Barbie has copped a lot of bad press over the years for being a bad role model for our girls. Not any more.
This time the queen of all things pink is telling girls exactly how it is. And she’s not sorry, not even a bit.
If you have a daughter – or a niece or granddaughter or step-daughter or little sister – please, sit down with her and show her this video. Even if she doesn’t like Barbie. Because Barbie has something important to say that every girl needs to hear.
Sorry, not sorry
These days Barbie is about celebrating strong girls and women doing amazing things. And sitting down in her pink bedroom (because some things will never change), Barbie shares that she has some ideas about the word ‘sorry.’
“I think there’s a bigger issue around ‘sorry’ — especially with girls. We say it a lot. You know, like A LOT. Like it’s a reflex and somehow everything that goes wrong is our fault.” Barbie.
She says we apologise when someone bumps into us, when our meal arrives too cold in a restaurant and even when we’re excited or sad, because we’re afraid of being “too big”.
“I think we’re worried about offending people – and we shouldn’t be. I mean, it’s really important to be kind and thoughtful and polite and to offer a sincere apology if we have done something wrong, but ‘sorry’ is a learned reflex. And every time we do it, we take away from our self confidence,” Barbie says, in her vlog.
Then Barbie does something awesome. She challenges our girls to go a whole day without saying sorry. Take a look at the Barbie sorry video for yourself below.
Switch sorry for thank you
Apologising, even when we’re not in the wrong, is often the go-to emotion or reaction. I know I do it ALL THE TIME because, well, it seems easier. It doesn’t make waves and instead smoothes over the surface of a problem.
Instead of saying sorry, Barbie suggests we say thank you. “If you feel sad, instead of saying sorry, say ‘thank you for understanding my feelings’… If someone bumps into us, say ‘oh, that’s alright’. Then give them a smile,” she says.
“There’s so much more power in saying ‘thank you’ instead of ‘sorry.’ It really changes the dynamic in a way that you can feel when you do it.”
It’s wonderful advice that echoes what experts recommend to parents; encourage your children to feel their feelings without apologising for them. Watching the Barbie sorry video together is an excellent way to open up a discussion around self esteem and the importance of the language we use. Plus, it’s Barbie who is clearly, far more #woke than a parent could ever be.
Need some more advice for parenting a tween? We’ve got you covered with our article about the 13 things to expect when there’s a tween in the house.
