You can view the ABC News story here, but in general, the child wears a halter top with little flower petals over her breasts that trigger the sucking action in the doll.
Public reaction to this doll has ranged from praise for making breastfeeding more acceptable, to accusing the manufacturers of being pedophiles and perverts. An example of this mixed reaction can be seen here in this clip of The Talk:
It's Feedback Friday...
What is your first reaction to the breastfeeding baby doll?
Does your feeling change when you see it in action?
Do you think this toy would be beneficial to children or confusing?
Does your feeling change when you see it in action?
Do you think this toy would be beneficial to children or confusing?
.
A few years ago I was at the library with my kids for a children's reading program. My oldest had her baby doll with her. The mom next to me asked her why she had her doll stuck up her shirt (I had not noticed at all) and Emily very matter of factly told the mom that her baby was eating. The mom gave me a very embarrassed smile. I didn't really know what to say. I was actually really proud of her. I want my daughter to grow up knowing that breastfeeding is great, and nautral and completely normal. However, I am not really sure what to think about a doll that starts making a sucking sound when you put it next to the flowers laying on your little girl's boobs on the halter top. For no other reason I would not be buying this doll for the really high price tag.
ReplyDeleteHello Jenn,
ReplyDeleteSo let me get this right......we want to teach our little girls about breastfeeding a baby before they are even taught where babies come from?????
I'm confused, but that sounds a little absurd.
Why do we need a doll to explain breastfeeding to our children? Why can't we simply explain it to them at the appropriate time...kids are pretty smart. I think they will get it.
janet xox
http://theemptynest-janet.blogspot.com/
I agree with Adriana--Whew, that's an expensive toy! I can think of a hundred other ways to help encourage a daughter (as an adult) and others to breastfeed--sorry, but a haltertop sucking doll just doesn't do it for me! If you want to promote breast feeding then support a fellow mom, be there when it's tough and she has questions and praise her in the good that she is doing (you know what, we should all be doing that regardless--boob or bottle--babies aren't easy!!!!)
ReplyDeleteShelly
www.survivingmunchkinland.blogspot.com
My daughter would always "breastfeed" her dolls. She saw me feed her brothers and so I declared it no big deal. That being said, I would not be comfortable with her wearing a halter top w/ daisy with flowers "boobies:. I'm not a big fan of dolls in general that eat or poop-it's just kind of gross. The best dolls let kids use their imaginations and don't cost $118.
ReplyDeleteI have no words...I find this amazingly disturbing...
ReplyDeleteI know lots of little kids (both girls and boys) that imitate breast feeding if they see their mom do it...but there is NO reason to make a doll to specifically teach this...are they kidding?
ReplyDeleteFor me, I don't like dolls that do anything realistic.. Like poop or cry or breastfeed. It's something out of a horror film in my mind and I find myself wanting to punch those creepy dolls because they give me the willies. LOL
ReplyDeleteThat being said, little kids are going to imitate their mommies and they'll BF their regular dollies too, So I don't see what the big deal is. I think people are prudes and that's why we have so many issues with breastfeeding. If only my breasts weren't looked at as sexual objects and instead nature's way of letting me take care of my babies...
I find it very interesting and disturbing at the same time. I would not allow my own daughter to have one. Perhaps it's because I bottle fed all three of my babies. As with anything, it's totally a matter of preference and choice for a mom.
ReplyDeleteI think that breastfeeding is very important. There is no denying that it is BEST for baby. But yet so many mother's aren't nursing for various reasons. When I was 5 my mom had my brother and I remember her breastfeeding and explaining to me that it was BEST for my brother and that she did that for me. All of my life I had that knowledge. When my son was a baby and afterwards my daughter would nurse her baby. And she asked me once why her babies had bottles when I didn't ever give her brother a bottle and you know what I told her that I didn't know why because we both know that breastfeeding is better. She never gave her babies bottles than. SO a child giving her dolls bottles could it lead to her using formula? MAYBE And a child with a breastfeeding doll that makes noise could lead to her breastfeeding is Worth it! we can't deny that there is a problem with society and there views of breastfeeding and as mother's we need to teach our daughter's and son's that nursing is the way to go. You need to be relaxed and calm to nurse, knowing all your life it's the right thing to do and not be terrified maybe because you held a doll that made scary sounds that are way worse than this new baby of yours makes may really be the difference. What we have now isn't working so maybe dolls like this will!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how many people are bothered by this! I do think it is too expensive, but if no one is offended by the fact that my daughter lifts her shirt all the time to "feed" her baby, why is a halter top so much worse?
ReplyDeleteI don't care if it is a little odd, anything that can take away some of the stigma of breastfeeding for the next generation is fine by me. I remember those early days when I would sit in a room by myself for 45 minutes crying because no one wanted me in the main living area to nurse. I used a cover, I am a modest person. But they said that they could hear the baby eating and it creeped them out. It hurt my feelings and made me realize why it is so much easier for people to just give up.
Yet there would be women there in tops so low cut that you could practically SEE their nipples and no one asked them to leave...
I bottle fed my first child, I am not a militant breastfeeder. But I do think we need to get over our own hang ups about this.
Genitalia have multiple uses and yet we can somehow separate their "waste elimination" functions from their sexual function, I don't see why we can't do it with breasts.
janet said...
ReplyDeleteHello Jenn,
So let me get this right......we want to teach our little girls about breastfeeding a baby before they are even taught where babies come from?????
Well why not? We teach them to bottle feed a baby before they know where babies come from. Breastfeeding is a natural part of life. My daughter would "breastfeed" her dolls because that's the activity she saw modeled at home and among our play group. It never occured to her that there was anything "wrong" with it or anything to be embarassed about. My mother, on the other hand, had a cow when she saw my daughter do it.
Now, this particular doll seems overly expensive and do we really need a doll that "latches" to flower breasts? I think a healthy attitude about breastfeeding can be obtained without this.
Talking about hangups- there is a town here in Georgia that is trying to ban breastfeeding in public. It's perfectly ok for a woman to walk around with her boobs hanging out for the general pleasure of men, but when used the way nature intended it's considered offensive. I just don't get it.
This is the first I've heard of the doll so I must be living under a rock. :) I teach my kids that breastfeeding is God's was for a mother to feed her babies. It's completely normal, healthy and should be done in a modest way. I'm not real big on the doll. It's not something I would have bought for my daughter when she was playing with dolls as it's just not the way I choose to teach her about breastfeeding. Thankfully in our family all of the women have chosen to breastfeed and I think it's fantastic for our kids to see the act in a healthy, confident manner. I'm not sure the doll conveys that message.
ReplyDeleteMe again....
ReplyDeleteDonna's Daze said:
"Breastfeeding is a natural part of life"
So true Donna, but so is sexual intercourse, I would not want a set of dolls that do that.
I breast fed my boys and do not have a problem with children being aware or taught the ins and outs of it.
I just don't think a special doll is needed.
Can't we just explain these things to our children...does everything have to demonstrated (other than by Mom). Like I said in my earlier comment, our children are very smart.
And let's face it...these manufacturers are doing this for the cash. It's all about money...they could'nt care less about our children.
I'm simply saying a halter top with flowers on the nipples is not something I would purchase for my child.
OK...moving on ;->
Janet xox
It's unneccassary, like all the motor powered baby dolls. Children mimic what they see and imaginative play is bettern than anything requiring batteries. I have seen little girls hold their baby dolls against their chest in play feeding. We don't need a hundred dollar toy for them to play mommy.
ReplyDeleteAs for the doll I'm kinda up in the air on it. I think it's great in one way because breastfeeding seems to have such a bad stigma over all like we have to hide. I mean I'm not saying pull your breast out for all to see, but it's natural and the baby's eating. We don't have to go hide in the other room when we eat! I mean even being modestly covered I'd have people look at me like I was doing some terrible thing while in public. In any case the flowers seem a bit odd to me but I guess I wouldn't want nipples either! LOL So like I say, I'm on the fence :)
ReplyDeleteI nursed both of my children. My daughter is the younger of the two, so she didn't actually see me nursing anyone - but our daycare is very open and accomodating to nursing moms, so she has seen other moms nurse their babies. My daughter knows that she and her brother were both nursed, and she nurses her own dolls. She also bottle feeds them sometimes. I don't think she needs a special doll. I think she needs special, supportive people in her life to support her in whatever decision she decides to make at the time that she becomes a mother herself. Thanks for raising awareness! :)
ReplyDelete