Would you let your daughter breastfeed her doll?

[Sam's Mum]

Someone sent me a link to this earlier and I was just wondering what other people thought... a good idea or completely inappropriate?

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/famil...et-daughter-breastfeed-doll-article-ez4w.html

 

[Froslass]

I don't think it's disgusting or anything, but I certainly wouldn't buy one for my child.
It's not inappropriate for a child to know that this is what breasts are made for, but it is inappropriate to create a toy based on something that really a girl doesn't HAVE to know about until she actually has boobs! If a child asks about it, fair enough, but I don't think it's somthing to be played around with. Plus, breast feeding is supposed to be a natural thing, and women should be able to choose whether or not it's the right choice for them..

It's almost like saying "Here are two dolls, now make then have sex"

Whilst sex is hardly inappropriate for a child to learn about, it's hardly right to force them to learn about it until they are ready...although nowadays it's everywhere anyway! Thats Just my opinion x

 

[emmaandamyleigh]

i dont think it would be right for a child to learn about it i think if they made this sort of thing more and more under 16 would become pregnant it probs would encourage them more possibly. i was really against getting amy dolls tit to explain why but i though its girly to play with dolls then everone started buying her them and she plays with them and rocks tem back and forth just like you would with a baby and cuddles it and goes awww baba but i also think she understand that shes haing a baby sister too. i think that it wouldnt be right for a 5 year old to play with a doll that could 'pretend to breast feed' i can see as an educational point of veiw yeah ie for child care and for colleges even these parenting classes but for kids is a no no i think its bad enoug them doing sex education at 7 around here

 

[PinkPunch]

Oh no that doesn't seem right to me. It comes with a bib to highlight the nipple area?! She doesnt need to know what her nipples are for at that age. It shouldn't be wrong because bf is natural but somehow it makes me extremely uncomfortable looking at that and I'm a breastfeeder myself

 

[inky]

I don't think it's a good idea, but I'm not completely disgusted by it either. I go to a breast feeding group every week and some of the ladies bring their older children, especially during the school holidays. Some of the little girls there do sometimes pretend to 'feed' their doll the same way that the bf'ing mums are, and I don't see that there's anything wrong with that.

What I don't like is the fact that this doll is specifically manufactured for the purpose - and the bib to simulate the nipple area doesn't sit particularly well with me either.

Rather than have a doll, I do think it's important that little girls know that that's how mommy feeds her baby. I have a very large family, and I remember all my aunts as well as my mum breastfeeding their children when I was little, and I never once considered I might want to feed my baby any other way, it was just natural for me as I'd seen it all before so to speak!

 

[rbryan0205]

i dont like it at all i think its very inappropriate breast feeding should be a natural and loving thing betweeen mother and baby and if a child asks fair enough explain but to have a doll to replicate this is strange x

 

[bearsmummy]

I think it would be most appropriate for like a midwife class or something to use to show new mothers how to latch on. Does that make sense? I really don think it's appropriate for a child at all.

 

[MrsR]

I don't think it's inappropriate etc for a child who sees their mum breastfeeding to then pretend to breastfeed their doll but I do think it's inappropriate for a toy to be created like this. It throws up lots of questions like 'what if a little boy wanted this? Is that inappropriate? Do you buy him one or try to explain why he can't have one? Should he have one?' etc etc.

 

[Yodabo]

I have mixed feelings about this. I can see what they are trying to do but is it really nesessary at such a young age?

 

[twinkle84]

Wow things are getting a little crazy! Totally agree it's naturally and they might see someone doing and ask? Or act it out with a normal doll! But I do not understand the phrase "a little girl needs to breastfeed???!!!" erm why? Personally I do not think so!! The doll on the other hand isn't as bad as I thought, when reading I thought it was going to actually have a nipple and I was thinking this is so inappropriate but then I saw it was just a flower?! So not as bad! I duno, I guess it's up to the parent of each child and I also agree with and understand the comment about boys maybe wanting one?! Eeeek x

 

[amyjayne77]

I personally wouldn't buy one but I wouldnt call it inappropriate. My kids see me bf and I am very glad they know it is normal. They have on occasion pretended to bf their dolls, most noticeably when playing Mary in the school nativity. Lol! It is the cutest thing ever!

I think it is important to educate kids about bf and the younger the better. I also wouldn't compare it to dolls having sex. Sex is between adults and is inappropriate fir kids. Bf is about feeding a baby which is what kids have been simulating for years....

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

How on earth could a doll encourage under age pregnancy?! I don't think the idea of breastfeedig s doll is wrong, just the way it's marketed! I was actually trying to encourage Katie to bf her doll the other day! She's just taken an interest jn dolls so I was sayingthe baby was hungry and needed some milk and was asking things like where do babies get their milk?! Was actually really gutted when she said she needed a bottle!

I can really understand the thought processes they're going thru, I mean, we live in a big FF society because you do what you know and most people do see babies being bottle fed, so I'm assuming the logic is "well if we get them bf their dolls at an early age, theyll become a generation of bf-ers". Children have vreastfed dolls for years, it's just there's never been anything specifically marketed for it'

 

[tinytoes]

when I worked in nursery school , we had a particular student who often "breastfed" her dolls . obviously its natural to imitate your parents and this is what she was doing , the other students took it for granted and would imitate her .. including the boys . Eventually this led to a parent asking us to explain why her son was doing this , she had to simply explain to him and just like mummies are able to hold babies in their tummy to grow them , they can also feed them with their boobies . It wasnt a big deal nobody made an issue of it he had simply learnt a natural fact . We also explained that some mummies use bottles feed their babies and that this was ok too . With regards to the doll I think its a bit much and I wouldn't buy it as but that's my opinion if Aoibheann is playing with her dolls and "breastfeeds" them I wont even bat an eyelid . I have to say I dont thik its like saying "here are two dolls now make them have sex" . I don't see how sex comes into it at all .

 

[megsmeadow]

Ok this is more of a rant about toys in general but when I was little you had to use a bit of imagination!! Today's toys seem to lead children by the hand with all the accessories and the likes, are we killing their imagination by creating these toys with a very specific purpose and only using the correct 'accessories'? I like the idea they are thinking about normal natural behaviour, but why does there have to be a specific toy? Shouldn't they think about how to create a doll that responds to a touch of the chin or something so the child can choose which way they'd like to pretend to feed?

 

[tinytoes]

Ok this is more of a rant about toys in general but when I was little you had to use a bit of imagination!! Today's toys seem to lead children by the hand with all the accessories and the likes, are we killing their imagination by creating these toys with a very specific purpose and only using the correct 'accessories'? I like the idea they are thinking about normal natural behaviour, but why does there have to be a specific toy? Shouldn't they think about how to create a doll that responds to a touch of the chin or something so the child can choose which way they'd like to pretend to feed?

I absolutely agree , the most important kind of play , is play the encourages creative thought and imagination . A lot of toys almost ruin that .

 

[inky]

I think the problem (or part of the problem anyway) is that these days boobs are now more associated with sex than feeding a baby. When I was a kid there weren't any lads mags other than those on the top shelf and kids weren't exposed to the more sexual (explicit or not) media that they are today. Some people seem to associate breast feeding with sex as a result, and they couldn't be more wrong. This isn't a sex doll!

 

[PinkPunch]

I don't think it's inappropriate etc for a child who sees their mum breastfeeding to then pretend to breastfeed their doll but I do think it's inappropriate for a toy to be created like this. It throws up lots of questions like 'what if a little boy wanted this? Is that inappropriate? Do you buy him one or try to explain why he can't have one? Should he have one?' etc etc.

I agree. My DD watches me breastfeed and I tell her baby is getting milk because I want her to understand & if she copies that's ok. But I'm not going to buy a doll to teach that to her, she's just a baby herself!

 

[xxbeckyxx]

I think there are so many things out there that teach young girls that breasts are for sexual reasons and for getting boys that's it's nice to have something which reminds them what breasts are actually designed for. It does seem a bit young I suppose, but that sort of age is when you're learning your attitude towards this type of stuff. It says some parents argue it's making their children grow up too fast, but at least it's growing up with the right view on what boobs are for. I have seen bikini tops for young girls before which have built in padding and underwire...surely that is even worse??

However, I do totally agree with Helen re:boys. They're gonna start wondering what their nipples are for if they're told it's only for girls!

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

I agree with inky! Surely this is doing the opposite to teachin them that boobs are a sexual object?! There is so much sexualisation in the media these days, surely these dolls in a way are a good thing cos it's showing them what boobs are really designed for?! And if boys want to pretent to breastfeed then fab, surely it's tue same as a boy walking around with a balloon up his top saying I'm having
A baby?! We all teach our kids that we poo out our bums and wee out our other bits, so why not teach them that you can also feed a baby from you boobs?! It's nature!

 

[rbryan0205]

I don't think it's inappropriate etc for a child who sees their mum breastfeeding to then pretend to breastfeed their doll but I do think it's inappropriate for a toy to be created like this. It throws up lots of questions like 'what if a little boy wanted this? Is that inappropriate? Do you buy him one or try to explain why he can't have one? Should he have one?' etc etc.

I agree. My DD watches me breastfeed and I tell her baby is getting milk because I want her to understand & if she copies that's ok. But I'm not going to buy a doll to teach that to her, she's just a baby herself!

exactly xx