Green Treehouse

A friend asked me the other day, “so, is your preschooler into Barbie, yet?”  My gut reaction:  what on Earth do you mean by yet?  Yet assumes living in a Barbie World (thanks, Aqua) is inevitable.  First off, I don’t think the Barbie phase is inevitable.  But, back to the question.  The answer is yes.  My preschooler has just started to show interest in Barbie.

I realize the word “Barbie” alone can stir up the liveliest of debates among parents, especially moms.  Some draw the line at Barbie.  Others say, “what’s the harm?”  Still others lie somewhere in between–”maybe one or two dolls, but forget the dream house and hundreds of accessories.” 

As much as I’d like my preschooler to remain interested in her natural and simple wood Ryan’s Room dollhouse and miniature Waldorf-inspired wood people,  I can’t deny that she’s losing interest in favor of Barbie and the KidKraft line of dollhouses (which by the way, are quite dreamy) that accommodate Barbie (and like sized) dolls.  Oh, in case you’re wondering, she doesn’t watch much t.v.–and when she does, it’s commercial free.

Please help me out here.  What’s the going age for Barbie?  When does life in plastic begin?  When does it end?