One of the biggest controversies about Barbie dolls is that many believe that it can give the wrong impression to girls about how the body of a woman should. In fact, many believe that just the simple fact of giving a doll to a child can start them on the road to eating disorders and image problems.

I, for one, do not believe in this line of thinking. To me, it isn't about what you give your child, but how you teach them to respond to it. I will be the first to admit that I have a daughter who is a princess loving girly-girl and she loves Barbie dolls, their clothes, and everything about them.

When talking to her about the dolls, it isn't the way that their body looks that stands out to her. It's the different colors her clothes and, most importantly to her, the different accessories that they come with. The fact is, she hardly even cares about what the doll looks like: it's figure, skin color, and hair don't even matter to her.

When it comes down to it, I think that Barbie can actually be a good influence. With all the different varieties of the dolls, you can use them to introduce a variety topics to talk to your child about. You can use the Barbies of the world to introduce conversations about the different countries and cultures. While Barbie may not always be exactly accurate in their portrayal of the cultures it can at least serve as a gateway.