Survey: Moms Want More Wholesome, Family-Friendly Dolls for Young Girls
by Mary Rettig
September 27, 2006
(AgapePress) - - As the Christmas season approaches, many mothers of young girls are considering the kinds of dolls they want to get for their daughters, and one global market research firm is asking for these moms' input. Jim Forrest, Vice President of Consumer and Business Insights for Synovate, says his company was commissioned by American Greetings to conduct a survey on mothers' opinions about role models, celebrities, and toys geared for young girls. He says what moms revealed was that the most important attribute they wanted to see in any doll or toy "was that it would be a positive or a good role model or that it was wholesome or promote a close family."
Although 75 percent of moms said their daughter's request for a doll was one of the most important factors influencing their purchasing decisions, one frequently expressed sentiment transcended all segments of the survey group. Universally, Forrest explains, mothers revealed that they wished the dolls available "were more wholesome or not so sexualized in the marketplace."
The moms surveyed said they really feel many of the female role models young girls are exposed to "are inappropriate because they're too provocative or they're over-sexualized," the marketing researcher says. Some 85 percent of the women said they were tired of this problem of over-sexualized dolls and that it affected their purchasing decisions.
Forrest says the research clearly shows that mothers are not happy with the dolls and other toys being marketed to their young daughters. He says many women told Synovate surveyors that the toys and role models offered to young girls today need to be more age-appropriate and more wholesome as well as conducive to the promotion of close family relationships.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
