You can never accuse Barbie of being behind on the zeitgeist. Her latest evolution isn’t a new career move or style choice, but rather, a line of dolls who are taking a minute to step away from it all and practice self-care. I’ve got to say, Wellness Barbie could go a long way to making kids and their parents a little bit happier.
“The Barbie brand is at its best when it connects to culture, and we saw this trend happening and wanted to make sure girls learned how to take care of themselves and bring it to them in a fun way through play,” Mattel designer Chandra Hicks said at an event celebrating the launch of Wellness Barbie on Thursday morning. This is hot on the heels of the announcement that they’ve adding a doll with vitiligo to their Fashionistas line.
The collection includes Barbie Spa Doll, who’s wrapped in a towel, and comes with accessories like a neck pillow, eye mask and bath bombs. The Fizzy Bath Doll (with white and Black options) has her own luxurious bathtub. Red-headed Barbie Fitness her own yoga mat, weights and hoop. Relaxation Barbie has a pillow, chocolate, and her laptop and phone. But most revolutionary of all are the two Breathe With Me Barbies (Black and white), who not only come sitting in the perfect lotus, but are also loaded with five built-in meditation exercises for kids. (All seven of these Barbies come with their own puppy, because, we suppose, pets are self-care too.)
“[Breathe With Me] was really important to me because I use meditation at home with my 1- and 3-year-old sons, and I’ve seen such a benefit with them,” said Hicks, who designed the Breathe With Me dolls.
Not only did Mattel work with meditation experts to plan the short exercises (breathing, saying “om,” self-affirmation, turning feelings into clouds), they’re also taking her lessons online to Barbie’s YouTube and to Headspace, where Barbie has “curated” some special guided meditations for kids.
This is a nice break from the Barbie who taught me that I could (or should) simultaneously have every career in the world, raise a family, and wear stilettos all day long. Maybe we can still do all those things, but the chances are greater when we do take a time to pause and take care of ourselves.
For any parents who want to teach their children the value of mindfulness meditation without going the Barbie route, don’t miss this list of meditation apps for kids.
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