Barbie Games and Changing the World

Our nations are growing older. The older generations are much larger than the ones being born today and this is affecting our government and the decisions we are making in regard to any number of things. Consider that by 2015 the United States will have more individuals over the age of 65 than children under the age of 5. For the children of today, this means that there will be more pressure than ever to create solutions and effectively solve problems.

The little girls playing Barbie games today will be the one changing the world in just a few years it seems. Barbie games are a great opportunity actually for children to start making the sort of decisions we’ll need to them to make as they age. Barbie games let girls explore their creativity and create all kinds of stories and solutions to problems both real and imaginary. Encouraging imaginative play is a huge way to boost abilities and results without streamlining ideas and solutions that can be limiting. Creativity is the key to future problem solving, and Barbie games encourage girls to develop and then use this important skill.

Online Barbie Games

While the store shelves are stocked with all sorts of Barbie gear, I like the online Barbie games even more. I’m a computer fan and you can find me here at the computer most of the evening, playing games and checking on the status of things. One of my favorite games are the Barbie games that are so prolific online. When I feel a bit girly, I can easily head online to the gaming websites and entertain myself by giving Barbie a makeover.

In the online Barbie games, you start with a doll base similar to a Barbie doll. Then you get to choose from the huge number of clothing and outfits online. Pull a great look together and then add the necessary accessories and shoes to finish her off. Finally, you can select a background or change her hairstyle to personalize the effect before you print off your Barbie games and show them to your friends or save them as a fun collection of designs.

Barbie Games and Christmas

I’m very much an early shopper when it comes to the holiday season. Given the choice, I’ll be out there buying all sorts of things for friends and family well before Thanksgiving. This is for two reasons, actually. I love to shop around and find the perfect gifts, but I also like to do my shopping without crowds. I find that I have a great selection of sale merchandise and items that aren’t on big specials yet, but are actually still reduced from the back-to-school sales.

Barbie games are always one of the top items on my list of things to buy for the Christmas holidays. I have any number of your girls to buy for, and Barbie games are a great way to be sure you’re getting something the girls will enjoy playing with while staying within a reasonable budget. Barbie games also wrap beautifully with their hard plastic boxes, and this, surprisingly is a concern for me simply because I like my presents under the tree to be as beautiful as the tree itself.

Barbie Games and Young Girls

Barbie was originally designed for older girls. The games were perfect for grade school girls who were tired of playing with baby dolls and who wanted something more realistic to play with besides paper dolls. When Barbie games were introduced, they were a huge novelty that caught on very fast. Today these girls play with the Barbie games online, but you’d be hard pressed to find many eight-year-olds at home with their Barbie dolls on a daily basis.

Instead it is the little girls who love the Barbie games. Toddlers and preschoolers are the most common owners of Barbie games and it’s not a bad thing by any stretch. With a huge collection of fashion dolls to choose from today on what used to be the pink aisle, Barbie games stand out thanks to their collection of princess and fantasy dolls. There simply isn’t a large selection of mermaid or fairy dolls that can be dressed up and actually played with. Barbie games have managed to catch a toe-hold on that market pretty effectively.

The Innocence of Barbie Games

The makers of Barbie games have worked hard to find ways to market the dolls in a casual, almost innocent way. The Barbie games feature the tall blonde bombshell with the tiny waist and large chest, but somehow her sexuality has been played way down. It might be that the world is simply a changing place and that today what we consider sexy and bold isn’t necessarily the same thing that caused a stir when the blonde doll was introduced, but I think it has to do more with some very clever marketing on the part of Mattel, the maker of the Barbie games.

Mattel is careful to position the Barbie games in an innocent light because the company is no longer marketing to grade school girls. Those girls are too savvy and world-wise to be interested in dressing up plastic dolls (although they have been known to play with the dress up games online.) The Barbie games are now being marketed to younger girls. Without asking Mattel, it’s reasonably clear that the Barbie games are being sold to preschoolers – three and four-year-olds more than anything else. Why else would most of the Barbies be princess or pop culture characters popular with this crowd?

Barbie Games and Gifts

I’m having a hard time giving Barbie games as gifts these days. It’s a strange phenomenon really, but it has less to do with the Barbie games and more to do with the girls I’d be giving the gifts to. For years I was buying gifts for three and four-year-old girls. In that age group, it seems like you can’t go wrong with a princess Barbie doll. But then something changes and it’s hard to tell if the kindergarten girls are still into Barbie games or not. Some have moved on and others are still there, but it’s always a gamble.

Not only are some girls not as thrilled with a Barbie game, the parents of these girls can be a bit hesitant to be excited about a Barbie as well. The connotation of the Barbie games with a ditzy blond and high fashion can be a bit much to swallow now that we all want our children to grow up strong and secure in their own right. Of course, Barbie games aren’t going to cause problems for anyone, and I still go for a pretty Barbie toy when I can, but there’s always that hesitation that makes me stop and think about what I’m doing.
 

Barbie Games at the Mall

There used to be a toy store inside the mall. When I was younger, I’d walk around the mall with my friends looking in the various stores for ways to spend my measly allowance. I’d find goodies in the inexpensive accessory stores and there was always something interesting to buy in the novelty shops, but my favorite way to spend some money in the mall was always the toy store. It was there that I could easily get away with my love of Barbie Games.

Like all good toy stores, there was most certainly a pink aisle right down the middle of the store. On the pink aisle, you’d find all kinds of Barbie games. There was the original Barbie doll dressed in a swimsuit and the Barbie dolls dressed up in different occupations. You could find Barbie games for every purpose or occasion, and even though I felt too old to actually buy the Barbie games for myself, I was certainly not too old to wander down the aisle just checking out what was new and different. It’s a habit, I’ll admit, I’ll still have when I shop in any store that has one of the lovely pink aisles.