LOL doll drama

[Anonymous]

My 2nd grade and 5th grade daughters both like the LOL dolls but I haven't heard of any of the competitive behavior that you are describing. They play with them together but they don't take them to school or to friends houses. They save their own money up to buy them.

If they are disruptive at school or at the class the teachers should step in and tell the girls not to bring them in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Mom of boys here.

I had to google them.

DANG those things are CREEPY.

Maybe hang out with boys until the craze passes?

OK, stop. I'm also a mom of boys and I've seen boys exhibit similar behavior with Pokemon/Yu-gi-oh cards. It's not about the dolls or the cards -- there will always be something. It's about the behavior.

You are reading into this statement too much

The dolls are creepy, really creepy.

Hang out with boys, who are not playing with the creepy dolls.

Mom of third grade boy. A lot of the boys parents let them play Fortnite, which is inexplicable to me, and that's all they want to do at recess. I'd take creepy dolls over that.

How in the world are 3rd graders playing Fortnite at recess? Most of them don't have their own devices, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Mom of boys here.

I had to google them.

DANG those things are CREEPY.

Maybe hang out with boys until the craze passes?

OK, stop. I'm also a mom of boys and I've seen boys exhibit similar behavior with Pokemon/Yu-gi-oh cards. It's not about the dolls or the cards -- there will always be something. It's about the behavior.

You are reading into this statement too much

The dolls are creepy, really creepy.

Hang out with boys, who are not playing with the creepy dolls.

Mom of third grade boy. A lot of the boys parents let them play Fortnite, which is inexplicable to me, and that's all they want to do at recess. I'd take creepy dolls over that.

How in the world are 3rd graders playing Fortnite at recess? Most of them don't have their own devices, right?

They talk about it and act it out. If you're not in the know, you are left out of that group.

[Anonymous]

My 2nd grade DD also loves LOL dolls, but I am not aware of them being used in the way that you described.

And boys are similar with pokemon cards and Yu-Gi-Oh cards as another poster mentioned. Several of the boys in my 5th grade DS's class started playing Yu-Gi-Oh this year and my DS didn't have any of the cards. So I bought him some. It was probably the best $50 I have spent all year, as it gives him something to do at recess everyday and helps him fit in (which was a struggle last year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also have a 3rd grade girl, and we dealt with this last year with the Shopkins dolls AND LOLs. It was maybe a month into school and her friend group (who have been her friends since PK) had a routine of playing with the Shopkins dolls before school. They'd talk about it at recess (who was bringing what doll, what game they would play, etc.). The teacher banned them in the classroom, but that left before school and aftercare to play with them and lunch and recess to talk about them. DD was upset because she was being excluded due to NOT having Shopkins or LOLs (because they are creepy and expensive).

Honestly? I caved. I bought her a couple of Shopkins dolls and a couple LOLs because it WAS impacting her self esteem and social life. I (in what others may find a helicoptering overreach) also went to school with her one morning and talked to all the girls about how as I could see, there were more than enough dolls for everyone to play with one, so if someone doesn't have a doll one morning, someone else needs to let that person play with one of theirs so that we are not excluding our friends. I told her that for that reason, I'd sent 2 with DD - in case someone else wanted to play but didn't have a doll.

I won't say that they got over it, but it's now midway through 3rd grade and DD hasn't been bringing LOLs and Shopkins to school every day for a while. I guess they are into other stuff now.

Exactly what I would have done. A couple of dolls are not expensive.

[Anonymous]

In the early Pokemon days, or school ended up banning them from school property. Some parent exploded because her kid's $300 collection of pokemon went missing, that did it for the principal.

Neighbor's kids were happy because their mom had previously tried to get them banned on the basis of Satanic implications and did not allow her kids to have them. Neighbor girl said now kids wouldn't be able to make fun of her for not having them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 2nd grade DD also loves LOL dolls, but I am not aware of them being used in the way that you described.

And boys are similar with pokemon cards and Yu-Gi-Oh cards as another poster mentioned. Several of the boys in my 5th grade DS's class started playing Yu-Gi-Oh this year and my DS didn't have any of the cards. So I bought him some. It was probably the best $50 I have spent all year, as it gives him something to do at recess everyday and helps him fit in (which was a struggle last year).

You may want to speak with your DD to make sure. I think many parents who support the habit and view the dolls as harmless are unaware of the social dynamics around them.

On the second point, what happened to running around at recess? If kids are sitting around playing with cards/dolls during school recess, I would tell a staff member and get that to stop. Children have recess in order to get some exercise, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the early Pokemon days, or school ended up banning them from school property. Some parent exploded because her kid's $300 collection of pokemon went missing, that did it for the principal.

Neighbor's kids were happy because their mom had previously tried to get them banned on the basis of Satanic implications and did not allow her kids to have them. Neighbor girl said now kids wouldn't be able to make fun of her for not having them.

Poor neighbor kids. Forget Pokemon, their nut of a mom is going to ruin them.

For PP with Fortnite issues, all of those boys know the dances and silly moves, even those that don't play.

[Anonymous]

Last year it was slime. Year before that it was Shopkins. This year is LOL dolls. I feel your pain.

What I love about our school system is that they have the no outside toys rule. The only exception is in K when they do show & tell or if it's for a project in an upper grade. That's helped a TON! It forces the kids to actually play during recess and no toy distractions during class time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the early Pokemon days, or school ended up banning them from school property. Some parent exploded because her kid's $300 collection of pokemon went missing, that did it for the principal.

Neighbor's kids were happy because their mom had previously tried to get them banned on the basis of Satanic implications and did not allow her kids to have them. Neighbor girl said now kids wouldn't be able to make fun of her for not having them.

Poor neighbor kids. Forget Pokemon, their nut of a mom is going to ruin them.

For PP with Fortnite issues, all of those boys know the dances and silly moves, even those that don't play.

Yep! Mine don't play and have no interest in the game, but they know all the dance moves and spend their screen time watching YouTube vids of people doing the dances as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize there will always be other fads, but there is something insidious about the marketing of the LOL dolls that promotes consumerism (and greed) in young girls. The small ones are relatively inexpensive (around $7), and the fact that they are a surprise (you don't know what you are getting until you open it) makes kids want to keep buying them until they get their favorites. There appear to be dozens of options, and girls will spend considerable time going through the little brochures and discussing which ones they like best. Some are labeled as "rare" or "ultra rare" to make them even more attractive. As a parent, I find that creepy.

+1

[Anonymous]

Just teach them all the baby shark dance...and then you will be thrilled when they go back to LOLs or fortnight so you never have to hear that damn song again...

[Anonymous]

If the girls are being mean and exclusionary to each other, it would be reasonable to bring in the guidance counselor for some talks.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the helpful feedback. I'm a bit relieved to hear that our child is not the only one. I will consider following the one poster's advice and buy my daughter two of them (one to be shared with others who don't have any).

[Anonymous]

I mean, if it isn't the dolls, it will be sneakers, or bags, or jeans . . . .

I look at it two ways. If your DD doesn't like the dolls, then she has to understand that others do right now. She's choosing not to participate in it. And that's fine. It's not letting the other girls off the hook, but they are also interested in something your DD is not.

In terms of "fitting in", the fact is, there is a certain . . . . insurance, or armor, in having whatever the "cool" thing is at the time. I did not have anything cool as a kid and I knew it. As an adult, I like what I like and don't feel the need to keep up. But as a kid, it's much more intense. So, I think it's ok to get the doll/jeans/shoes or whatever if you can (and if they want it or are willing to tolerate it).

The last options involve waiting out the craze or finding new kids to hang out with.