As a boy, I played with all sorts of cool toys. Transformers, G.I. Joe’s, WWF wrestlers, and of course, Tonka trucks. I never had a sister, so thankfully I was spared from having to play My Little Pony or have a tea party with her. I can only imagine how different my life would be if I had to endure such things. With that being said though, if you’re lucky enough to have a little girl in your life, I’m sure you have a few Barbie dolls kicking around. Well, be prepared to hear a lot of nagging going on, since the latest Barbie to hit the shelves is a video camera, and your daughters are going to eat it up like candy.

I have to admit that Video Girl Barbie is pretty cool. Her necklace is a camera, and underneath her hoodie is an LCD screen. Now your girls can shoot movies from Barbie’s point of view, and thanks to the wonders of modern technology, upload them to a PC (sorry Mac owners), and edit them to their liking. She comes complete with the video editing software, and even a pink USB cable that plugs her right into the digital age.

This leads me to wonder just what it is taking these days to keep kids interested in toys. I mean, do they have to play music, shoot video, or have some kind of other interactiveness for them to stay interested? What happened to the days of building blocks and coloring books? Sure those things still have their place, but it seems more and more toys these days are catering to the OCD crowd. Not to says all kids have OCD. Oh who are we kidding – of course they do. They’re kids, for crying out loud.

Still, Video Girl Barbie does have her place as a learning tool. Think of it this way: by the time your daughter grows up and makes it to the real world, probably everything she touches is going to be computerized. Starting her early by playing with a doll that connects to a computer and lets her edit video using the most basic of software is going to give her a head start when it comes to figuring out the tools she is most likely going to need later on in life to be successful. Yeah, I never thought I’d say that either.

Scoff all you want at this new Barbie doll, and make fun of me for praising it if you must, but as soon as they come out with a Bret “Hitman” Hart doll that has a camera in it, my son will be first in line to get one. Now, I just have to get working on having a son.

I’ll be right back.

(Note: It took everything in my power to not make fun of the girl in the video below for looking like a Barbie doll herself. See how good I can be?)

(Image via shoppingblog)