My daughter is blonde and pink cheeked, more or less like the traditional doll, and I actually have puzzled over this a little, because I think it is important to have dolls that don't all look alike. But one of the typical reasons for seeking out a nontraditional doll is so your child can see herself in her toys, but for my daughter that doesn't hold. Anyway, she has a dark haired, olive skinned American Girl doll, because that's the one she liked best, probably because of the color of her dress.

We dolls that resemble some aspect of us, and some who don't. We don't purposely only choose dolls that look like us (IMO - not a good idea).

If she wants an American Girl Doll that looks like her go for it. Its not a big deal.

Yes, I looked for a brown haired baby doll. I don't get the "striving for perfection" idea. It's a baby doll, not Miss America.

We have a bunch of dolls in our house. Each kid has one baby doll that looks like them. I especially like that we have some boy dolls for my son. But then we have a bunch of other dolls with a variety of looks.

We're white and try to mix it up in dolls colors. But for hair, eyes, etc. I don't pay attention.

DD has recently said "I want a doll that looks like me", some of her friends are getting into the custom American Girl dolls. Is it better for self-esteem to provide dolls that are a resemblance or will it do the opposite and cause the striving for perfection complex? Do you encourage a child to seek the doll that looks most similar to them or discourage?