Pros and Cons of the Breastfeeding Baby Doll

The Breastfeeding Baby Doll made headlines recently and there have been some who love the idea and others who absolutely hate it. The controversy is over whether a child should have a doll that mimics breastfeeding and if it is sexualizing young girls. There are pros and cons of the Breast Milk Baby Doll that will help parents make an informed decision about this toy.

What is the Breastfeeding Baby Doll?

The breastfeeding toy, called the Breast Milk Baby Doll or Bebe Gloton, is a doll that makes loud, sucking noises when it is feeding. A child will wear a type of smock that has flowers on it. When the doll's mouth gets near the flowers, it makes the sucking noise and also moves its body just like a real baby does when it is feeding. When the baby is full, it can be burped.

Pros of the Breastfeeding Baby Doll

Breastfeeding advocacy groups celebrate the breastfeeding baby doll with some calling it groundbreaking. The pros of the Breast Milk Baby Doll include helping children understand why their mother is breastfeeding a new sibling, teaches them that breastfeeding is completely normal and nothing that should be hidden, and experts believe that it will increase the chances that future generations will choose breast milk rather than infant formula for their own children. Those that support this doll also say that people need to understand that a woman's breasts do not exist solely for sexual reasons.

Cons of Breastfeeding Baby Doll

Those that are opposed to the Breast Milk Baby Doll say that it causes little girls to grow up too quickly and that it may cause children to become too sexualized as such a young age. Some people are even saying that the breastfeeding doll is “gross” or “icky.”

Lincoln Hoppe, an actor and father of five children who were all breastfed says that children who see their moms breastfeeding a younger sibling may enjoy the doll. He says,

“They're going to imitate mom anyway using whatever doll they've already got.”

Should You Get Your Child the Breastfeeding Baby Doll?

Even though I consider myself more of a conservative mother, I do not see the Breastfeeding Baby Doll as sexualizing children or causing them to grow up too fast. Children are naturally curious and often mimic their parents. Breastfeeding is completely natural and should never be seen as “gross” or “icky.”

Society today seems to have a very big problem with breasts in general. There were some areas of the United States where there was controversy over whether a woman should be allowed to breastfeed in public or not. Breastfeeding in public is quite different than showing them off for sexual purposes. It seems that it is not the children who view breastfeeding as sexual, it is the adults.

As for buying the doll, it comes at a pretty steep price of $118.00, which is way too expensive. Since children are imaginative, they will most likely imitate mother's breastfeeding by using their regular dolls. The only thing that makes the Breastfeeding Baby Doll different than other dolls is the sucking noise and the high price.