Breast is(n't) best
Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:11 pm
A doll designed for girls as young as two to 'breastfeed' has sparked a backlash from concerned mothers who have labelled it 'weird' and 'creepy'.
Children wear a bib which features 'flower nipples' and the 'Breast Milk Baby' makes suckling sounds when the girl puts it to her chest.
The £60 toys will demand to be winded after feeding - and if the child does not do it they will start crying.
Angry parents have hit out at the doll created by Spanish makers Berjuan Toys.
The Mirror reported that one mum labelled it 'toe-curlingly gross' on Mumsnet, while another branded the toy 'disgusting'.
'I think a BF doll is just weird and gross,' said one mother. 'It is the same as these bras you get for young girls who just don’t need them.
'Just let kids be kids – there’s plenty of time for them to learn about BF/birds and bees etc.'
As well as debating about whether the toy was appropriate for children many even wondered whether it was worth buying at all.
One said it was 'pointless and silly' while many others balked at the cost of the toy.
Regardless of this the toy is expected to be a hit - it went on sale in the US yesterday and comes in six different variations with different backgrounds - two are African-American and two are from the Far East.
Savannah, Cameron, Lilyang, Tony, Jessica and Jeremiah each have different personalities according to the descriptions on the The Breast Milk Baby website.
Fox News presenter Bill O'Reilly told viewers: 'I just want the kids to be kids. This kind of stuff – we don’t need this.'
But a spokesman for Berjuan Toys, Dennis Lewis, defended the products. He said: 'We’ve had a lot of support from lots of breast-feeding organisations, lots of mothers, lots of educators.
'There also has been a lot of blowback from people who maybe haven’t really thought why the doll is there and what its purpose is.
'Usually they are people that either have problems with breast-feeding in general, or they see it as something sexual.'
The website for the dolls says: 'The Breast Milk Baby lets young girls express their love and affection in the most natural way possible, just like mommy!
'The Breast Milk Baby represents a revolution in design by teaching children the nurturing skills they’ll need to raise their own healthy babies.
'Just put on the fashionable top included with each Breast Milk Baby, bring the baby’s mouth up to the pretty flower, and enjoy the closeness, the loving bond between mother and child.'
