January 30, 2017 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization
No sooner had I written a couple of pieces about the extreme and bizarre steps being taken in the U.K. to further marginalize fathers in the lives of their kids than there comes this that’s the exact opposite. It’s an advertisement for Mattel, maker of Barbie dolls. Mattel took its valuable time and hard-earned money to promote sales of Barbies by showing little girls with their dads. Of course the little girls are all adorable, but the fathers are too in their own ways. All in all, it’s a delightful depiction of what is in fact far closer to the reality of father-child relationships than that drawn by the U.K. organization, Women’s Aid, and the judges there who listen to them.
However anti-father Women’s Aid is, when people see the Mattel ad, they see the unbounded love fathers have for their daughters and the joy and security the kids feel when they’re playing with their dads. Those images, I suspect, do far more to promote, in the popular consciousness, fathers’ rights and the acceptance of men as parents than the anti-dad tribe can do with its hateful notions of fathers as little more than abusers-in-waiting.
Plus, Mattel has lately been highlighting the message to girls that “you can be anything you want to be.” That of course is its own positive message, but it’s important that the company is placing it specifically in the context of the father-daughter relationship. Children need their fathers and the need of a daughter for her father is unique. So Mattel is not only striking a blow for dads; it’s promoting the well-being of kids too.
So give a huge shout out to Mattel for striking its own blow for fathers and the welfare of their children who need and love them. Truly we can’t get enough of what Mattel has given us.
| Donate |
National Parents Organization is a Shared Parenting Organization
National Parents Organization is a non-profit that educates the public, families, educators, and legislators about the importance of shared parenting and how it can reduce conflict in children, parents, and extended families. Along with Shared Parenting we advocate for fair Child Support and Alimony Legislation. Want to get involved? Here’s how:
- Become an official member of the National Parents Organization team.
- Join our Facebook Page.
Together, we can drive home the family, child development, social and national benefits of shared parenting, and fair child support and alimony. Thank you for your activism.
#fathers, #daughters, #Mattel, #Barbie