child, her interests and her family. This information could be of great value to advertisers and be used to market unfairly to children.”

Aside from that, they note that the said toy discourages the kind of creative play for children’s learning and development. As the petition suggests, playing with toys should be an interaction.

The most important part of playtime is engaging a child in a free-flowing, unpredictable conversation. Talking Barbie won’t help your kid to develop child’s vocabulary as well. So in conclusion, let parents and kids interact with each other. Allow your kids to play with their co-playmates.

Judith Roman, a clinical supervisor in the Northwestern University Center for Audiology, Speech, Language and Learning said, “A child learns to explain why, form opinions, express ideas and understand perspectives: What it’s like to be the person who sells the ice cream? What it’s like to be the parent who has to pay for the ice cream? How do you recover when you drop your ice cream?”

So that when your kids are playing with others, it helps to develop their social skills.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Michelle Gaspacho
A multi-tasking mom of two wonderful baby girls. A full time and working mom at the same time. When first baby was born, took a big decision to get out of my comfort zone and take care of her, instead of being an office mom. Being into a new environment, I got easily adjusted as I have set my priorities very well with them. Being a mother is very adventurous. A life changing event and it requires your love, patience, understanding and dedication to keep moving.Let's treasure our time spent with them, because time flies too fast just like how fast they grow up. :)
http://Wonderma.sg

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