{"id":6504,"date":"2026-08-07T08:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T08:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6504"},"modified":"2026-08-07T08:36:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T08:36:34","slug":"miss-manners-is-the-parents-barbie-ban-appropriate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6504","title":{"rendered":"Miss Manners: Is the parent’s Barbie ban appropriate?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DEAR MISS MANNERS<\/strong>: Is it proper to send out children\u2019s birthday party invitations with requests not<\/em> to buy certain gifts? I received an invitation that stated, \u201cNo Barbies, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Dear Abby: Do I dare raise the subject of my boyfriend\u2019s showering?<\/a><\/p>\n

I would not have bought one anyway, as I would have assumed a 6- or 7-year-old girl would have some already. What are your thoughts on this?<\/p>\n

GENTLE READER:<\/strong> Solicitations, recommendations or restrictions for presents should never be stated explicitly, and certainly not in invitations. Friends and relatives can be put to use, however, making suggestions when asked.<\/p>\n

If this host had an aversion to the doll, she could have spread the word to her intimates, who would then galvanize to tell the other guests. But it does make Miss Manners wonder what happened to inspire the rule, and what could be said to convey it.<\/p>\n

She imagines something like, \u201cI guess Kennedy has thousands of them, and she keeps dismembering them and leaving the parts in unexpected places. Her mom is at her wits\u2019 end.\u201d<\/p>\n

DEAR MISS MANNERS:<\/strong> Our family is fortunate to have a beach house. The last couple years, we have allowed our boys, now ages 15 and 13, to invite friends for a week to 10 days.<\/p>\n

The first year, we didn\u2019t expect or ask for money to cover any of the friends\u2019 expenses. In one case, the family sent the child with no spending money whatsoever. We covered all of his meals, drinks and entertainment.<\/p>\n

That friend ate us out of house and home. He ordered the most expensive dinner on a menu \u2014 which we allowed once, then nixed his future expensive orders. He ordered appetizers before his dinner at restaurants, and had total disregard for sharing the food at the house. He would eat it all if we didn\u2019t monitor or stop him.<\/p>\n

Read more DA brings new attempted murder charges against man accused of library shooting<\/a><\/p>\n

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This child has been friends with my son since kindergarten, so obviously he feels very comfortable being one of the family. However, he made me incredibly frustrated with his attitude of entitlement.<\/p>\n

Upon returning home, I mentioned his impressive eating habits to his mother; she blushed and agreed that he eats a lot.<\/p>\n

GENTLE READER:<\/strong> If your hospitality is to continue, Miss Manners suggests you set some rules \u2014 for both the parents and the children.<\/p>\n

When you issue the invitation, tell the parents, \u201cWe would love to have Spencer join us for the week, but he will need some spending money. You may also want to send him with the snacks he prefers, since we may not have enough supplies on hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Once on vacation, tell Spencer the rule that if he is to act like one of the family, with all the advantages that entails, he must also take on the responsibilities. Treat him as you would your own children: expecting him to help with clean-up, limiting expensive treats, adhering to family rules and curfews, etc.<\/p>\n

You will be doing the boy a favor, and his parents as well. Surely, even with contributing to vacation expenses, it will be less expensive than having him home \u2014 and bored \u2014 for a week.<\/p>\n

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more San Jose police auditor suddenly placed on administrative leave<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plus: Our teen’s friend didn’t bring any money and ate like you wouldn’t believe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nMiss Manners: Is the parent’s Barbie ban appropriate? - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6504\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Miss Manners: Is the parent’s Barbie ban appropriate? - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Plus: Our teen's friend didn't bring any money and ate like you wouldn't believe.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6504\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T08:36:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6504#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6504\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Miss Manners: Is the parent’s Barbie ban appropriate?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-07T08:36:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6504\"},\"wordCount\":592,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6504#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/afa6305b0bc2ad18ff319793b8dcff0b.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Advice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6504#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6504\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6504\",\"name\":\"Miss Manners: Is the parent’s Barbie ban appropriate? 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