Barbie is 50

Wow. My all-time favorite child time toy turns 50 today! I loved playing with Barbies. I had tons of Barbie dolls and mountains of Barbie clothes and accessories. I will never forget the day I received the Barbie Corvette for my birthday. But, there was also the Barbie swimming pool (my parents' least favorite accessory-it had a tendency to get messy), the Barbie dream house, Skipper, and of course Ken! For years, my sister and I had to share one Ken doll. We always decided he was "on a business" trip and didn't use him. My Dad eventually bought us more Ken dolls, but we never had a white Ken-African American, Hawaiian, Asian-but never a white Ken. A lesson in diversity I suppose. Or maybe he thought he was funny.

Either way, I played Barbies way beyond the "normal" age to give up such toys. My grandmother used to work at Lazarus (which no longer exists) and would always get my sister and me the special edition barbies-I have the UNICEF special edition and several Holiday Special Edition-still in their wrapped box. Go do a search on ebay and you'll see the value of these classic toys!

I cringe when I hear people who don't let their children play with Barbie dolls because her proportions are not realistic and she makes women focus on appearances or something silly like that. C'mon-Barbie is sweet and she is a great role model for young women! Look at all her professions! Doctor, lawyer, business woman, equestrian rider, veterinarian, Olympic athlete, astronaut, and mother. You name it-Barbie's done it. Who could better represent that women can do anything they want to-and do it while looking pretty and wearing high heels! Is that such a bad thing?

My sister and I gave our niece her first Barbie-a Christmas Barbie-when she was only a few weeks old. I hope Barbie stays around another 50 years. :)

So-happy birthday to my favorite toy of all time.