For many parents, Christmas is all about buying the latest hot toy–from dolls you breastfeed to bite-sized luxury vehicles for your man-child to stunt in. As one of the biggest one-stop-shop retailers for many of those parents turned hunters, Wal-Mart conducted an interesting survey of African American and Hispanic parents.
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These parents were asked everything from giving gifts whether their child was naughty or nice, waiting for Christmas Day to open gifts and buying toys that look like their children. I remember when I was little and all that was on my Christmas list were various dolls–Barbie, Trolls, Polly Pockets, Cabbage Patch Kids and more. All I know is that I wanted those dolls to look like me. I needed their skin tone to be at the very least caramel, latte, brown paper bag or something similar. I wasn’t fond of the White dolls and my mom happily obliged my heavy-on-the-melanin requests.
It seems to be a common theme amongst kids, even today. What’s sad is that most toy retailers don’t even offer the option of minority toys. Many parents result to looking online for solutions.
Here are some of the most interesting facts from the survey:
Toys Like Us: African American parents wish there were more culturally relevant toys to give to their children. In fact, African American parents agreed the most (77 percent) with the desire for more toys that are representative of their family’s race, ethnicity and/or culture.
Kids Rule the Holiday Season: Kids are the top priority when it comes to parents’ gift giving with 88 percent of African American parents agreeing that, in their families, it is more important that they buy toys for kids versus buying gifts for the adults.
They’re Making Their Lists!: African American parents’ toy shopping lists are likely to also include board games, dolls and building toys.
But Do Parents Care Who’s Naughty or Nice?: Over 40 percent (43 percent) of African American parents buy the same amount of toys regardless of how their child has behaved over the year.
Check out this infographic below:
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