Monday, August 17, 2009

Creepy or playful?

Photobucket

A baby doll that imitates nursing. The child wears a vest with flowers where the nipples would be. Comments on the site have been turned off because of the rudeness.

My memories of childhood and my years of being a parent make me blase about this. Creepy if you think nursing is a somehow a sexual activity dealing with nipples and breasts. Playful if you can remember that children are not blank slates but already hardwired humans with a built-in curiosity. They will nurse teddy bears and dolls on their own. Is this doll any different? Is it the pretend nipples that send people over the edge?

All electronic toys (not GameBoys or Computers but toys) become boring after a while. The teddy that told stories, the robot that walks... I've seen them all dumped in boxes at garage sales. Children do not want to be passive, where they sit and watch a toy go through its paces. They want to PLAY with it, make it do things their imagination demands, so after a while they will turn them off.

I will bet the child will lose the vest halter thing very quickly and play with the baby doll by itself. Easy enough to make your own sound affects....

By the way, read the post by the blogger who noticed this toy in the first place.

2 comments:

Sorghum Crow said...

My son used to nurse his stuffed animals. He didn't need a high-faluting doll to connect with his inner mom. And he's turned out as normal as any teenager.

ellroon said...

Good to hear and damned right.