Renfrew Center Expert Says Toys Aimed At Young Girls Can Damage Self-Esteem

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PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 31, 1997 -- Are parents buying toys that are detrimental to their daughters' self esteem? An expert at the Renfrew Center says "yes."

From an electronic phone game where the object is to find the perfect boyfriend, to accessory toys in which the winner succeeds by putting on the most makeup or jewelry in the fastest time, if the child is not the prettiest or the most perfect, she does not win the game.

"The message that kids are getting at an early age from these toys is that this is what women and girls do best," says Adrienne Ressler, M.S., C.S.W., body image specialist for The Renfrew Center, nationally known as the country's first residential facility for adolescents and adult women with eating disorders. "Shopping for clothes, applying makeup and jewelry, or dating to meet a husband is often the object of the toy or game. This type of activity, combined with cultural messages about beauty that we receive from magazines and television, that can promote thinking that sets the stage for addictions or patterns of disordered eating."

In a survey conducted by The Renfrew Center, clinicians found that 90 percent of the toys and dolls surveyed for girls ages two to 10 years emphasize beauty, shopping, and dating.

In one shopping mall game surveyed, the stores include a beauty salon, a bridal shop, a store with glamorous gowns and one for pretty ballerinas. In another game, the object is for the girls to buy the most items in the shortest amount of time.

"But where are the book stores or museum shops in these shopping mall games?" asks Ressler. "Less emphasis on beauty or dating doesn't mean that the only other options are educational and therefore less fun. Choices can be made for young girls that are less focused on the prescribed or assumed behavior of women in American society," she says.

The Renfrew Center survey also found some toys that do not stereotype women, such as a school bus with all shapes, sizes and colors of little people, including one child in a wheelchair. There were also dolls and doll houses for all different types of families and those representing periods in American or world history. Even the most popular dolls are now representative of different races and professions.

Ressler stresses that although social interactions and fantasy are important for growing children, it doesn't have to be all or nothing when it comes to the toys that young girls play with.

According to Ressler, one of the most important things a parent can do is to assess their child's natural tendencies and then provide the opportunity for her to maximize her natural talents and inclinations.

Ressler offers the following tips for parents:

• Don't be manipulated by what your children want or by the advertising.

• Be selective, but don't censor your daughter's toys. Toys are a part of the fantasy that's natural in playtime.

• Be a smart consumer and don't impulse buy.

• Think about the purpose of the toy. Will it stimulate creativity, imagination, reading or language skills?

• Talk to your daughter about her toys and what she likes about them.

The Renfrew Center survey of toys was conducted as part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Feb. 3 to 9). Renfrew experts are available to discuss girls' self esteem issues.

CONTACT: Steve Brown or Leah Smith of The Renfrew Center, 610-660-9280