princess/Barbie Alternatives?

In my experience out of all the options out there these days Barbie is in the lead. I had the same thoughts when my oldest was 4 and got her first Barbie as a gift from a friend. I started looking and to tell you the truth when you compare to Bratz dolls and Monster High dolls I would choose Barbie over those any day of the week. Unfortunately the world is littered with Princess stories and tales and for the most part they all end up pretty much the same way. I'm not giving up on finding what I want but I don't mind the Barbies so much anymore.

I'm all about the strong female leads... there aren't a lot out there for kids...

Avatar: The Last Airbender (cartoon series is one of the best EVER, movie was dreadful) has SEVERAL. 2 of the main characters (Katara & Toph), and a LOT of ancillary characters.

Most of the avatar toys are imaginitve play (costumes, plush, action figures), but there are some (pricey @ $40, but then, I don't know how much barbies cost) plush dolls as well as the action figures. With normal body proportions. And GREAT solid characters.

The series is storyline format. So if you haven't seen it, start with Book1 Episode 1. And prepare to get hooked.

WHat about the big princess dolls. Disney makes them but they are big (like 20") and they look like the dolls are little girls like 4 years old. They are still cinderella, snow white, etc, but they are kids.

Also of the 10 coronated Disney princesses not all were contingent on a prince making their dreams come true. More so for Cinderella, Aurora, Snow white, and Ariel. But belle was not a princess and she made the beasts dream come true. As someone said below rapunzel's dream was to find out who she was and be reunited with her family. Mulan was not a princess but she did more of the rescuing. Tiana had a lot of help from the prince in the end but it was mostly due to her hard work. she was not looking for a hand out. Pocahantus was not swept off her feet. ANd Jasmine fell for a street rat. Most of these women were strong women and the prince (or a great guy) found them. HHMMMM.

EDIT: AS I was really thinking more Cinderella didn't know it was the prince until the step sisters were going to try on the slipper and she was already in love. But Sure she wanted to escape her evil step mother's house (and yes HER stepmother was EVIL). And Aurora fell in love with the prince but had no clue who he was and was upset when she found out she was betrothed to a prince and she was a princess.

In the Disney show Tangled, it's a story about a princess who doesn't know she's a princess but a roguish fellow (a thief... not a prince!) discovers her trapped in her tower and helps her find her way home in a roundabout way. The happy ending is her reuniting with her parents.

So it's not all about the romance between her and the guy, though there's a little of that in there and thank goodness for that because all good stories need a solid love interest otherwise it's all explosions and death! ;)

Read the book "Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?" Its a great book and lets your little girl know that she is a princess just the way she is (even if she wears hiking boots instead of high heels)!

My daughter has never been too into dolls, but these are ones I got her (in addition to the Barbie/Princess/Polly Pockets dolls):

http://www.onlyheartsclub.com

Target carries them.

When she gets older, read her the Dealing With Dragons series.

Princess dolls are more proportional, IMO, than Barbie. You might also steer her toward dolls that are not Barbie brand...I think I've seen some that look like older girls (but not nec. teenagers) that ride horses and stuff at Target. My DD is just now noticing the dolls, so I haven't looked at what's new out there.

I hate Bratz!

If you want doll clothes, consider looking online. I've gotten very nice Ken clothes from http://www.dollclothessuperstore.com when I couldn't find Ken clothes on the shelf. Her quality and details are good. Even bothered to put belt loops on the pants, and sent me boots for free when our order got mixed up.

I don't have a good answer for you, but I wanted to support you in continuing to take these things seriously. I DO think it's important. The messages your daughter gets now about what it means to be a valuable woman are huge. I just wanted to add skin color to your possible list of considerations. I think it's a powerful normalizing force that the prettiness marketed to kids is 99% white.

Good luck!

I would stay away from the Bratz dolls, I am thankful my daughter doesn't like them. She has lots of Barbie's and princess dolls. As she is getting older I explain to her that they are not real people. When we visit Disney I explain that they are actors playing the part. I also tell her to look around and see that the average woman doesn’t look like that. She has recently been getting into Monster High. These are way off from reality, lol.

I was always worried about how she would look at fairy tales, if she would think they are real. So I keep explaining that they are just stories and sometimes life has happy endings and sometimes it doesn’t.

If you have HBO, check out "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child". They update and change up fairy tales to reflect more current ideas and values. Some of them seem sort of odd to me, but my daughter really loves them. I understand your concerns; I'm not a Barbie fan for young girls either. (My daughter is 4 like yours.) My daughter loves her American Girl dolls, and I have seen a few more reasonably priced 'knock offs' if money is an issue. American Girl stuff can get rather pricey, but they do have a wealth of accessories and outfits to choose from. My daughter also likes playing with her Loving Family dollhouse/dolls. Little girls today do get 'princess overload' way too often. Princesses and fantasy play are essential parts of a girl's childhood, but we (as Moms) need to reassure them that they do not need a 'prince' to make their dreams come true.

Barbie is actually better proportioned now. The way old ones had the tiny waist and stuff, the ones now are more normal sizes.

Everyone will have barbies, that's true and she will be noticed at some point in elementary school if she doesn't have any so keep her with regular dolls for as long as you can because once she hits 1st grade barbie is the IT toy....lol.

Only Hearts Club. Realistic looking, soft bodies but you can change the clothes. There are some small books that go along with the dolls. The stories are about interests that the girls have (ones that don't involve boys, thank you very much). Some of the accessories are little dogs/cats & fun things like sleeping bags for the girls to have sleepovers. Very sweet and appropriate line of dolls.

There are several books out there with more progressive takes on the old fairy tales. I liked "Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter" alot:
http://www.amazon.com/Rumpelstiltskins-Daughter-Diane-Sta...

Kate and the Beanstalk was good, too:
http://www.amazon.com/Kate-Beanstalk-Anne-Schwartz-Books/...

I like the above books because the girls are strong and capable in them.
My daughter also likes the Princess Smartypants books.

I don't really have any ideas but wanted to share with you what my 5yr old does. I was slightly worried when Gma bought her a Barbie for her 4th bday and then six months later at Christmas it was all she wanted. We obliged and started to build her Barbie collection. One day she came in and was discouraged because she couldn't get a skimpy dress on over the jeans. I asked her what she was doing adn she said, "If Barbie wears just her dress, then her panties are showing, Mom. Thats not okay. So her jeans will keep her panties covered and her legs warm." And I thought, "Oh, okay. You are totally right." Her 4yr old comment rendered all my worries and hesitations completely useless and it was my first "Oh I didn't something right" moment.

Costco usually carries the American Girl mini dolls with a book set around this time of year - I was initially a bit leery of the brand b/c I'd just heard of what a major marketing juggernaut it is, but was pleasantly surprised by the books which give an age-appropriate introduction to different eras of history while giving the girl characters believable dilemmas that, despite the different historical settings, are fairly universal (friendship issues, adjusting to family separations, nervousness about being the new kid in town, etc.). They also carry the Madame Alexander Girlz dolls around this time of year, which are the same size as the 18" American Girl dolls at a fraction of the price but still pretty good quality IME, and you can often pick up clothes and accessories from garage sales or craigslist or make your own if you're crafty (Simplicity sells patterns that fit 18" dolls and there are a few free online patterns like these: http://agplaythings.com//AG%20Patterns/DollDressPatterns....)

And I wouldn't worry too much about the princess stuff - I was quite worried when one of my daughters expressed interest in it around preschool and kindergarten but that interest died a natural death in first grade when it seemed that all the girls in their school decided that princess stuff was for little kindergarteners and that as big first graders, they were too old for that stuff LOL.