I'm not a parent, but when I buy gifts for my younger cousins, I make sure to fight that feedback loop. For example, I gave my eight year old cousin, who until now has received nothing but dolls and stuffed animals from her parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles a model airplane kit and a book about spaceships. It's now eight months later and she is still excited about airplanes and satellites and has been pestering her parents to get her more books on the subject. Me? I feel a teeny bit self-congratulatory and smug, especially since my mother told me "Oh, just get Mary a doll. She hates anything that's not Barbie." ORLY?