Bag, shoes, and pacifier to match

I don't want kids. Ever. I realized this today while walking through Toys R Us. There is nothing about parenting that I find remotely appealing.

First of all, I'm not comfortable with the false sense of authority that will come with having someone call me "Mom". That's not my name. So why should I train a person to call me that? I could never answer to "Mom", and so, if for some reason I do ever have kids, I will have them call me by my name.

Second, I am not comfortable with the concept of discipline. When I see children acting up and parents swinging them by their arms and leaning in to say something threating about an an inch from their faces, I feel like I shrivel up inside. I think I relate to kids more than parents. I'm not condemning parents for disciplining their children. But I could never do it.

I really believe that most people don't really grasp what an immense responsibility parenting is. It goes so far beyond financial stability... I can't even comprehend it. Every choice you make in this child's life will change who he or she becomes. Which brings me to a very troubling tangent. Do parents realize that half the crap they buy for their kids is absolute garbage?

I was appalled today at Toys R Us to see an entire wall display dedicated to "Bratz" dolls. For those of you who are not familiar with the line, all you really need to know is that they are hideous. All of the "Bratz" dolls share a few characteristics. They have big round heads, "real" hair, disproportionately large eyes, and full lip-glossed lips. "Bratz Babyz" are particularly upsetting. They have the faces of Spearmint Rhino dancers, but with toddler bodies and rattle and bottle accessories, like shown here. Maybe it's wrong of me to think so, but I would never,

EVER give my six year old daughter this doll to play with. I can't even tell what it is--woman? Baby? It's carrying a bottle of milk, but it's also wearing makeup and has painted nails. Does anyone wonder how much this might confuse our daughters? Do we want them to think that their identities are to be as distorted as this? That in order to be feminine they must perpetually be something between child and adult? While I realize that these dolls aren't much different than the Barbie dolls that I grew up with (which also wore a lot of makeup and were out of proportion), I feel like Bratz dolls are setting porn star standards for little girls to live up to. Girls should not believe that they must dress this seductively in order to get attention or to be considered beautiful. Especially when they're a year old, like the age this doll is supposed to represent.

And while this takes a backseat to the real issue, I do need to point out that on top of everything, "Bratz Babyz" really are promoting bad spelling.