I was chatting to my nan the other day about how christmas is swifty approaching us, and we got on to talking about the numerous different types of toy on the market. She told me about a baby dolly that she had heard about which was for sale in the U.S (it may also be on the market here, im not entirely sure) but what was so different about this doll was that it was called 'The Breast Milk Baby' .... a dolly which comes with a little vest for the little girl to wear, where by you put the doll up to a 'nipple area' on the vest and the doll makes suckling and burping noises. Now my initial reacion to this was that it was funny and quite sweet... my nan's reaction was somewhat different though! And upon googling this dolly it, appears to have caused an uproar amoung many other, not just my nan. : /
What I've found shocking is not the dolly itself but some people's reactions to it! Many saying that it is encouraging the sexualisation of children and forcing them into adulthood early. What a bunch of bull****!!! Breast feeding is the most natural thing in the world and im sure many children are exposed to it on a daily basis while their Mother's feed their younger siblings. Young children want to immitate their parents and if their mother's breastfeed then im sure they will naturally want to immitate that with their dollys anyway (whether there is a specific product for it or not!)
If anything I considered this doll to be a positive step in demolishing the taboos around breastfeeding, despite it being the most natural thing in the world alot of people still seem to treat it as something disgusting :s Im not even being bias here as I didn't breastfeed for any significant length of time but I respect women who do and really don't see how a dolly encouraging breast feeding is any more sexualised than a dolly that comes with a bottle! It certainly isn't something that children need 'protecting' from. Or perhaps im missing something... because I don't really get what the big deal is on this one! I think we ought to be more concerned about incy wincy tiny bikinis for 5 year olds, or padded bras for 10 year olds, more than some doll that actually encourages something that has been apart of child rearing since the dawn on mankind! ..... ok rant over :P
Let me know what you guys think? Harmless role play or too much??
Take a look for yourself :)
http://thebreastmilkbaby.com/
Love Love xxx
How Blake made me smile today: Sitting in his jimmy jams, with his slippers, in his rocking chair, watching pepper pig. All he needed was a pipe :p xx
