Barbie-type dolls have often be blamed on playing a role in the development of body-image problems and Eating Disorders. Not only do these dolls have fictionally proportioned, small body sizes, but they lean towards escalating the belief that materialistic possessions, beauty and thinness equate happiness. Barbie has more accessories available to purchase than can be believed, including Ken, her attractive boyfriend. She has an assortment of jobs including: Potty-training her sister Kelly, princess and more recently, Dentist (in which she wears a mini-skirt and has enough hair that her patients would choke). While I personally do NOT believe every girl that has a Barbie-type doll is at risk of disordered eating, I do believe it helps to perpetuate an ideal of materialism, beauty, and being thin as important elements to happiness in one's life. At an age where children are very impressionable and seek to be like the role models around them, it's important to emphasize that they are pretend. If your kids want these dolls (and lots of kids do), they should learn to rely on their imagination in playing with Barbie creatively (we often have her driving a dump truck or fixing the car in our house). In general, children need to be exposed to a variety toys, and provided with well-rounded choices. Most importantly, they need to see in real-life the true role models such as doctors, teachers, women and men in history, artists, writers, and moms and dads.