The Breast Feeding Baby doll....what Is Your Opinion on It?

I haven't seen it just heard about it on radio. The dj made the comment that really the only ppl who will buy it will be probreastfeeding. I've seen plenty of little girls in my toddler rooms over the last 20 years lift up their shirts to feed their baby dolls. I guess in my opinion it's not a big deal. The kids who are exposed to breastfeeding will feed their babies that way too!

I definetly wouldn't have a problem with it but......
I prefer baby dolls that just don't DO anything and let the kids pretend with them. No peeing, crying, no batteries, no nothing!
My son used to pretend to breastfeed his stuffed animals after his baby sis was born - so cute!

I too wonder about the big deal. I agree with you. Personally I do find all the dolls that do life-like things creepy, I don't even want my kid with a doll that pees, but that's just me! ;) Kids who watch their mothers breastfeed will shove their doll up their shirt and pretend to breastfeed anyway (I've seen it happen!) so I don't think this is all that different. I haven't heard the "teen mother" argument and I find that utterly (or should I say udderly!) ridiculous! I'm kind of a crazy liberal though, so maybe we're in the minority! :)

Creeps me out!

First of all, it is $100.

Second, I think it is perfectly acceptable for a mother to breastfeed. It is also acceptable for an older sibling to assist with various tasks like dressing, feeding, etc because that is what they would naturally be doing. A child does not have the capability to breastfeed nor would they assist in the process of breastfeeding, so I do not find this activity acceptable. A 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 year old girl did not birth a baby and therefore is unable to nurse and never would be.

I don't think this teaches girls to want to have babies young. Teen Mom on MTV which sometimes glorifies the celebrity that comes with getting unnecessarily knocked up at a young age, without a job, and outside of a marriage does a better job at that than this doll would ever do!

But I guess if we're going to have a doll like this then no one should bat an eye or have a problem when a little boy child wants to strap on the apron and breastfeed his doll, right?

What's next - the costume where a little girl can pretend to have her own natural birth at home, complete with an inflatable birthing tub, a pair of pants with a vaginal opening to push out her newborn baby, and a recipe for placental lasagna?

I saw this on a show the other day. I don't see too much of an issue with it... heck, babies come with bottles all the time so why is it sooo horrible that one comes with the alternative feeding method? I kinda like the idea of using this doll for toddlers who get jealous when a new baby comes home. (Mommy feeds her baby, so I will feed my baby too...) Little girls (and boys) are going to pretend, and imitate what they see... I figure wearing a little halter-top with flower petals is better than lifting up their shirt.

My MIL saw the show with me, and was horrified by the doll. She feels like it's just going too far. I couldn't really get a real reason why she didn't like it...

Oh well, to each their own. If you don't like the doll, don't buy it for your kids. Personally, I am creeped out by the dolls that jump up and coo at you whenever you walk past them. They have a whole shelf of them at Walmart, and every time I walk down that aisle I have a horde of babies jumping up and down going 'play with me!' 'Mommy!' 'Goo-Goo!!!' *shudder*

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I would not buy it for my daughter, personally. I am okay with the other dolls, the ones that you can change the diaper, bottle feed etc, because this is things that a young girl would do if they had a sibling. They help feed, change, and hold the same as if they would a brother or sister. To me I think the breast feeding is strange, and a little inappropriate for the targeted age range the doll is for. Why would such a young girl be nursing, or thinking about having breasts even. The doll is for a innocent young mind, and should be kept careless and innocent. I have nothing against breast feeding dont get me wrong, I just dont think such little ones need that on a doll.

Is it supposed to be teaching young girls how to breast feed and that it is normal? I dont know, I find it weird. Why cant dolls be dolls?

What is next a doll that is targeted for older girls to teach them about their periods? That comes with pads to change? Weird.

I think if I want my daughter to know about breast feeding, and to promote it and tell her its a good thing etc, I will tell her myself, she doesnt need to play it with her doll.

I don't see the problem with having this doll. Years ago we had dolls that would pee if fed a bottle. How is a peeing doll okay when a nursing doll is offensive? Is it because it involves the suggestion of a breast? It's perverted to assume that breasts are only sexual. This doll is great for mothers who feel strongly about breastfeeding versus bottlefeeding.

When girls play with dolls, obviously they are often pretending to be like Mommy. They notice Mommy has a bustline. Kids form a lot of their ideas about adult roles early in life. It's not like its some sort of Safe Sex Condom Barbie. I saw a Tattoo Barbie the other day...while I have two tats myself, that bothers me much more that a nursing doll! If a desire to pretend to feed a baby causes girls to want to get pregnant, it is by that standard no worse than a bottle doll. The whole argument is obviously false. Maybe the critics can come out with a doll that periodically lets out foul stinks reminiscent of dirty diaper and cries every two hours night and day to dissuade budding teen moms.

I object to all the hero dolls for boys with guns much more. How often is anything said about that? Blasters and guns are pervasive in products geared for boys too young to understand what they are playing at doing.

My opinion is its just another gimmick to make us buy another doll. My kids didn't have the ones to cry, drink a bottle, and pee. They had lifesize baby dolls that they pretended did all these things and they breastfed that baby.

My poor, poor kids. THey have had such a deprived childhood. THey got some or their toys from Magic Cabin Dolls and Back to BAsic Toys. Or "gasp" my husband actually made them. LOL

And Amen Suz!!! I hate those Bratz Dolls.

The thing that would tick me off is that kids don't even need to use their imaginations anymore! I am with A. W. Can we just have dolls that don't do anything that requires batteries?
Although, I do like the Swimming Baby. THAT is clever!

A breastfeeding doll turning girls into teen mothers? Here I thought that having unprotected sex between the ages of 13 and 19 did that. Silly me!

I am as pro-breastfeeding as anyone else but even I find it a little weird and creepy. And I don't see why anyone has to purchase a $100 toy doll just because it can mimic breastfeeding - a child can use any ordinary doll and just pretend to breastfeed it. But as for it turning girls into teen mothers, that's just ridiculous - the media glamorizing teen pregnancy, and parents not having talks with their kids, is what leads to poor choices. Not some little doll a girl played with when she was 5.

I would be more upset about the push-up bikini tops from Abercrombie and Fitch being marketed for girls as young as 7.

I think the outcry over this doll is rediculious.
I nursed all my dolls when I was a child. To me that was how you fed a baby. Never once did I ever get the idea to try to nurse on a playmate as one poster suggested. I saw the disconnect of feeding a baby bottle and pretending to use that vs trying to nurse from a playmate. All 3 of my children have "nursed" their toys/dolls. My 21 month old does it all the time right now. Again, not one of them ever though to pretend to nurse from their toys or playmate. But my children share their sippy cups with their dolls all the time. They see the difference.
Nursing my dolls didn't make me want to be a teen mom (I was 30 when I had my first, 33 with my second & 38 with my third-by choice) My older kids don't want to be teenage parents because they nursed their toys and saw me nursing siblings.
If it gets breastfeeding to be seen as the normal and intended way to feed a baby and not something vulgar and shameful then I'm behind it 100% Yes, for the most part it's going to be the already pro-breastfeeding families that are going to buy it. But when their bottle fed counterpart come for a playdate and sees it they may enjoy it and see it as something that is natural and good, maybe even want one for themselves.
Personally the only issues I have with the doll is the $100 price tag. I won't even buy an American Girl doll that costs the same! I don't buy dolls that require batteries and do "things", I don't like them, they creep me out. They're unneeded. My kids have a very vivid and strong imagination without all the bells and whistles and blinking lights flashing at them on all their toys. But if there is a child that needs/wants the "props" for their imagination I say more power to them!
There is a part of me that feels almost like bending on that though just to support a doll that encourages something I believe so strongly in.
I want to add..none of my children ever got a bottle, not even of pumped milk. They didn't get anything besides "from the tap" until they began solids and we introduced a sippy of water so they had something to not choke on their food with. To my children the only way to feed a baby is from the breast. It is perfectly innocent and normal to them. They never lost innocence by seeing me feed their siblings or any of our friends nurse their children from our breasts . Playing with a doll that eats from the breast is not going to take my children's innocence away because they don't equate it with shame and dirtyness. They equate is as normal and loving. It is the adult that puts the shame into the child's mind, not the child.

I am a breastfeeding mother, but was not breastfed as a baby. Breastfeeding is great and should definately be encouraged when a WOMAN is pregnant, but not when a CHILD is playing. I dont think I would ever buy the doll for my daughter (thank Goodness I have boys!) It just seems weird to me that girls so young should be thinking of even having breasts, let alone using them for something... But to each her own, the inventer is sure to make a million dollars...

it's a silly, drastically overpriced fad. THAT'S what women should be up in arms about!
the only girls who are going to run out and get impregnated so they can have a real one of these are the girls who have been improperly educated about sex or whose parents have chosen not to talk to them about it at all.
little girls (and boys) who have breastfeeding mamas have 'nursed' their babydolls for millennia. is this toy overly graphic and absurdly priced? you bet. but immoral in some way? that's just silly.
barbie and ken have done far more to promote teen pregnancy (which is way way down, thank you sex ed classes!!) than these doofy things will ever do.
khairete
S. (who finds the BRATZ dolls far more offensive)

I don't think this doll will turn girls into teenage moms, but I do think it is creepy as hell! However, I also think all those other dolls that pee, that you feed that disappearing liquid to, that have eyes that follow you, need changed regularly or they freak out (like a Gremlin....don't feed them after midnight!) are creepy too. Seriously do we need all that? How about just a doll they can hold.

Also, do we need to be that pro-breastfeeding that I have to teach a 3-5 year old girl about it? Gross. They can wait until sex-ed to learn how wonderful it is ;)

I haven't seen the new article. Not having read the article, and just trying to picture the doll, I do feel that it is, in some ways, inappropriate. I feel like it is desensitizing children in a way that could potentially lead to things that may be inappropriate. Such as children thinking that it is "normal" to try these sorts of things on each other. We've all seen children sucking on doll's baby bottles- and children playing "house" where they pretend to feed their peer a doll's bottle. Could you imagine if children started role playing "breastfeeding??? This is definitely NOT an experience I want to have to explain to my preschool parents!!!!

I also think that breastfeeding is a very special bond that is between a mother and her baby. Sure children will pretend and stick a doll up their shirt, etc, but to actually have the doll perform the act of breastfeeding (a flower on a vest OR up a child's shirt) just seems a little... too far? Sex is a special bond that happens between a man and a woman- but no one makes dolls that do that--- YET!!!!!)

I have no problems with breastfeeding- I have nursed both of my children and love the bond that we have formed. But I will not be buying a breastfeeding doll for either one of my children (nor will I buy one that poops, cries, or freaks out whenever it knows I am in the room!)

Meh, I don't think it's a big deal one way or the other. Obviously it won't make girls more likely to become teen mothers. That's just a ridiculous claim. The main reason it doesn't make sense is because baby dolls are available in the first place. The fact that baby dolls exist don't make little girls want to become mothers, let alone teen mothers.

Second, how does the fact that the doll promotes breastfeeding factor in? Babies eat. There are dolls that are marketed and sold with fake baby bottles, sippy cups, fake baby food, miniature furniture including strollers, high chairs, bassinets, changes of clothes, crying babies, talking babies, crawling babies, babies whose hair you can cut and style, toileting babies, giggling babies, baby dolls that push grocery carts, baby dolls sold as twins, baby dolls with their first tooth... need I go on? Do any of things make little girls or even teenagers think, "AWESOME! That's so awesome I'm going to have to be a mom when I'm a teenager!"

It's a doll that encourages families to view breastfeeding as normal. When a little girl sees her mother nursing a younger sibling and she wants to mimic Mommy then this will be a nice option to have in "action" dolls.

I nursed 2/3 of my daughters, and we have friends and family have nursed their babies as well, so it's always been something my daughters are familiar with. It's not uncommon where we live to see mothers with babies in a sling and nursing while they walk (I notice because I did the same thing).

When I nursed my youngest daughter, my older daughters took their regular dolls and pretended to nurse them. Shirt lifted, positioned doll appropriately, the whole nine yards. Even now my youngest daughter will nurse her baby dolls as easily as she may use a bottle for them. So a doll doesn't have to be marketed to be a breastfeeding doll for little girls to "breastfeed" their dolls.

People need to educate themselves a bit more when they slam dolls like this. These dolls encourage role playing and pretend play which is very important. The things that cause teenage parenthood are far more serious. Lack of sex education. Broken father/daughter relationships. Abusive teen relationships. Lack of parental involvement in teens' lives. Drugs and alcohol. Self-esteem problems. The list of contributing factors is endless and not one of them has, "Played with baby dolls and pretended to breastfeed them as a young child" as a reason.

This is one fad that I hope goes away sooner than later. I hate to see what's next.
I'm with all of the moms who are pro breastfeeders but want the simple dolls for their children so they can use their imagination!
KP

I agree that it's never to early to start breast feeding. I honestly had no idea why women had breasts and men didn't till 17ish. NO ONE ever talked about it. Even in my health classes!! NO CLUE!
Now, I don't think I would buy this doll or any of the fancy peeing dolls, just because I'm not a battery buying, air dry the baby doll so it wont mildew kind of mom. The only toys that my son has that has batteries, are his Thomas trains. But I'm not against the idea. If a mom is ok with their child playing with it, why is it my business? It's not my daughter "turning into a teen mom." Plus if that girl was dumb enough to get pregnant, (I can say that because I got knocked up) it wasn't because of a doll she played with when she was 3.

The quick, easy answer is that bottles are not objectified as sex objects.

I am posting without reading responses...so bare with me.

My youngest was the only one i exclusively breast feed. He actually just wean him self this past month...he go sick and to stuffy and forgot about it.

I also wore him in an ergo baby everywhere. He at one point between one and two asked for a baby. he would get a blanket and nurse her. I also went as far as buying one of those ergo baby carriers they make for lil' ones. If it promoted to the right age group..littler ones, i think it is normal and beautiful. If your were looking at it for an older young one..6-10 it would be a little much. But then, i think it is never too soon to promote breast feeding to girls. I think its a good thing to fully understand the choices you make when it comes to feeding your young when the time comes she/ he has young ones. i think it is a great thing to be open with our little boys so they can embrace there partner and know what is going on when a mama is feeding.

only my opinion.

I wonder what people would think about my DD using my shawl or just stuffing her toys up her shirt and "nursing" them. She's just imitating what she knows. She has a collection of dolls whose only animation is to blink and half the time it's another toy she nurses anyway.

I wouldn't buy this contraption because it seems like a lot of unnecessary fuss, but I'm not going to be up in arms about it. I think it's a little much, just like the dolls that pee and whatever.

I don't think it will turn a girl into a teen mom. I think shows like Teen Mom and all the sex on tv have more influence than this nursing doll.

And don't get me started on Bratz and similar.

I breastfed my baby, have no issues with women breastfeeding anywhere they choose, but for some reason this just rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps I am wrong, but sometimes you just say, oooh, not appropriate for a kid, based on instinct.

I think the doll itself is stupid, but not the idea. When my mother had my brothers I ALWAYS sat next to her on the couch and pretended to breastfeed my dolls. Even my brothers did. (there were a lot of us). I would never spend that much money on a doll when my kid could just use a normal doll.
I don't think it's creepy or wierd that a little girl would do that. They mimic us as we do a lot of things around the house and in our lives, why not mimic something they see us doing a LOT when there is a baby in the house?
L.

I blogged my opinion here:
http://www.xomba.com/crying_doll_baby_peeing_doll_babybre...

Like you, I don't see how the doll is any different than other dolls out there. I think it's because most of society thinks breastfeeding is unnatural, when it's actually more natural than formula/bottle feeding.

My own daughter is pretty much past dolls, and even if she wasn't it would not be the breast feeding aspect that would turn me off, but the hefty price tag...I would NEVER pay that for a doll! Do I think it is inappropriate, ummm no not in the least, it is the most natural thing in the world. ( I though the pregnant Barbie you could buy with the baby that fit inside a shell in her stomach was Far worse, breast feeding is natural. )
I am with the other moms that wonder what happened to kids using their imaginations though...

"placenta lasagna" LOL MR, I love !

I've not heard of this but I see nothing wrong with. Like you said, we have dolls that do EVERYthing else so why is THIS bad? And seriously? What teenaged girl is going to get all excited & pregnant JUST because she saw a breastfeeding doll?? Most aren't ready to see their breasts in that light anyway.

My oldest daughter 'nursed' her dolls because she saw me nursing her little sister and I thought it was delightful. My neighbors husband thought it was bizarre but I just wrote it off to the fact he's a man and doesn't get it. He also freaked out when I very quietly & discreetly nursed in front of everyone at a gathering we were having, LOL.

I think it's a precious idea and perhaps it will help girls grow up and want to nurse as they will see it as quite normal (which we all know it is but you know what I mean).

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

If I had a daughter I'd absolutely get her that breastfeeding doll. The ridiculous stigma that breasts are only sexual and only for men needs to get lost. Breastfeeding is NORMAL, and the sooner kids learn that, the better. Honestly, it's ludicrous how people think a breastfeeding doll is going to increase teen pregnancies. If that's the case, ANY doll will increase teen pregnancies.

Well, at first it kinda creeped me out honestly, but once I actually thought it, it's no big deal. Little girls nurse their dolls anyway, especially when they have baby siblings. But I don't think there's any need for a doll to specifically FOR that, because it doesn't promote imagination. We live in a hugely repressive country, where Bf'ing is all well and good, as long as no one sees it. As a country, we act as if it's sexual, and thus shameful to be seen or even talked about alot, when it's natural, just a mom feeding her baby. Today's prudes are really showing the Puritan roots of this country.

I would think, given the fact that little girls in our society are given various varieties of "baby dolls" to begin the process of them desiring and caring for infants anyway, that the breast feeding doll is no worse than the dolls who wet themselves, cry, want food, etc. I was given many such toys as a young girl and it really did not spark any particular desire to have babies at a young age. Perhaps it is due in part to our hesitance to tell the truth about sex and babies to our children that causes people to fear this type of doll more than others.

I have one question... Why do we assume that the milk in the bottle is formula??

I am a working Mom and pump diligently each and every day to ensure that my infant has BM that her loving wonderful SAHD (yes, DAD!) feeds her in a bottle. This was the same scenario for our first child as well as our second and now our third.

I think the purpose of dolls, kitchens, lawnmowers, etc. are to imitate actions that adults do. My oldest daughter (3.5YO) has demonstrated both BFing actions as well as bottle-feeding actions as she has observed me nurse and bottle feed her younger brother (18 months) and now her younger sister (currently 6 weeks old). She has never needed a special doll or a special vest. She used her imagination. Even now, she sits next to me while I nurse her sister. When Daddy feeds her sister a bottle, she helps heat the water bath for the bottle, pour the pumped milk into the feeding bottle, warm the bottle in the water bath and then sit and feed her sister. To her both activities will be normal - breastfeeding and bottle feeding!

I think the new doll is not aweful, but I do not think I would purchase it. I will teach the baby what BFing is (as she will most likely not experience Mommy nursing a baby) as well as bottle feeding and she can imagine it as well. When both girls become Mamas, I will encourage Bfing for my grandchildren but I will be there to support her and her sister's choice to BF or formula feed. This is what we all should be striving for - encouragement and support for the next generation of Mamas!

~C.

I'd rather see that than bottles. Why teach kids it's ok to feed babies chemicals made in a factory & not human milk?

i think the creepy factor come from the fact that little girls do not yet have boobs. breast feeding is an after puberty thing.
that being said, i am a real breastfeeding supporter. and i see the point that having taught a generation of girls to play with bottle feeding babies might have something to do with the drastic rise in formula fed babies.

I didnt breastfeed, but my dd's daycare lady did and so she was always breastfeeding her dolls anyway, just like Mimi. I dont see a problem with it.

A womans boob is meant to breastfeed. A child should not be calling attention to her little boob. That is creepy.

I didn't read the other responses, but I think whoever made this doll gets a big "BRAVO!!" from me. I agree with you 1000%! I think the 'nursing doll' is a great way for children to learn that milk is SUPPOSED to come from there. God made us that way....it's what makes us MAMMALS!!! I wish we would teach the next generation not to feel embarrassed by a natural function of nature. Maybe then more mamas would try to nurse, or nurse their babies for longer (not wean so early).

I don't find it creepy at all. Then again, I had a doll that peed when I was a little girl. :)

The only trouble with this doll is that not all families are as open with young children about breastfeeding (among other things) You risk your child being "that kid" who educates the playground.

It's just the media causing a buzz over something trivial and stupid. So what if the doll breast feeds?? Isn't that what babies are supposed to do?

Like you said- there are dolls out there that eat, drink, pee, poop, cry, laugh, etc. and no one has gotten upset over those dolls... In europe there are even dolls complete with real looking parts.

America needs to get its head out of its bum.

I dont see anything wrong with it. I'm sure lots of little 3 yr old girls would like to mimick mommy feeding baby sis or bro. Buy one, it will probably be a collectors item one day. I havent heard of them tho....

I think there is a difference between a child naturally "nursing" her baby doll and a doll with accessories and realistic responses.

One of my husband's friends called me and asked me to look it up and my first thought was "I wonder if it comes with imitation overfilled nursing pads, something that sprays in case the baby pulls off, and fake lanolin cream for the fake sore nipples?" Just because you're holding a baby does not mean you have to pretend you have given birth to it. (I hated dolls as a child but did not really realize that some mothers do not nurse their babies until I was an adult.) So, I would never buy it and found it rather disturbing, but I guess some people want more realism and accessories. So long as the children realize that only the biological mom can breastfeed.

I don't understand why there is this rush to make girls grow up. Padded bras for kids, dolls resemble prostitutes, now this. NO, breastfeeding is NOT inappropriate. However, it's an act of a responsible adult who understands the ramifications of a baby. Why are we thrusting our girls to want to do this so young? I am SO glad I don't have a girl, becuase I find all of this troubling. Boys can be outside looking for bugs, skinning their knees...and girls are wishing they had breasts to feed a baby?? Am I REALLY the only one that sees a problem with this??

I think it is too much information for little kids. Fine if they see there mother feeding a baby at home, but how far are they going to take dolls. Is there going to be dolls simulating sexual intercourse too.

I don't have a feeling about the doll as far as appropriateness I think it's unnecessary though. My daughter would pretend to nurse her doll every once in awhile when she was between 1 and two and it was just a plain doll. She also had a doll that made ALL kinds of noises and she really didn't care for it. The more they can use their imaginations the better I think it is. Maybe I have that opinion because the more "realistic" dolls freak me out sometimes ;-).

Much ado about nothing. I do agree the best baby dolls are the ones that are just dolls.. Let the child use their imaginations.

FYI 20 years ago we had a neighbor child that would breast feed his "baby".
He did not understand baby bottles!

I've seen the commercial and it just wigs me out! I have a problem with a young 6-7 year old girl holding a baby doll up to her chest mimicking feeding. Yes she wears a cute little vest that is like a girl scout vest, but to me its just the action itself.

Birth and care for the young ones is a natral instinct. Do we need to train or encourage young girls to be a future mom? I guess they will be more mature to handle as they grow up.

My daughter "breastfed" her babies by sticking them up her dress.
She wasn't breastfed herself (she was adopted), but it's what she observed from other mothers and their babies. It was how you feed your babies. I don't know if a doll with all those bells and whistles is necessary...imaginative play can be very successful with just a plain old doll!

I just can't wait to see all the answers...lol.

Tacky. Tasteless. Unnecessary. But, really, not worth a huge uproar.

My daughter nurses her baby dolls all the time. It is what she knows. I would never buy the doll because I don't agree with all of those "reality" dolls because I feel they don't encourage imagination. But do I take offense to it? No. I think small children doing natural things with their dolls is normal, and sweet, their is nothing sexual about breastfeeding.

just too far for me, I am not a fan of it. I know many kids do this with their dolls already when mommy is a breastfeeder. For me this lands in the same category of extended breastfeeding.

Personally I think there is nothing wrong with it. Since girls play "mommy" with their dolls and breastfeeding is a natural thing and there is nothing wrong with it, I see nothing wrong with a girl attempting to emulate mommy. I think this is probably a good toy for a little girl whose mommy just had a baby. I know lots of kids who did this with their dolls/bears before this toy ever existed.

I think if parents act like it's no big deal it's a phase that will pass.