But I Wanted Miko
When it comes to toys and dolls,
I have never understood why kids should have dolls that look
like them.
When I was a kid I wanted Miko, the Asian Pacific Barbie doll. I loved
her long black hair and tropical outfits. I don’t know why I never
got her. Maybe I never asked for her because I thought I shouldn’t
or my mom was uncomfortable about getting me an ethnic Barbie doll.
Whatever the reason, my opinion is even stronger now that I have a bi-racial child. I feel like no one in my family looks alike, so if she wants a blonde doll to be her sister, so be it.
But, I do find it very thoughtful of my friends and family who have gone above and beyond to find dolls, including
- My mom buying the entire Fisher Price little people collection of families so that my daughter could have a white mom and black dad. We have the little people United Nations in our house.
- A shower gift from my husband’s cousin of bi-racial Real Kidz dolls.
- A shower gift of lots of little clips and pony tail holders to use in African American hair.
Even though I don’t think Lili should only have bi-racial dolls to play with, I do think companies who make things celebrating multi-racial families are great and I do want Lili to have some toys that do resemble her and will help her with her self-image. So here are a few sites I like:
www.swirlsyndicate.com Comical tees for multi-racial kids.
www.dollslikeme.com Their collection is impressive. I
never knew there were so many items like this out there.
www.simpleasthat.com This is more than a shopping site.
A great resource for all kinds of articles on multi-racial families.
Even if you are not in an interracial relationship, these sites are interesting to check out to help teach kids about diversity.