I was just having this conversation about children with some of my colleagues. I've been teaching for about ten years and I've noticed that children are growing up faster and faster. They become interested in boys (or girls), make up and clothes faster than I ever remember seeing before. It sure is a lot faster than I ever did.
Just the other day I overheard a third grade girl tell another third grade girl that she was too old to play with Barbies. Too old at eight! Eight is when Barbie playing just gets interesting. Eight is when you have enough imagination to take your Barbies on fabulous adventures.
I have to admit that Barbies weren't really my cup of tea. I had a couple that lived in the bottom of my toybox but I lived in a neighborhood of mostly boys. Instead of having Barbie and Midge play dress up, I got to be Princess Leia swinging through the death star. I was the nurse in the Marine Corps who took care of all of the men in battle (and defended my medical post, I might add.) I didn't play much with dolls.
The big exception to the non doll playing took place at my gram's house. She had a very unique treasure that we were able to pull out on special occasions. Hidden in a closet, far out of reach from little fingers, were two of the first Barbies ever made. They had fabulous cat's eye sunglasses with rinestones, and really cute pedal pushers with little matching sweaters. But, the best accessory that these Barbies had was Ken.
Now I'm not sure what my mom did with Ken when she was younger but the poor guy was in pretty bad shape when my sister and I inherited him as a play toy. His arms and legs were all out of socket and were not able to be fixed. Since my gram was trying to keep all of Ken's body parts in one place, she wouldn't allow us to remove him from the Barbie carrying case.
My sister and I still wanted to involve Ken in our Barbie adventures so this meant that we had to be very creative. We decided that Ken was paralyzed from the neck down. He could not move so he was immobilized in a sealed and strapped box for the remainder of his days. How the paralysis occurred would vary depending on our mood and our story. One time, for instance, Ken received his injuries due to a horrific motorcycle accident in which he took the bike down in order to not injure a group of school children crossing the street. Oh brave Ken!
The thing is that quadrapalegic Ken has shaped my life as an adult in unbelievable ways. I have this imagination that will not stop. Sometimes this is a good thing. Sometimes it isn't. Either way, my game playing--whether it be super nurse saving the injured soldiers, or Barbie, visiting injured Ken in his hermitcally sealed habitat--helped me to create my imagination. It helped me to become a unique thinker and an individual.
I feel sorry for these children who are giving up their games at such and early age. Childhood is about creating, discovering, and honing in on your natural gifts. Time for boys and make up will come later. Eight is the time to really discover your mind and to swim in all of the gifts that your imagination offers. We need to help our children realize this and live in the moment, not in the future.
I think tonight, I'm going to call my mom and see if she knows where Quadrapalegic Ken is. It's time that he and I had another visit.
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