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Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

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      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

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Barbie

The Dream Gap & Our Daughters- Let’s Talk
ParenthoodSchool Age Days

The Dream Gap & Our Daughters- Let’s Talk

by Jill November 12, 2018
written by Jill

I’ve lived 37 years and the only time Barbie has ever made me cry was when I stepped on one of her tiny hair brushes at a friend’s house. 

Until today. 

Okay, no. I take that back. Barbie made me cry back in May when the topic of the Dream Gap came up at our meeting at Mattel HQ for the Barbie Global Advisory Council, on which I am a paid member. 

The Dream Gap is based on research that shows that around age 6 girls stop believing in their biggest dreams. They become less likely than boys to see themselves as “really, really smart.” 

I cried when we talked about it because I can look back at the last 18 months with my nearly 8-year-old daughter and see this happening to her. She’s increasingly more afraid to fail. Getting her to read aloud to us wasn’t about teaching her to read, but about helping her understand that it’s okay to not blend the words right at first. She was afraid she’d “sound stupid.” 

“This phenomenon is called the Dream Gap. It rears its ugly head in myriad ways for girls and women around the world—from being unable to identify as very intelligent to being far less likely to picture their future selves as scientists, engineers or working in any STEM career role. This result persists even when girls perform just as well as boys on science and math tests. The erosion in their self-confidence is well underway at six, and they cannot imagine the possibility of another story.” – Mattel

Now watch this Barbie vlog (that’s right, it’s Barbie vlogging, and it’s one of the most emotionally intelligent things I’ve seen for kids in a long while), and tell me you didn’t just sob your face off.

Words matter. They matter, they matter. I tell my kids this all the time, and I feel like it’s such a crucial lesson for EVERYONE right now. 

We have to break down stereotypes, and we also have to teach all our children, but especially our girls, that it’s okay to “fail,” that it’s okay to dream big-even if others don’t understand those dreams, that making mistakes is how people get smarter, and that losses can be more important than wins sometimes. 

Mattel has some other suggestions for how to close the Dream Gap, including:

  • open-ended, unstructured play that fosters divergent thinking and innovation
  • independent exploration
  • personalized, adaptive learning-through-play opportunities
  • collaborative play
  • engaging play that teaches and supports key skills, such as coding as a 21st-century literacy
  • exposure to postive role models
  • challenge gender stereotypes
  • do confidence-building activities together

I want to know:
1. Do you see this happening to your daughter her?
2. If you have an older daughter, can you look back and see when she would have begun to feel this way? Or do you, as a woman, remember this shift happening to you?
3. What are you going to do to close the Dream Gap for your daughter?

My answers to those questions would be:

1. As I mentioned, I noticed a shift around the end of Leyna’s kindergarten year. I think it was when it was becoming more obvious in her school class who was learning to read quicker than she was. She became really uncomfortable trying to sound out words out loud and it halted her reading progression for a while.

2. Personally, I felt empowered to be the smart kid for a long time, thankfully. But around jr. high, I picked up the idea that girls weren’t expected to be good at math and science. While I still got good grades in both subjects throughout school, I lost any passion or excitement I had for both by the time I was in high school.

3. We are all about exposure to math and science. We just signed her up for a coding class through our homeschool program, and she’s LOVING IT. We are also working with everyone in this family on the way we talk about gender stereotypes. My son and I had a great conversation last week about why it’s not ok to say “the boys in our family are the science and math people.” Yes, my husband loves science and math, but I wasn’t ever bad at either, and Leyna can DEFINITELY be one of the “science and math” experts in our family, too.

I am a paid member of the Barbie Global Advisory Board, but I was not required to write this post and am not being compensated for it. I just think this is such an important topic to discuss and be aware of.

November 12, 2018 1 comment
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I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now
ReviewsSchool Age Days

I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

by Jill October 1, 2018
written by Jill

I wasn’t a Barbie girl growing up. I was friends with quite a few as a child. They would always want to play with their Barbie mansions when I went over, and I would wrinkle my nose and suggest something else.

Not because I was some kind of early-blooming feminist, but mostly because Barbie’s shoes never stayed on and that annoyed me. I also think, though, it was because I didn’t have Barbies at home. She wasn’t a toy I was forbidden from. I can’t remember my parents speaking ill of her, but they never encouraged me to play with her, either. I kinda got the idea that they thought Barbie was a little silly.

And to be totally honest, that’s the attitude I’ve taken when it comes to Barbie and my own daughter. It’s just not something I wanted to push. She never asked, and I never bought.

And then Leyna started really getting into imaginative play. She fell in love with the Monster High dolls we got for a campaign, and was straight up sad we couldn’t bring the massive MH Deluxe Playset with us on the RV. (It would have taken up nearly all her floorspace.) We did agree to her bringing a few of her favorite dolls, though.

Earlier this year, we stopped to visit my dad and step-mom as we made our way through New Mexico. Leyna found my step-mom’s stash of Barbies and Ken dolls she kept for the grandkids, and played for hours. When thinking what to put in her Easter basket that would actually see some use and not take up a lot of space, I decided to get a Barbie Fashionista doll – one with a “curvy” body and a lavender bun.

When they announced those curvy bodies on Jan 28, 2016,  I took notice. It was a HUGE deal. That was not anything I really expected from this brand, and it pleasantly surprised me. It definitely warmed me to the idea of buying my own daughter a Barbie. While I was thrilled to give Leyna a Barbie with a more realistic body, I think she was mostly excited that her doll had purple hair.

Side note: The Hulu documentary Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie is INCREDIBLE and all about this massive risk Barbie took to introduce body diversity to their dolls. 110% recommend watching.

So fast forward, it’s like a couple weeks after Easter, Leyna loves her “Barbie with the purple hair” and I get an email from one of my personal heros- Jess Weiner– asking if I’d like to be on the Barbie Advisory Council for 2018.  I hadn’t even posted about Leyna’s new Barbie. It was bananas how the universe was aligning. I said yes. Had they asked me just a few months before, I would have probably turned them down because I’d only ever work with a brand in that capacity if I genuinely used or engaged with them. But now, I/we suddenly did.

This is where I pause to say, yes, I’m a paid member of the advisory board, but also, this isn’t a sponsored post. This isn’t a brand ambassadorship. I’m not required to write positively about them. What is SO bad ass is that my role is to give them totally open and honest feedback. And I had the incredible opportunity to do that back in May at the Mattel HQ.

Y’all, the members of our board (with careers in TV, education, science, politics, writing, and more) laid it all out during this full-day meeting. We discussed where the brand had been and where it’s going, and why it’s SO important for Barbie to keep evolving. I’m NDA-d beyond being able to say more than this: Barbie is up to some inspiring, progressive stuff that made many of us actually cry because of what a positive impact it could have on all children.

I believe the Barbie brand is already making many positive changes when it comes to embracing and celebrating diversity, and, you guys, have you SEEN the Barbie YouTube channel lately?? Check out the Barbie VLOGS playlist and tell me that is not AMAZING, highly thought out and emotionally intelligent. What other toy brand is doing this?!

I realize it’s coming up on that time of year when we start to think about what makes the cut for holiday gifts for our kids, and I can tell you that last Christmas, I don’t think I would have considered adding anything Barbie to Leyna’s list. But this year? HECK YEAH. I’m here for it.

Just probably not for this Dreamhouse.

Phtotgrapher Rafael Ortega Stylist Susan Kurtz

Because we live in an RV.
But she can watch all the Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures on YouTube.

I am a paid member of the 2018 Barbie Advisory Council, but all opinions stated here are my own, and I am not being compensated for this post.

October 1, 2018 0 comment
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5 Nostalgic Toys We Saved For Our Kids
Parenthood

5 Nostalgic Toys We Saved For Our Kids

by Désirée September 18, 2018
written by Désirée

Some toys are one-season fads (RIP Hatchimals) and some toys become heirlooms that span generations.

We recently asked Baby Rabies readers to share what toys they saved for their kids from their own childhoods and here are your top 10 responses!

LEGO

Of course! LEGO = A true classic.

Anytime I think of old school LEGO, I think of this vintage ad that made it’s way around the internet a while back. So good, right?

And while there have been a lot of changes and new pieces created in the LEGO world, the playability of a simple box of original blocks in undeniable.

No matter what your age, LEGO is always awesome.

5 Nostalgic Toys We Saved For Our Kids

Barbie

A toy that has evolved leaps and bounds since making her first appearance in 1959.

Barbie– full name Barbara Millicent Roberts for my fellow trivia lovers- has changed in appearance and philosophy over the years and still remains a favorite.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Carolina and Mary Jane (@barbie_invasion) on Aug 14, 2018 at 2:50pm PDT

Cabbage Patch Kids

Originally called The Little People and renamed Cabbage Patch Kids when licensed by Coleco in the early 80s, the brand has changed hands 7 times since Xavier Roberts created the first doll as an art student in Cleveland, Georgia.

These dolls were one of the most popular toys of the 80s, so it’s no wonder that so many of our readers chose to save them for their own kids!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by sarah (@mycpk_collection) on Jun 16, 2018 at 2:38pm PDT

Little People

Not to be confused with “The Little People” above, Fisher-Price Little People have been around since the 1950s and are still being made by the brand today.

Little People have changed a lot over the years, but their popularity hasn’t!

Some of our readers mentioned the specifics play sets that they saved for their kids- the farm and school house definitely bring me back to MY childhood. I can still hear the “moo” sound that the barn door made when you opened it!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by @smartypantsparty on Jul 7, 2018 at 9:35am PDT

My Little Pony

I think it speaks volumes about a brand that the reboot has just as much if not MORE of a fanbase than the original did when we were kids. My Little Pony definitely falls into this category.

We love the old school ponies, of course, but it’s fun to watch a whole new generation enjoy it too.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by @_mylittleprecious on Jul 16, 2018 at 12:32am PDT

Some of the other toys mentioned include other Fisher-Price gems, like the record player, Teddy Ruxpin, Star Wars collectibles, American Girl dolls, Raggedy Ann, Hot Wheels, and Polly Pocket.

I wonder what OUR kids will save for our grandkids someday. Will they be unpacking “vintage” Minecraft toys in 20 years? Or will it still be that same box of LEGO? 🙂 Only time will tell!

This post contains affiliate links. Feature image via Les Choux Gras.

September 18, 2018 0 comment
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