A new breastfeeding doll manufactured by a Spanish toymaker is causing a bit of controversy. The doll is designed for little girls to pretend they are breastfeeding their "baby." It even comes with special halters the little girls wear to open a flap and feed the dolls.
The doll is called Bebe Gloton. In English this means "gluttonous baby." She cries when she is hungry and makes sucking noises as she feeds.
The criticism against the doll maker is that although breastfeeding is promoted for mothers, many parents are saying that having a little girl pretend to breastfeed a doll may lead to early pregnancy. I say that is absurd. I may not choose to buy this doll for my daughter, but it is definitely not because it promotes early pregnancy. Little girls around the world have been playing mommy for hundreds of years and no one has found anything wrong with it. If we think about it, we sell dolls that we feed with a bottle. Whether it is with a breast or not, feeding is feeding.
I may only buy this product for my daughter if I knew she would only breastfeed her doll at home. Not that I find anything wrong with breastfeeding in public, but I am not risking my daughter being preyed on by a psycho who sees a child pretending to breast feed a doll and gets off from it. Unfortunately, society sees the breast as a sexual object and forgets that it is intended to nourish children.
As far as girls being mature enough to understand, I think that really depends on whether the girls come from a breastfeeding home or not. If a child has never seen mommy breastfeed, then this doll may not be appropriate unless they have the capability to understand what it is and why breastfeeding is a good thing.
Either way, the doll has not been made available in the U.S.
What are your thoughts? Would you get this doll? Why or why not?
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