Bitty Baby for a 7 year old?

[Shawniec]

I thought I would ask you all for advice, and especially if anyone has had a girl of 7 or 8 ask for a Bitty.
My 71/2 year old DD has three American Girl dolls, but this past Christmas she started talking about wanting a Bitty. She even put one on her list to Santa, but we think he didn't have room for her this year because of the model horse stable DD had at the top of her list.
DD is in second grade and most likely would not get the doll before June or August (as an end of school gift or birthday gift), so she would be nearly 8 (and gearing up for third grade) by the time she got the doll.
On the one hand I would love to encourage her interest in such a beautiful baby doll, and on the other hand I am concerned that she would lose interest quickly.
I would appreciate any opinions anyone might have!
Thanks!
Shawn

[Skittl1321]

I would watch how she plays with her dolls. If she still has a desire to play "mom" than the interest will not wane very quickly, but if she normally wants a doll to go on an adventure with her as a "friend" than I think her interest in a baby doll would not be as deep.

[kymmy3]

Rachel asked for the twins last Christmas (she was 8). She does like them. She is 9 now and has also been asking for bitty. She "borrows" Kailey's bitty and carries her around. I often find bitty tucked in beside her......

We might need to purchase a 2nd bitty for our house too.

Side note - When I was 12 the CPK powder puff babies came out. I really wanted one, but had a choice a new 10 speed bike (cool in the 80's) or a CPK baby. I chose the bike - to this day I wish I had the baby..........

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ January 19, 2006 03:32 PM: Message edited by: Kym ]</font>

[kikilives]

A girl in my daughters 3rd grade class just got a Bitty Baby last week and is very excited about it. She's not really into the other dolls yet and had originally wanted a doll called Amazing something or nother. Anyways, my daughter has also started expressing interest in getting a Bitty at some point (after Jess, Josephina, Molly, etc...). So I think it would be fine for that age. I don't hink they make the matching girl sets in the bigger sizes though.

[kikilives]

Hey just wanted to add that the girl I was just talking about turned 9 in December and my daughter turns 9 tomorrow!

[judiaci]

My DD who turns 11 in March was late in getting into Bitty. We got her a Bitty when she was about 7. She "played" with her for about 2 years and now just changes her clothes occasionally. My niece, who turns 16 soon, still liked her Bitty up until about age 14. Bitty has the cutest clothes, and I think that is a big part of the appeal for the older girls rather than playing Mom. I don't regret buying the Bitty. She is so sweet and isn't as expensive as buying a regular 18" AG. We will never sell her or her collection. The nice thing about getting Bitty for an older girl is Bitty doesn't get wrecked. Her head is not scratched at all because an older girl doesn't drag her on the floor the way a toddler might. So, she will be a good doll to save for future generations.

[jenndon]

A friend at church took her daughter to AG Place for her 9th bday and was going to let her pick out any doll she wanted. She picked Bitty! I think she has a hand me down Molly from a friend, and I don't know how much she plays with them, but she likes mothering, so that was her choice (and of course, my friend liked it because it was cheaper, lol).

[monimarine]

DD doesn't have a Bitty, but she has the Twins and at 8 yrs old, she plays with the Twins just as much as the bigger dolls.

[trvnbrn]

HI,

My dd's best friend got a Bitty for her 7th birthday. She was small enough to still get a matching nightgown too. [img]wink.gif[/img] I think it just all depends on the child. My dd NEVER liked baby dolls. She dragged stuffed animals around. She asked for (and received) twin baby dolls for Chrismas when she was 7 1/2. Her baby brother may have been the reason she started liking dolls at that time. She and her 4 1/2 year old brother (at the time) have played with them on & off the whole year since she received them. She just got Kit for Christmas ( at 8 1/2) & seems to be more into the AG historicals now. I do not regret getting her the twins, even though they are played w/ a little less now. They were only $20 from Toy's R' Us & I feel she more than got the $ worth out of them, plus she has precious dolls to keep as part of her childhood.

I say if she really wants one, go for it. They grow up so fast & not many girl's continue loving & asking for dolls. My dd is in third grade & has friends into electronic gizmos, make-up, trendy clothes/music, and yes, even boys. I encourage Hannah to play with dolls, have friends who play with dolls and dress like an 8 year old should (little girl, not a pop diva). So far it's working. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

Bren [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

[nycgal]

I asked for a bitty for my 8th birthday, a year after I bought Felicity. I liked having a baby doll and played with her a lot. I was always the "mother" to my dolls instead of the "best friend".

That being said, I think Pleasant Company didn't limit the age-range of bitty like they do today. The catalogs would say for ages 3+ but they didn't have toddlers modeling toddler clothes with the bitties.

I think if your 7 year old likes playing mommy with baby dolls she'll have interest in bitty for a while to come. [img]smile.gif[/img]