There you go, stating my same thoughts again. I totally agree, and have the same conflict. I haaaate Dora, pretty much anything Sesame (Elmo especially), but I love anyone from Busy Town, and I tolerate those from other books, like Spot. I think it's a book v. TV thing.

I think you hit it right with that list. I know for me it's nostalgia with Animal, Beaker, Bert and Ernie. On my computer at home I have a 3" Gumby I can't seem to part with. There are no designs I can think of that I hate- only ones I don't connect with.

Maybe they need to have different categories: licensed and then new designs under a year or two. That way both are recognized and appreciated.
There will always be a group of people who appreciate the uniqueness of the great artists on sites like Etsy and those who value the mass appeal (and big business) of a licensed design. We work hard at having unique designs in our own business. Different is good. :o)

Hahaha i think i tend to buy things that "I" prefer my child to have as well. But let's not forget, it's your kid that plays with them so they should have say, no? It shouldn't be what YOU want them to play. i mean let's be honest, if we could have our way all the toys would be wooden and european. however it's not what the kids want.

Weird we're exact opposites. I'd have a Grover any day, but pass on Elmo.

Thanks for this great post. I like how you mix up data and your own personal experience and ideas on parenting.

When I saw Charlie and Lola and disdain in the title of this post, I almost cried. My husband and I totally avoid licensed characters but stumbled upon Charlie and Lola through books, only to realize that Disney bought them-but they are too cute to give up on now and both my kids love them!

What you said. Exactly.

Shaun the Sheep (and his friends of the bleating and non-bleating variety) are on the "approved" list for us as well as.

I feel especially aggrieved when trying to buy content for alleged "learning" toys that have no value other than to promote a T.V. show or movie.

Also the new version of "Another Monster at the End of The Book" is an abomination - SPOILER ALERT - only Grover should ever be the monster at the end of the book.

Yo Gabba Gabba is okay by us too. Who doesn't love a little extra Toodee in their life?

I'm actually really ok with the Sesame street gang. For me its less about marketing (though I hate the consumerism my 3 year old drips from his mouth - and we don't watch commercials! - all his screen time is netflixed) and more about what the toy represents. If they are "educational" in nature as opposed to lame, banal, or just bad entertainment which is really for older kids but little kids watch (90% of Nickelodeon) I'm ok with it. So there is a lot of book origination overlap but just as many PBS characters.

But ANGRY BIRDS - yes it is a phenom. Every kid at my son's preschool is obsessed with their Dad's iphone or their ipad (I can't believe how many of these kids have their own ipad!!) and playing angry birds on it. My son was only allowed to ask for one thing for Christmas and he asked for the "black angry bird that explodes".
and he got it.
Because my mom got me a pair of skids in the 80s even though they were totally stupid and I'm embarrassed by them now...

I did not know there were Charlie and Lola toys! My three year old loves those books.

At six months, she received a little Elmo doll in a box of hand me down toys. Although she had never seen a single episode of Sesame Street, damn if her little eyes didn't light right up when she saw him. And then of course Grandpa had to go buy a talking Elmo, which was really creepy, because he would start laughing if we so much as walked past the toybox.

The worst is when the opposite occurs: licensed characters made into books. These always have way too many words, the plot is forced, and generally, they just don't have the flow and charm of other books. I usually end up paraphrasing. Luckily, my little guy isn't old enough to know the difference yet!

We've avoided most of the usual suspects--unusual, since Grandma buys most of the toys. Those we do have (like one of the Cars cars, and Toy Story bandaids) are known by my kids only as things (like cowboy and spaceman). However, I personally cannot pass up licensed tees and undies with superheros on them for my boys. Again, I think it's the nostalgia factor, and the fact that I myself would LOVE to have superhero tees and undies.

Veggie Tales and Star Wars!

I wonder if it has something to do with how much of a licensed character you see. Elmo is everywhere, as is Dora, Sponge Bob, Winnie the Pooh. When those are the choices most of the time it can get really tiring.
I've never seen Lowly Worm on anything though. I think I would be tempted to get something with him because he's cute and I never see him!

In principle, we are saying no to licensed toys, clothing, food etc. - at least until she can comprehend the purpose/methodology of advertisements.

In practice, it is almost impossible to totally avoid licensed characters - especially Sesame Street. Earth's Best has Sesame Street characters on lots of things my daughter loves. She also has an Oscar the Grouch doll (she likes the eyebrows). Fortunately, I find Sesame Street the least offensive, even if I only like Elmo satirically (e.g. "Gitmo" on Jon Stewart). Shaun the sheep would also be on my approved list.

I loathe Thomas the Train and Dora....

i'm cool with grover & all of the pre-elmo sesame dolls. i love hello kitty & miffy & charlie and lola, and pooh and yo gabba gabba. but i LOATHE dora & diego and spongebob and barbie and slutty dolls and little pet shop and

I think the core tension re: licensed characters is whether the parent feels like the company that owns the character respects the parent, and the parent's role as arbiter/protector/authority/gatekeeper in the child's life. If the parent feels that the marketer is speaking or appealing to them as a parent, and respecting the parent's role as a gatekeeper, then it's OK. If the parent feels that the marketer is constantly "going around" him (or her), there's a perceived lack of respect for the parent's role (i.e. "we can get to your kid whether you like it or not") that provokes visceral aversion.

A non-licensed toy that my 2 year old twins ADORE is their Huggalo doll. It is a doll with a soft photo frame where we put a picture of grandma. The Huggalo reminds me of a hip twist on the soft plush dolls of the past!

We've managed to keep most of the licensing at bay, but my son watched "Toy Story" at age 2 1/2 and became obsessed with the character he referred to as "Woody Guthrie." We decided it was worth it to betray our anti-licensed product values if it meant having our child tell people he was wearing Woody Guthrie training pants.

i was a toy snob.... until my precious boy fell in love with spongebob (has there ever been an uglier character??) but his obsession was so sweet natured that i couldn't help but get him a couple of toys. his favorite thing ever, though, that he played with for a year? a spongebob gogurt box from costco. imagine me having to keep that around the house :)

As a grandmother of 7 soon to be 8 grandkids, I try to fall somewhere in the middle with my buying. I like wooden toys that seem to cost big bucks. I do buy Elmo for one of the kids. Elmo is everything to this child. Charlie and Lola are favorites of mine. I spend part of the summer in Scotland and stock up on gifts of Charlie and Lola books and toys. Disney as such is not our style. I have Grover from the 70's tucked away. Old 70& 80's Fischer Price are played with every visit.

I'm no fan of commercialized junk from tv--Spongebob--ick! At one time my son was truly in love with Sesame Street and still does sleep with his character dolls. Some of the characters of today will someday be nostalgia to our children. Remember that before we snub their beloved characters. I think it's important to let them figure out what they like, of course, much of it is what is presented to them. I have been repeatedly impressed with my son's good taste overall.

I think that a lot of parents need to get over themselves. Of course we hate the licensed characters of today. This is a testament to maturity. Cartoons are annoying. But they were awesome when we were kids. "Those were the days." Where have we heard that before? I want to be the trendy, "that is so obscure" parent, and in some cases, I am. But I also will indulge my kids in their favorite cartoon characters, because licensed goods are not a new thing, and I want my kids to grow up with a fondness for their favorites, as I did mine. You want your kids to grow up and make their own decisions? Let them start now. Even if Elmo and Dora are the most annoying things, this side of the hemisphere, kids are learning from it (even if it's mildly), and their developing their own personal taste. I expose my kids to everything, and their love of their favorites is ever evolving. One week it might be Jem, another week it's Transformers. And yet another week, all they want to watch is Fresh Beat Band or "Max and Roovy" (as my daughter calls it). If it makes them happy, who cares? I remember having everything Strawberry Shortcake when I was a kid. Is it really that different? I'm guessing no, because we all have rose colored glasses.

We've tried steering our children clear of licensed anything, and for the most part succeeded. But our son loves--LOVES--Elmo and Thomas The Train. But especially Elmo. He holds a spot near and dear in his heart, so how can I say no? Ha! He's got his little tattered Elmo plush he takes everywhere and does everything with--even "breastfeeding" him next to me while I nurse his baby sister. And I have to admit I love how he loves on his Elmo. So we've learned to give in a little. I have to agree with Upstategirl in that we have to let them figure it out too. We guide our children, but it's ultimately them who can make the decision.

We limit licensed characters. Not to say we don't have some around the house, but there are very few. Also have a limit on number of stuffed animals per child. The biggest deal is birthday parties must be a theme of some sort - NO licensed characters. We've been doing this for 10 years.

Before I gave birth, I was a total snob about licensed characters and was certain they would never make their way into my home. But my son inevitably came across Elmo and it made him so happy, so excited! His grandparents gave unsolicited gifts that made his day.
And that is how I let go of my licensed-character snobbery. (I've even embraced it a bit, like for the Muppets poster I saw on sale and couldn't resist)

I'm a Muppet nut. I love anything Muppets (including Sesame Street)...but I have the same reaction, the popularity of Elmo annoys me, but I LOVE Grover. I think it is a childhood nostalgia thing. When I as a kid, Grover was #1 Sesame Street monster. I have no idea when Elmo came along and got so popular. I think he'd annoy me less if they were equally popular. I actually don't mind watching Elmo on the show, and I actually read the puppeteer's autobiography about being the man behind the Muppet, which makes it harder for me to hate the character, knowing the behind the scenes. I think it's all the merchandise that annoys me.

I feel the same way and it turns out that it really isn't that hard. Our kids (2,4) are tv-free so they only have vague ideas about "who" the characters are. We buy nothing licensed and anything that is gifted is quietly passed on. There is ALWAYS a non-licensed option if you look around. Even if I was willing to allow my kids to advertise merchandise, licensed junk is usually just that.

we resist any images on clothing, whether they be from media or not, since they detract from the look of the garment and make statements we don't necessarily want to promote.

Not to be a devil's advocate.. but don't you find it ironic that we are okay with the licensed characters of our past.. but not with the ones currently available to our kids? (Granted marketing now to children is much more substantial than it was 30 years ago). I am in the same camp as most of you, we also tried to prevent any of these characters to enter our household, but after a few months we realized it was futile. Instead, I explained to my 4 year old why I didn't like these characters, I did my best to explain the problem of marketing to kids message at an appropriate preschool level. It is not realistic to think we can shelter our kids from all marketing, instead I think we need to give them the skills & tools to deal with it.

I completely agree with you, Carrie! I've had some similar experiences to your Dora-Candyland one. I have young boys and I am totally a toy-snob. My boys just respond better to the more simple toys that don't make noise/are not character-driven. They SO love their wooden trains (non-Thomas, mind you) and duplos. My older son was recently invited to his first birthday party for a little girl and I found myself completely flustered at the toy store. That "pink aisle" totally terrifies me because it just so blatantly screams of marketing ploys. Is it just me or is it worse for little girls? (I suppose that's a different discussion...)

I don't love licensed characters, though I also don't dress my kids in shirts that say GAP on them. I have a general distaste for Disney so I think that taints a lot of my views on the licensed items.
I do buy my boys (all 4 of them) batman, superman... and the like.

I won't buy licensed games, there are always other options. We have candyland, our 8 yr old will still play it but if it had the diego on it that he wanted when we got it I'm fairly certain he wouldn't.
I've also told other parents that have asked about gift ideas for bdays that games are good but the general ones, nothing licensed.