The latest topic of conversation in cyberspace and beyond is a new breast-feeding babydoll called Bebe Gloton. It comes with a halter top that little girls can wear, and when the baby's mouth is pressed against the flowers that are strategically placed in the chest area, the baby makes nursing sounds. Then it burps. And I guess it occasionally cries and doesn't stop until the child pretends to nurse. Here's the YouTube video to see what I mean.
Direct link to Bebe Gloton video
Naturally some parents are incensed while others are delighted. Proponents of the doll think it is "a wonderful idea and allows young girls to simulate something that is perfectly natural" (source) while others fear playing with the doll will "speed up maternal urges" and say it's like "introducing sex ed in first grade" or "inadvertently lead little girls to become traumatized."(source)
To which I must say, HUH??? This doll isn't exactly targetted to girls of child bearing age. And what on earth does feeding a baby in the way nature intended have to do with sex? And furthermore, if this doll could traumatize a child, I can only imagine how scarred my children must be from seeing their own mother nurse their siblings for realz. PULLEEZE.
That said, I will not be rushing out to buy this doll. I am of the opinion that toys should be simple so that children are encouraged to use their imaginations. I love baby dolls. My girls have quite a few of them. But I avoid the ones that DO things. We don't have dolls that wet or eat or talk or cry. I prefer that my girls pretend that they do those things.
So while I'm a huge advocate of breastfeeding and have always enjoyed seeing my little girls pretend to nurse their dolls as they modelled me feeding my babies, which is perfectly natural and hardly traumatic (do I really need to clarify that!?), I won't be buying the Bebe Gloton for my little girls. I much prefer the simplicity of Bitty Baby, thankyouverymuch.
