My daughter recently celebrated her 4th birthday and I (err…I mean she) has had a blast playing with all the cool new toys (most of which aren't in the Epinions database - sigh…). Imagine my delight when I found out that my personal favorite, Awesome Skateboard Stacie, from her vast pile of birthday loot was actually a reviewable item!

A Little Background on Dr_Steph's "Barbie Conflict"

When my precious daughter was first born, I decided that I would do everything in my power to protect her from the evils of the outside world. One of those evils, I feel, is the rampant unrealistic and dangerous expectations about the ideal female body size propagated by our society. Although the source of these harmful expectations are complex and varied, I do think that the ever-popular Barbie doll plays a significant roll, however camouflaged it may be.

Naturally, I swore my daughter would never own a Barbie and naturally it became her undying obsession to own one. I eventually crumpled under the pressure and bought my daughter her first and only Barbie about 4 months ago. Since then she has begged for Barbie sticker books, a Barbie cake, and Barbie wrapping paper - all of which she eventually received. So much for my firm standards…

My new goal has been to find acceptable and appealing Barbie alternatives that my daughter can enjoy without buying into the assumption that the typical female is shaped like Barbie.

Then Awesome Stacie Skated into My Life

Several months ago I was stocking up on diapers at Toys-R-Us and ran across a Stacie doll on sale. Never one to pass up a deal, I bought the doll without even paying attention to what the toy was about. I just hoped it would satisfy that endless Barbie craving that my daughter seems to have. Stacie is supposedly Barbie's little sister so I figured she should make a reasonable substitute.

I'm not sure what age Stacie is supposed to be, but I'm guessing around 9 or 10. She has a cute preadolescent face that vaguely resembles Barbie's except that it seems more wholesome and innocent (to me, at least). Her long, silky blond hair is neatly separated into pig tails, each of which is further divided into two braids. This is where the resemblance to Barbie ends.

Stacie actually has a relatively normal (though slim) body type. Her body proportions are much more realistic than Barbie's. She is practically flat-chested (with just the hint of things to come) and has slim, narrow hips typical of a prepubescent girl.

Another improvement over the run-of-the-mill Barbie doll are Stacie's movable joints and limbs. She can bend at the elbows, knees, ankles and waist as well as rotate at the waist, turning side to side. Her arms rotate at the shoulder and her legs rotate at the hip. This maneuverability makes Stacie much more fun to actually play with than Barbie and enables her to do tricks on her skateboard (described below).

Stacie comes dressed in practical clothes appropriate to an active, sports focus. She has purple nylon pants and a blue and green short-sleeve shirt - both of which are fastened in the back with velcro. By the way, Stacie can actually be put into a sitting position without automatically splitting open the velcro fastener in the rear - not true with our exhibitionist Barbie. Stacie also comes with blue nylon cap (sewed in a sideways position to her head) and white tennis shoes that are permanently attached to her feet. You could probably unattach the hat to her head, but since it doesn't seem to bother my daughter (yet) we are planning to just leave it alone. Easier to keep track of that way.

Since she is a skateboarder, Stacie comes fully equipped with some important safety gear. First of all, she has a pink helmet that easily fastens and adjusts to Stacie's head. She also has a set of pink elbow pads (which are too loose and fall off frequently) and two pink knee pads. She also comes with a large pink skateboard with bright green wheels. Finally, Stacie comes with a light blue, semi-transparent purse with a shoulder strap. The purse immediately sank to the bottom of our toy box since my daughter couldn't find much of a use for it with this on-the-go doll.

So Is Stacie Just Another Pretty Face or Does She Actually DO Something?

Actually, she DOES do something. Stacie really rides the skateboard! There are small pegs on the top of the board that fit into holes on the bottom of her shoes. Depending on the position she stands on the skateboard, she can go straight, pop a wheelie, skate in a circle, or a combination of the three. You can even get her to "push" the skateboard with one foot by putting her right foot on a rotating side pin. Once she is in position, you just drag the skateboard backwards on the ground to wind it up and then let go. She zooms all over the place, rarely losing her balance (though occasionally crashing into table legs and such - OUCH!).

Skateboarding With Stacie At Dr_Steph's House

My kids were all attracted to this toy immediately, but for different reasons. My daughter was thrilled to have Barbie's little sister. "Oh, she's so pretty! Look, her helmet is pink - just like mine!" She designated Stacie as the babysitter for all the little dolls that she got with another toy set.

My youngest son (age 2) was fascinated with her helmet and pads. He took them off at every opportunity and then tried to put them back on - not very successfully. Though children my daughter's age can manage these items, I wouldn't recommend this toy for kids under three. The small parts alone could be a choking hazard.

My oldest son (almost 6) immediately went for the skateboard. By just messing around, he figured out how to do wheelies and circles. Then when I showed him how to attach Stacie, he had her crashing into walls and riding up and down killer ramps. Finally my daughter got a bit concerned that her new toy would be trashed so she put a halt to the crash tests.

Though she has been a little hesitant about using Stacie on her skateboard, she will play with her that way if she gets a little help from me or her brother. I think with time her confidence will improve and she'll be able to put Stacie on the board by herself. The look on her face when she sees Stacie popping wheelies is priceless! "Mommy, can I ride a skateboard, too?" Uh oh…guess I should have seen that one coming. Maybe next year…

The one odd thing about Stacie that takes some getting used to is her loose hip joint on the right. At first I thought she was either broken or had hip dysplasia. Then I realized that she needed that loose hip so she could have her leg rotate up and down when she "pushes" the skateboard. Unfortunately, because of this weird hip, the only place that Stacie can stand without falling is on her skateboard. How ironic, considering I can't stand on a skateboard without falling!

Dr_Steph's Recommendation

I'm very pleased with Awesome Skateboard Stacie for a number of reasons. She portrays a much healthier and more realistic body image than Barbie, she shows that girls can be involved in athletic pursuits and still be cool, and she rides a mean skateboard! She also has two skateboarding girlfriends, Whitney and Janet. We don't have them yet but something tells me Santa will be bringing these down the chimney in a couple of months.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 8.99
Type of Toy: Action Figure
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years