Outside the Barbie Box 

One of the more unanticipated experiences I had this past year: participating in a Barbie think tank. Unanticipatedly moving, unexpectedly bonding, and unquestionably fulfilling.

The Barbie Global Advisory Council is not really a think tank. It’s a collection of 10 people, each dedicated to the health/wellness/happiness of children in unique ways. The group includes athletes, content creators, researchers and educators – an awesome collection to be part of and a group that really made me think.

For many years, I have worked with Mattel, the company behind Barbie since her creation 60 years ago, albeit indirectly. You see, Mattel is the parent company of American Girl. And American Girl publishes my Care and Keeping and Guy Stuff titles. But it is only as a member of the Council that I have been privy to Mattel’s deep thinking around youth empowerment through play.

In May, the Council held a day-long retreat, diving into a wide range of topics, all of which trace back to the power of play and its impact upon development. In September, I was part of the launch of Creatable World, the first mass-market gender-free dolls. I had actually been brought into the process of creating the Creatable World a couple of years ago, but this fall Mattel – and the world at large – celebrated the launch of this new category of doll. A couple of weeks later came the Dream Gap campaign, designed to identify and solve the barrier of diminishing self-confidence, a hurdle faced by so many girls and one that can directly limit their future potential. Simultaneously, a new career doll hit stores – Barbie judge doll – reinforcing the company’s commitment to messaging girls that they can be anything they want to be.

Now that the holidays are upon us, Barbie is adding one more bonus to my Council experience: three Holiday Barbies for me to give away to three kids. I have never done a gift give-away, but this year I am all in! Having been part of the Mattel family for a long time now, but sitting in a particularly special seat this year, there seems no better way to celebrate the holidays than to share the Barbie empowerment-through-play message everywhere I can. And so I have decided to donate one of the dolls to a local hospital (I am, after all, a pediatrician at heart); one to a local shelter (because all kids deserve access to new, coveted toys), and one to a reader. Want to enter the give-away? Send me an email with a great parenting pearl or a story that will crack me up or a question that you cannot get answered to your satisfaction. All emails received by Dec 15 will be entered. I can’t wait to post the winning content and share a Holiday Barbie with you.