I had a perfect opportunity for a teachable moment today! I go to the library in the mornings once a week while the two kiddos are in school. Before I go, I ask them what kind of books they especially would like. Today, Miss 4 said she wants a book about what’s inside our bodies. I thought that was awesome! I found two- one that has lots of awesome microscopic photos and images of the different systems and parts of our bodies, and a Dr. Seuss book about our bodies that we could read out loud.
We looked through the first book and read the second one before her nap. After we did that, I noticed that she had her new Monster High doll in bed with her. I am NOT a fan of those dolls- their body shape is even thinner than Barbie’s! However, she likes them. So I took this opportunity to say, “Good thing your Monster High doll isn’t a real person! Even if she was as big as a person, there wouldn’t be room inside her chest for lungs! And look at her arms! She wouldn’t have room for muscles in those tiny things, so she wouldn’t be able to move them! And see how tiny her tummy is? All of the intestines that we have inside us DEFINITELY wouldn’t in there, so she wouldn’t be able to eat properly. And her head is so big that she wouldn’t even be able to lift it!” At some point, Miss 4 started contributing as well- “Good thing she’s just a pretend monster! Her legs couldn’t even run because she can’t fit muscles in there!” I said, “If she were a real person, her body would have to be a lot thicker to have space for all the important things that make our bodies work.” Miss 4 agreed, “Good thing she’s just a doll!” It was a wonderful little conversation that made me feel much better about her playing with toys like that. I’m going to continue to reinforce those ideas for her in hopes that she doesn’t see her Barbie and Monster High dolls as body shapes that she should one day try to have.
P.S.- On the same note, I got my Lammily doll in the mail yesterday! I helped fund the project when it was new, and am super excited about it! Lammily is around the size of a Barbie, but has the proportions of a healthy 19 year old. She has super soft hair, adorable toes, flat feet, and no make-up. She’s wonderful. I’m going to try to create some awesome clothes for her, and then I may get one for Miss 4 for her 5th birthday in the spring. 🙂 I’ll leave you with a Lammily/Barbie comparison:
The Curious Nanny 