The baby doll that does everything - including breastfeeding
Categories: Weird stories, Toys & games
When my son was a newborn baby, he used to breastfeed so much that I could have done with an extra set of boobs to fill him up. Consequently, this meant that much of our first few weeks together were spent pinned to the sofa, feeding 24/7.
This wasn't much fun for my oldest child, who was three at the time. But then she started to join in: playing a game with one of her own baby dolls, lifting it to her chest and pretending to feed it "mummy milk".
Now a Spanish toy manufacturer, Berjuan, has taken this sort of game a step further, with the launch of Bebé Glotón, the breast-feeding doll. The name translates to mean Glutton Baby (charming!), and the doll comes with a special halter top - adorned with daisies for nipples - that little girls wear while they pretend to breastfeed. According to thingamababy.com, the doll makes sucking noises when lifted to the daisies.
The doll, which comes in boy or girl versions, is designed to be around the same size as a real newborn baby. It burps and cries for more if mummy's feeding technique isn't up to scratch. I take it that the flowers don't get the battering that breastfeeding nipples do - maybe they should include a cabbage leaf and a tube of Lanolin in the set to make it really lifelike.
Toy baby bottles have been around for decades, so is this just a natural next step? Or another example of toys becoming overly complicated and getting in the way of a child's natural imaginative play? I am all in favour of anything that encourages and normalises breastfeeding but I do find that there's something slightly odd about this one.
What do you think of this? Would you buy a Baby Glutton for your child? Would be great to hear your thoughts.
Source [ParentDish US]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Laura 8-04-2009 @ 8:18AM
My daughter pretends to BF her dolls regularly.
The whole halter neck top with nips makes me feel a tad uncomfortable though.
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Confused 8-04-2009 @ 12:34PM
Hell to the NO I would NOT buy this doll for my daughter!! I am ALL for teaching my daughter to nurture her babydolls...this is a learned skill that SHOULD be taught. But, my daughter DOES NOT need to learn how to breastfeed. God has equipped women w/ this natural instainct and it has not failed us thus far...THIS comes naturally. Im concerned also w/ the perverts that might be using the suckling motion of the baby doll for more than PG rated activities. All I can say at this point is WTF.
ReBeautiful 8-07-2009 @ 11:12PM
To confused... I'm concerned that your so perverted YOU thought of that. Ewww. Please seek therapy since THAT is where your mind went.
MumVersusKids 8-06-2009 @ 8:21AM
Mine pretends to breastfeed her dolls and teddies all the time - she even switches sides halfway through! She doesn't need weird nipple daisies to pretend though, and she makes her own sucking noises. I don't know, I mean, I'm pleased that there is a move away from strictly bottle fed baby dolls, but I think this might be a bit too creepy for my liking.
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Karen Lau 8-22-2009 @ 1:41PM
I'm a mother of 3 grown up children who were all BF. My eldest two daughters used to hold their dollies under their jumpers and chat to each other when I BF their brother and when they were pretend playing. Even my youngest son did it with a dolly because he copied his sisters. What can be so wrong about that? I personally thought it was endearing (although we giggled when my son started doing it). Nurturing a baby is the most natural thing in the world and children copy everything they see. I would have bought one (or more) of these dolls if they had been available at the time. What about the anatomically correct dolls? Remember the uproar when they came out? I believe they are commonplace now. Let children be children, let them play, be stimulated and use their imaginations.
CruiserTwelve 8-05-2009 @ 4:33AM
I have 3 of these
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Ann 8-05-2009 @ 4:33AM
Oh my goodness!! what will they think of next. Children use their imagination to develop all sorts of skills over the years - the toy developers have clearly lost the use of theirs.
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Katie Lee 8-05-2009 @ 3:52AM
This is just plain creepy!
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LTB 8-06-2009 @ 2:39PM
Really, I mean are we really serious with this one? I honestly can't see where this is considered anything but a joke!!! At what point in a child life does things become this serious? Why can't we just keep the lives of children innocent for as long as we can? Breastfeeding is definitely an option once you enter motherhood but why expose our children to that with this doll. Let kids be kids, everything doesn't have to be so in depth so soon for them. IT'S A DOLL!!!!!
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ReBeautiful 8-07-2009 @ 10:57PM
Apparently, you, like others posting here have never nursed a child in front of another young child. Because if you had, you would know its perfectly normal for a child (of either gender mind you) to 'pretend' to feed a baby by 'nursing' . Forcing them to grow up too soon? You make it sound like its "how to use birth controll dolly". What sick twisted world were you raised in where exposing a child to nursing is considered "spoiling their innocence"? Nursing is natural
AND NOT SEXUAL. Maybe you need counciling if you equate nursing as something utterly sexual.
HeatherC 8-07-2009 @ 5:21AM
I think this doll is a great idea and might help to normalize breastfeeding. I would love to purchase one for my daughter if they became available here. Why is is okay to have a bottlefed baby doll and not a breastfed baby doll? I would much rather my daughter mimick nursing than learning that bottle feeding is natural and healthy (which it's not either BTW).
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amber 8-07-2009 @ 4:24AM
this is the stupidest thing i have ever heard of! Ican understand if the doll was being used as a way to teach new mothers how to breastfeed their child, but as a toy for children it is unacceptable. I would never buy this as a toy for my child. If it is on the market whe do have children i will never buy it. WTF what will they come out with next. my god
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amber 8-07-2009 @ 4:25AM
This is the stupidest thing i have ever heard of! I could understand if it was used to teach new mothers how to breastfeed their child,but as a toy for children it is unacceptable. i would never buy this for my child. it is disgusting. If this doll is on the market when i do have children i will absolutley not buy it. WTF what will they come out with next?
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ReBeautiful 8-07-2009 @ 11:06PM
#1 You also, please seek therapy before you even consider having children. Nursing is utterly and wholly natural and if you are perverted enough to think those Tata's God gave you are only for nookie, then you really need to do some deep down soul searching And study biology some more. God gave us the ability to nurse for a reason. Its not 'creepy' or 'utterly disgusting'. The doll however, you may have an issue with, so please please please bottle feed your child and forgo the wonderful experience of nursing and nurturing your child because remember, its disgusting right? And god forbid if you Do have kids and you Do nurse, they do the utterly disgusting act of trying to mimick you and nurse their babies.
What will they think of next to help us teach our children to nurture... I can't wait to see because in a world where someone finds nursing disgusting, I'm going to need all the help I can get.
Denese 8-08-2009 @ 7:18PM
I don't think it is appropriate for little girls to be emulating this action with a doll that actually does the sucking and emulates the real baby experience that way. Our kids know way more than they should as kids these days. We are creating little grown ups. They are being robbed of their innocence. This is something that girls will eventually learn when the time is right!
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ReBeautiful 8-07-2009 @ 10:57PM
Where can I buy one ?!?! I love it !! I BF all four of my girls, and all three of the older ones have nursed their babies with their "boobies". I think my daughters would adore this 'baby' that they can take care of just like mommy does to her baby. Please please please tell me where I can purchase one? I'm so sick of dolls that promote bottle feeding, Its about darn time one starts promoting breastfeeding !! (after all we've only been nursing as long as the species has been around) Come on gals, thats what we got 'em for after all !
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All Grown Up 8-10-2009 @ 9:21AM
I think this is weird. But only because I think children should use their imaginations to pay with dolls and other toys. You don't need a special t-shirt and sucking noises to pretend to b/f a dolly. Mummy doesn't, does she? I like the idea to normalize breastfeeding. It isn't sick or disgusting, and children love pretending to be grown ups when the b/f dollies. Would you stop them playing house?? Or pretending to get married?? Or dressing up in mummy's/daddy's clothes?? It's the SAME THING. There is NOTHING sexual about breastfeeding, it's about nurturing a baby, and if people want to stop their own children from showing a nurturing & caring side (be they girls or boys) then there is something wrong with them.
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judy 8-22-2009 @ 1:44PM
i think children have lost too much of their imaginations pretending is one thing. children emulate everything they see us do. but we don't need to buy things for them to exercise their imaginations, to me that's what makes this doll creepy. o.k. we've got doll's that pee's poop's and barf's, so we just had to have one that really breast feeds. the children don't have any reason to use their imaginations, people show them everything. will there be a how to have sex doll next? when and where does it stop?
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Trigeia Twins 8-22-2009 @ 1:34PM
hmm not sure about that one but I suppose that if children do follow their mothers lead and want to have fun while mom is feeding i guess they would enjoy it. But then again it is a little creepy !! probably would not buy it.
If your a mother that doesnot breastfeed and you need sometips on How to Clean Baby Bottles and Sippy Cup's http://www.trigeia.com/article.php?id=65404
@trigeia
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Chris R 8-28-2009 @ 8:02AM
Most small girls like to copy mummy, particularly immediately after the birth of a sibling. Both changing the nappy on "their baby"(doll), or copying mummy breastfeeding is not unusual.
But, to have a doll which is SPECIFICALLY designed for this is indeed a little creepy. Perhaps this co-incides with the UK Government's intention to introduce sex education lessons in school to children as young as seven?
Either way, it does seem to be deproving a child of its innocence, indeed childhood.
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