Lovely Links / On Princess Pink Toys

It's always interesting when the parenting world on the internet explodes with a "discussion" where sides are chosen and hysterics take the wheel. When this happens I want to send messages to strangers that say things like, "take a deep breath" or "count to ten". It's lovely that the internet provides the most massive of forums for the opinions of the minute. It can also be really irritating (this coming from someone who is giving her opinion of the minute as we speak).

A few days ago this video went viral. Goldiblox has actually been floating around in my social media feeds for weeks now. However, from what I've seen in the past few days some people decided to get all up in a tizzy about it.

If you don't know, Goldiblox is a toy. In short, and with no experience with said toy, it's advertised as an engineering toy for girls. Sounds lovely right? I watched the videos, I looked up the reviews on Amazon, and I put it on Lila's Christmas list. I did all of this in the span of ten minutes. So what's the big deal?

Well, apparently pink and princess equals a child ruining equation. Sorry, GIRL ruining equation. It seems that some believe that if you let your daughter get this toy you are compromising her ability to see anything other than the color pink and the princess story line. You're thinking, huh? It's an engineering toy I thought! Yes, yes it is. However, it's getting some flack for also having pink and purple parts and a princess related theme in the book that goes with it.

The girly aspect of toys marketed to girls is receiving quite a lot of resistance. And yet, I'm pretty sure the princess product market is skyrocketing.

Here's what I think. We are the parents. Not the toy makers. Not the princess creators. Not the people who choose pink or purple over every other color when creating content for girls. When it comes to our children WE are in control. The blame game is so exhausting and overused at this point. Let's move on. Of course the toy makers, princess creators, and pink pushers are going to do exactly what sells. Is it frustrating to see sometimes? Sure. It's no less frustrating than violent video games or sex driven everything in the media. Should some of that change? Probably. And more power to the crusaders for that cause.

However, if someone is going to bash a toy marketed to girls because it sends the wrong message, I find it odd that the wrong message is that the toy is pink. Aren't there far bigger battles to fight?

I have two daughters. Our home is filled with purple and pink. Lila is getting two massive Lego Friends sets for Christmas. I would buy other sets that aren't so purple and pink too, but we already have those. Now we will have a big old mix. We also own a train table and train set, Hess trucks, and Matchbox cars. Not that it's necessary for you to know all of this, but here's my point. Balance is the key to life. Everything in moderation. How many cliches can I throw at you?

The bigger point is, we are the examples as parents. No toy can take that away. My pink loving, princess admiring daughter will be given the whole picture….and probably the Goldiblox toy for Christmas. She will be thrilled that she can "work" on this toy and see how pretty it is at the same time. If she gets it and it's terrible (as in doesn't work, awful story line, etc.) I'll be sure to write a review. Until then, she will be building cars and houses out of Legos while wearing her Rapunzel costume. Call me crazy, but that sounds like fun right?

Without further babbling on the topic, here are a few lovely links for those of you in the world of raising or helping to raise girls:

1) Pocket Princesses - Lila and I looked at Amy Mebberson's art for almost an hour yesterday. Lila belly laughed at so many of the ones that didn't go over her head. I laughed out loud at all of them on the Pocket Princesses portion of Amy's blog.  If you are a Disney fanatic the main blog page has some great stuff too! Here are my two favorites…

For obvious reasons - Morning people

For the fact that Rapunzel's cup says "Or I Cut You".

2) A Mighty Girl - If you are feeling bogged down in princess land you can turn to A Mighty Girl. The endless amount of suggested books, toys, and movies for girls will leave you feeling empowered just looking at it.

3) THIS is the best article addressing princess infatuation that I have ever read. If you have another please share. Catherine Connors is one of my favorite bloggers. If you haven't read her stuff I urge you to do so over at Her Bad Mother.