[Nfbf-l] Our Thoughts turn to what we will put under the tree for our children

[Alan Dicey]

It is the Christmas holidays. Our Thoughts turn to what we will put under 
the tree for our children and grands. The Traditional toys, bicycles, toy 
cars, dolls of every shape and size. Are we trying to keep up with the 
times. Here is a must-read article from Bill Keller.

From:
Bill Keller
<prayermanager at liveprayer.com>

One of the newest "toys" this Christmas is a breast-feeding baby doll whose
suckling sounds are prompted by sensors sewn into a halter top at the
nipples of little girls. Why can't people just let children be children? A
few years ago it was the Bratz dolls that look like and dress like street
walkers! As we get read for the official start of the Christmas shopping
season, it is the perfect time for this important message.
Many will think I am kidding when I tell you that today I am dealing with
the types of dolls parents buy for their children. I have no doubt many will
never understand the points I will be making. I know that, because in months
of research on this issue, having talked to dozens of parents in and out of
the church, I was told over and over, "What is the big deal?" Is the type of
doll a parent buys for their little girl really the most pressing issue of
the day?
No, of course not. However, it is very telling of the current mindset that
exists in the world we live in since a toy company had to create and market
these dolls and parents had to buy them. I can almost understand why a
company would create and market these dolls, it is called MONEY. What I want
to focus on, however, is why would a parent buy their 6, 7, 8-year-old
daughter a breast-feeding doll, or a doll that looks like a street walking
prostitute?
In case you are totally out of the loop regarding the world of children's
toys, the hottest item for little girls from 6 and up are the Bratz dolls.
MGA Entertainment is a California-based toy company founded in 1997 that
manufactures and markets the Bratz dolls. The marketing strategy was to
create a doll geared towards pre-teen girls since research showed most girls
weren't buying Mattel's half-century old Barbie dolls after age 7.
The key to the Bratz dolls were the endless amounts of wardrobes you could
buy for these dolls. The wardrobes represented the current trend of clothing
worn by young girls from short shorts, to micro mini-skirts, to halter tops,
to silk negligee tops, right down to the high heels. It is the same clothing
made popular by the singers, actresses, and other entertainers today who
cater to pre-teen and teen-age girls.
The dolls themselves are made up to look like prostitutes. They have an
African-American doll, a Latino doll, and several who are different shades
of white. They have perfect bodies, come with wild hair, lots of make-up,
painted nails, their lips are full and pouty, and once you add the trashy
clothing accessories, you have a doll that is the likeness of a young woman
who is walking the streets of some metropolitan city late at night looking
to turn tricks.
Here is the problem. These "dolls" are being marketed to SIX-YEAR-OLD GIRLS!
Why would any parent want their little girl to think this is what a girl
should look like. Why would a parent want that their little girl to have
this image imbedded in their mind? Our current culture is flooded daily to
such an extent with overt sexuality that we have become numb to it, so numb
that it has now trickled down to the dolls we buy for our little girls!
Listen, instead of buying into the gross sexualization of our culture,
parents need to take a stand. You don't have to buy your daughters
breast-feeding dolls or the Bratz dolls. You don't have to let your 9- and
10-year-olds girls wear thong underwear. You don't have to let your
daughters buy the "fashion of the day" and look like they are going to work
in a strip club.
Parents, you can take a stand! It is no wonder why teen-age, even pre-teen
girls are having sex. It is in their music, it is on their TV programs, it
is in the movies they watch, it is in virtually every advertisement they
see, it is pounded into their brains almost from birth and reinforced in all
that they see...even the dolls they are bought to play with!!!
I love you and care about you so much. You know, when I was growing up just
40 years ago, being a "brat" was not a tern of endearment. Being a brat
actually carried a very negative connotation because it meant you were a bad
kid. Only disobedient and rebellious children were called brats. Now, just a
few years later, instead of a brat being something a child was taught not to
be, it is something a child strives to be. From cartoon characters like Bart
Simpson and that horrible Stewie on the Family Guy, children are told it is
cool to be a brat. It is so cool, that this toy company is making hundreds
of millions of dollars selling dolls called Bratz!!!
I am already prepared for the onslaught of emails from outraged parents that
I would dare call them out for buying their little girl these breast-feeding
or Bratz dolls. I already know they will say I am making too much of this,
these dolls are harmless, there is nothing wrong with them, only people with
dirty minds think these dolls are overtly sexual, I need to mind my own
business, and on and one it will go. I can tell you one thing, a doll like
this would have never been seen the light of the store shelf 20 years ago.
You might say we have progressed as a society since then, I say to you that
we have REGRESSED as a society.
I pray today that you parents will be aware of what is being marketed to
your children. Out of all the things that you can buy your little girl is a
doll that looks like a street walking prostitute, or a breast-feeding doll,
really the best you can do for your child? Is that really the image and
message you want to send to your baby? Don't you know she is already being
blasted daily, no matter how much you may try to protect her, by every kind
of image no child should ever have to be exposed to? Why would you want to
not only promote, but reinforce those sexual images by giving her a doll to
play with that looks like and dresses like a women who sells her body for
money?
Your little girl is going to grow up soon enough. As a matter of fact, much
sooner than you or I did. You have to start having those adult conversations
with your kids at a much earlier age, since they are being bombarded every
day with every type of image you can imagine. You have got to be involved in
their life each day to help them understand what God says about all of these
issues they are being confronted with at such an early age. It is a very
difficult time to be a child, and it is also a very difficult time to be a
parent.
I will be praying for you parents today. I will be praying for God to give
you wisdom and direction as you do your best to raise your child in the
admonition of the Lord and teach them His ways. I will also be praying for
your children today. This is a very evil world we live in, with many
dangers. I pray today that the Lord will watch over your children, protect
them from the evils of this world, and give them peace, joy, and a blessed
childhood. May the Lord bless you and your children as you live your lives
and take your stand for HIM!

After Thoughts.

Children at a young age are impressionable. They watch Mommy, Daddy, and 
everything that moves. In many ways they want what grown-ups want. The bible 
teaches us that our eyes are never full. Let us shape our children for the 
future by buying toys that educate and stimulate their minds towards a 
wholesome direction.