When I was small my Barbie was more of a family-type. I played with friends and yeah, we had fun dressing them up, but the little skits we played out were more realistic than just going to the mall. They had proper lives with nice friends and decent homes...and they were more interested in making pizza than dressing up. Hm. I wonder how all that changed. This is something that really riles me up...but I'll stop myself from ranting here.

this just reinforces the 'i want that!' attitude when you take kids to the store. If they think the credit cards have unlimited money, then of COURSE it doesn't make sense when you refuse to buy them some piece of junk they want. Not only will it make them bad money managers later, but it will add to our own parenting woes.

What's even more alarming is the fact that I've worked with lots of college-aged employees who can't count change at all. At least the Dora cash register might help get kids started down the road to actually knowing how to count money.

Also, anyone saying that "its just a toy" and "parents should be teaching kids" obviously doesn't have kids. That or your kids live in some bubble where they aren't influenced by other kids and aren't bombarded by stupid advertising like this.

I don't think it's a big deal. A pre-schooler is not getting a credit card anyway. I would hope that by the time they are 18 or so, they understand they can't spend at will. If they don't then they are either a moron or severely spoiled.

And this is the sort of thing that seriously makes me consider raising my kids in a shack in the woods, should I ever have offspring.

@HeyHermano: Yeah, but you only get about 14,000 dollars in Monopoly money and it's possible to run out in a long game.

@TechnoDestructo:

Especially if the girls are catholic. [burn]

And boys. [double-burn]

You know what irritates me more? The new Monopoly that has debit cards so you don't have to count money. It's that difficult to count the damn paper money.

They should just price everything in "blowjobs." I think that would make it a lot more realistic.

It's perfect for setting the expectations of our future consumers.

I've always been more of a GI Joe shopper myself.

Maybe I was just a freak as a kid, but I never liked playing with Barbies as a child because she didn't seem realistic compared to the people I met everyday.

Then again, when I was a kid if you threw a tantrum in the store you got your ass whooped, and five minutes of standing in line at Wal-Mart these days shows me that this is apparently not a common practice.

or how about the credit card set comes with a fast-food window that Barbie has to work in whenever her balance reaches zero.

@gruffydd: Man, what a great idea! I'm embarassed to admit I'd find it hugely entertaining to teach my kids these kinds of lessons...

@WraithSama: Yeah, I remember that! I think the girl was like 7 or 8, really young. Poor child...

Glad to know someone else noticed how fucking stupid this commercial was

@SaveMeJeebus: you're not playing with them the right way.

Seriously though, barbie was never a really good role model to begin with. She dresses kind of like a whore, she's super thin with a nice bust, and where the hell was ken sleeping.

I forgot Ken even existed...didn't Mattel like...quietly kill him off?

For a really well informed caring parent, the barbie credit card would provide an opportunity to teach a child the pros and cons of credit. However, most really well informed caring parents don't buy their kids barbie dolls.

1. How many kids that play violent video games go on to actually commit violent crimes? Like .0001%?
2. How many kids that play with Barbie's credit card and Bratz go on to be in major credit card debt? 75%?...lol...

Yeah, not a big deal. I recall playing with some toy cash register/bank thing at my friends house. You never ran out of money there either, because you'd just open up the till and recollect the plastic tokens. And yet, I didn't turn into a bank robber.

Sure, it CAN be a problem, if the parent's going to pat little Mindy on the head and say "That's right, kiddo, unlimited money! Just like Mommy and Daddy's credit cards!" But hey, maybe there's a financial lesson here - take her credit card away when the balance hits zero, or deduct the "interest charges" from her allowance. Yeah, it's probably a good thing that I don't have kids.

well here's the deal. if you don't buy it for your child, and instead buy your child something "educational", it seems this becomes a non issue. next caller please.

I have hopes that she'll be smart enough to manage her money and not live like the TV commercials.

@wring: it could be worse. it could be a trampy bratz doll training your child in a completely different field.

First saw this commercial as it followed a Polly Pocket "Race to the Mall" car toy, in what appears to be a girly version of a Hot Wheels game.

Is the only future Mattel sees in girls is that of a mindless shop-o-holic?

Who know...maybe even charge interest if they can't pay the entire balance!

I'm glad I have a boy. Lego-men don't warp minds like the qunitessential aspiration figure Barbie.

yeah when i was a kid my dolls would run out of money and i'd have imaginary collectors calling during dinner. kids today have it sooooo easy.

When I was young, we had money toys as well. We had cash registers that used plastic coins worth 1, 5, 10, and 25 cents. We also had laminated paper money that went with it. We would pretend we were running a shop and friends would buy items from us (usually plastic apples or plastic chicken, for some reason). Our friends would pay us the amount the apple was worth, and they had a limit to the amount of chicken they could buy simply because they only had so much cash. Once the cash was gone, they couldn't buy anything more.

This seems like a simple-enough rule to adults, but to children who have their parents buy everything for them, the concept of "never-ending spending" might be very real and plausible. The credit card Mattel is pushing supports that unrealistic idea, and I think it ought to be re-examined by the company.

If they can make dolls that wet themselves, they can make a credit card that has a set spending limit that requires the child to "work off" the charges somehow.

i don't get it. on a serious note, toys don't teach children, parents do. are people really in an uproar over this? whats wrong, are parents afraid they might have to actually explain to their child how a credit card works later on in life? curse you barbie for not raising our kids to know better than that! lol.

It's become a major factor in my current argument with myself to cancel cable.

@INconsumer: Then Barbie can play around with other dolls, divorce Ken, and then collect child support! FREE MONEY!

you know ken would end up getting stuck with the bill anyhow.