Here is the article I read about it:
Parents' fury as 'totally inappropriate' breastfeeding doll for young girls goes on sale in the U.S.
A cloth diapering blog I follow posted the link on Facebook and it was kind of interesting reading some of the comments women had on it. First though I should tell you that the cloth diapering world is very pro-breastfeeding and living a natural life. But their comments made me wonder why I was so disgusted by the idea of a doll marketed to breastfeed.
One woman commented that her daughter did not need a special doll to breastfeed. The daughter would see the mother breastfeed her baby brother and mimic it with her own doll. That comment made me wonder how many other little girls would do the same thing. Kids want to mimic their parents, so if you are a breastfeeding mother, wouldn't it be natural for your child to mimic you?
Other women commented on why was a breastfeeding doll not OK, but a over the top sexy Barbie Dolls and those Bratz dolls (which I personally can't stand) are OK?
Why does breastfeeding make people cringe so much? I breastfed Calan and yet, it still kind of makes me cringe. I would definitely stare if I saw a woman breastfeeding in public, but a woman feeding her baby with a bottle I would not think twice about. Why is that? What in our society has made breastfeeding a taboo thing? Isn't it one of the most natural and best things we can do for our children?
Could this doll or ones like it help change the taboo label?
Not sure that a $100 doll is the answer, but not sure that it is totally a bad idea either. Where do you guys stand?
My daughter would lift her shirt and put a baby doll to her chest when I would nurse her little sister. She was 4 years old at the time. It is completely natural for a child to mimic their parent. She certainly did not need a $100 doll to do it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it will help our society or not. The way (many, not all) people look at breastfeeding is interesting. There are so many campaigns to encourage women to breastfeed, but on the other hand, much of the population wants you to hide away when you do it.
I breastfed three children. Most of our friends got used to it, but some people never did.