# ew... or about time?



## Honor (Aug 6, 2009)

I read this article on Foxnews this morning.... I can't deside to be grossed out or what...
Controversial Doll Lets Little Girls Pretend to Breast-Feed - Children's Health - FOXNews.com
what say ye?


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## toddpedlar (Aug 6, 2009)

My daughters have never needed a particularly special kind of doll to pretend to breastfeed. They just do it because they see their Mama doing it.


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## DanMcCormack (Aug 6, 2009)

Just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it's suitable for a child.

We slowly reveal "facts of life" to children over time, as they are ready to consider the moral, physical, emotional, and social implications.


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## LawrenceU (Aug 6, 2009)

How on earth have girls made it all these centuries without something like this?

Ew. Definitely ew. Breast feeding is natural. Having a doll like this is not.


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## raekwon (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm gonna go with "ew".


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## Sven (Aug 6, 2009)

The only thing I see as an issue is the halter top. Parents should take care that the girl isn't going to expose herself to people to "breastfeed" her doll.

Dan, by your logic girls then shouldn't play with dolls at all till they're of some mysterious appropriate age. I think it is wonderful that Todd's girls are imitating mommy. They should. If this doll helps girls to imitate their moms, hopefully their moms are godly, then I'm all for it.


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## Honor (Aug 6, 2009)

while I think breastfeeding is natural and I BF both of mine and plan on BF Chloe... I just don't think I would be ok with walking into her room and watching her play pretend breastfeeding and all... I don't know... it's just weird, to me.


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## Tripel (Aug 6, 2009)

toddpedlar said:


> My daughters have never needed a particularly special kind of doll to pretend to breastfeed. They just do it because they see their Mama doing it.



My daughter does the same thing. She "mothers" her baby dolls all the time. Pretending to put diapers on, pretending the breastfeed, etc. We didn't teach her those things, just observation. Girls are girls.


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## toddpedlar (Aug 6, 2009)

Tripel said:


> toddpedlar said:
> 
> 
> > My daughters have never needed a particularly special kind of doll to pretend to breastfeed. They just do it because they see their Mama doing it.
> ...



Gasp, shock and horror! 

You old dinosaur. Girls are girls. How old-fashioned!


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## LawrenceU (Aug 6, 2009)

My daughter didn't need a special doll to pretend to breast feed. Every doll she has was 'breast fed'. But, neither did she expose herself to do so.


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## KMK (Aug 6, 2009)

Did anyone see "Meet the Fockers"?


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## Joseph Scibbe (Aug 6, 2009)

Do we have a "facepalm" smiley? This idea deserves an epic face palm.


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## DanMcCormack (Aug 6, 2009)

Sven said:


> Dan, by your logic girls then shouldn't play with dolls at all till they're of some mysterious appropriate age. I think it is wonderful that Todd's girls are imitating mommy. They should. If this doll helps girls to imitate their moms, hopefully their moms are godly, then I'm all for it.



Should we then provide dolls that imitate copulation?


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## Sven (Aug 6, 2009)

DanMcCormack said:


> Sven said:
> 
> 
> > Dan, by your logic girls then shouldn't play with dolls at all till they're of some mysterious appropriate age. I think it is wonderful that Todd's girls are imitating mommy. They should. If this doll helps girls to imitate their moms, hopefully their moms are godly, then I'm all for it.
> ...



Copulation, Breastfeeding--not the same thing. Is it okay for a girl to play mommy to a doll? Well in my household, part of being mommy is feeding the baby breast milk. If you're not comfortable with breast-feeding, that's something you need to deal with. In my household, it is a natural part of our life. Nothing to be ashamed of. This is not to say that my wife exposes herself to any on-looker. We promote modesty, but we don't freak out when we see someone breastfeed. Let's dispense with pseudo-sensibilities, please.


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## Houston E. (Aug 6, 2009)

We had quite a laugh when my two year old came running into the living room, jumped in her chair and shoved her doll under her shirt. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "Shhhh, Daddy, my baby's hungry..."


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## DanMcCormack (Aug 6, 2009)

For what it's worth, we had three children -- all three were breastfed, and the two girls "pretended" to breastfeed once in a while.

We didn't "celebrate" it, neither did we shush them.

But a doll?

Seriously?

Mark me "ew."


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## AThornquist (Aug 6, 2009)

KMK said:


> Did anyone see "Meet the Fockers"?



Oh _no_, you're not going to ask about being able to milk anything with a nipple, right? 

(My answer is "yes." I would change a lot of things in my past if I could, though.)


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## OPC'n (Aug 6, 2009)

That doll/halter top is just wrong in sooooooooo many ways! It's one thing for little girls to pretend to breast feed with their shirts on, but the other is just VERY wrong!!


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## Pilgrim72 (Aug 6, 2009)

That was in Meet The Parents, wasn't it?


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## AThornquist (Aug 6, 2009)

Pilgrim72 said:


> That was in Meet The Parents, wasn't it?



Ah man, you're right... I got 'em mixed up.


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## KMK (Aug 6, 2009)

Pilgrim72 said:


> That was in Meet The Parents, wasn't it?



No, it was in the sequel.


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## AThornquist (Aug 6, 2009)

I just Googled it to be sure. Being able to milk anything with nipples was in Meet the Parents.


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## KMK (Aug 6, 2009)

Sorry, I was laughing at the harness worn by De Niro in the sequel.


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## he beholds (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm all for kids coming up with the idea on their own, but I'll not be introducing that doll to my daughter, and we are a BF-ing family.


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## steven-nemes (Aug 6, 2009)

Kinda weird.


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## Athaleyah (Aug 6, 2009)

Eww for me... that halter is disturbing.


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## Knoxienne (Aug 6, 2009)

Houston E. said:


> We had quite a laugh when my two year old came running into the living room, jumped in her chair and shoved her doll under her shirt. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "Shhhh, Daddy, my baby's hungry..."



That's adorable! 

-----Added 8/6/2009 at 04:41:10 EST-----

I agree with many others here - it's natural - you don't have to draw attention to it or market a halter to promote it. Big difference.


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## Idelette (Aug 6, 2009)

Even though BF a natural thing, I have to admit I'm a bit disgusted by this doll. If I had daughters I wouldn't want them imitating this behavior, because its not a natural thing for a child to do and if they do that outside the context of the home its not very modest at all. I just think there are far more important things that little girls should be emulating!


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## jogri17 (Aug 6, 2009)

well I am not saying I would buy the doll but there are worse and better things out there. I do find it odd that almost every other culture except islamic and the usa are far more liberal about breast feeding in public. After church you can see women with a simple cloth nursing their babies in the fellowship hall. doesn't freak us out. but the doll thing is kinda creepy... I wonder if its name is ''talking tina'' (google reference if you dont get that) or Chucky?


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## Pilgrim72 (Aug 6, 2009)

Wow. So, I finally read the article.
That is disturbing... Can you imagine seeing some little girl using this thing? And it makes sucking noises too. 

And as far as I know, the act of breastfeeding isn't a public sort of thing anyway...


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## Honor (Aug 6, 2009)

jogri17 said:


> well I am not saying I would buy the doll but there are worse and better things out there. I do find it odd that almost every other culture except islamic and the usa are far more liberal about breast feeding in public. After church you can see women with a simple cloth nursing their babies in the fellowship hall. doesn't freak us out. but the doll thing is kinda creepy... I wonder if its name is ''talking tina'' (google reference if you dont get that) or Chucky?


i believe the article said it was "Baby Gluttony" but I could be wrong.


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## AThornquist (Aug 6, 2009)

Gluttonous Baby  

I do think the three pictures on the side are funny though with their captions. *sucking sounds*, *buurrrrrppp*, *HE HE HE HE* 

That's so wrong.  I don't mind little girls thinking to do it themselves with their little dollies (with modesty in check), but commercializing this sort of thing just bothers me.


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## raekwon (Aug 6, 2009)

I'll say this, though: the thought expressed in the article that such a doll could "promote early pregnancy" might be one of the most ridiculous jumps in (il)logic I've ever read.


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## Webservant (Aug 6, 2009)

Nah I just don't get the "ew" factor. Perhaps unnecesary, since my girls did that, too, as others have indicated, since their mom did, but not "ew".


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## raekwon (Aug 6, 2009)

Webservant said:


> Nah I just don't get the "ew" factor. Perhaps unnecesary, since my girls did that, too, as others have indicated, since their mom did, but not "ew".



The "ew" part comes from the nipple-flaps on the top. Otherwise, it's just dumb. But now it's dumb and kinda gross.


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## Webservant (Aug 6, 2009)

raekwon said:


> Webservant said:
> 
> 
> > Nah I just don't get the "ew" factor. Perhaps unnecesary, since my girls did that, too, as others have indicated, since their mom did, but not "ew".
> ...


Yeah, you're right - that part is ew.


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## Quickened (Aug 6, 2009)

I wouldnt say "ew" but i am led to believe that whoever invented something with "nipple flaps" for little girls was on drugs. Whatever happened to tea parties?


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## Brian Withnell (Aug 6, 2009)

I may be in a very small minority. Both of my wives breast-feed, and I have never been particularly interested/dismayed by a woman breast-feeding in public. I've never seen a woman disrobe to do so, but I have seen a woman pull a shirt up, plug the baby's mouth and just feed the child. For some reason, having a baby attached to a woman's breast takes the sexuality of the breast about as far away as the inside of a woman's left nostril. But that is me. (Though in other contexts, my wife's breasts are very much in line with the Song of Solomon to my way of thinking.)

The commercialization of this makes me a little sick, the idea of flaps makes me more so. Modesty for no other reason than the 14 year old guy who has trouble with it ought to be the standard. This does not promote modesty in my opinion.

The baby is named for sin ... that makes a lot of sense as well.

So on the whole, promoting lack of modesty, naming a "child" for sin, and commercialization of one of the most intimate, non-sexual relationships in the world, not so much an "ew" but a sober denunciation of "this is wrong".


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## Pilgrim72 (Aug 6, 2009)

> I may be in a very small minority. Both of my wives breast-feed



You have two wives?


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## AThornquist (Aug 6, 2009)

His former wife passed away, Alex.


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## Pilgrim72 (Aug 6, 2009)

Ah. Thanks. Didn't know.

It just seemed a little odd since "breast-feed" was in the present tense.


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## AThornquist (Aug 7, 2009)

I see what you mean and actually thought about that myself. I only knew what he meant because of other posts here on the PB.


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## Brian Withnell (Aug 7, 2009)

Pilgrim72 said:


> Ah. Thanks. Didn't know.
> 
> It just seemed a little odd since "breast-feed" was in the present tense.



Sorry about the typo.


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## BJClark (Aug 7, 2009)

Honor;



> while I think breastfeeding is natural and I BF both of mine and plan on BF Chloe... I just don't think I would be ok with walking into her room and watching her play pretend breastfeeding and all... I don't know... it's just weird, to me.




And how about if she's in the living room playing with her doll, would you be comfortable with that?

When my daughters were little and played with dolls they also pretended to breastfed their 'babies', imitating mommy, with huge grins on their faces..

The argument for many women has been breastfeeding is natural and is not a sexual thing..so why 'ew' over something like this?? The halter is nothing more than a pretend nursing bra like most women wear while breast feeding.

They also put diapers on their babies, sang to them, laid them down on their beds or sat them in their laps and read to them or would set them up in bed so I could read to them.

When they were in elementary school they would come home set their baby dolls out as if they were in a classroom and played school, while they did their homework (graded papers).

For little girls, these are the most natural instincts of motherhood coming out, nothing wrong with that..

Little boys like to use sticks for guns and rocks for hand granades, and pretend to shoot things and blow them up..it's natural..


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## Honor (Aug 7, 2009)

Bobbi, 
I wouldn't buy my little girl a training bra until she was ready for it, no matter how many times she put socks in her shirt. I think that pretend play should be encouraged but not to the extent that you are buying a nursing bra... I mean what is next? a pregnancy suit for a four year old? some things are just a bit mature for them... if a little child wakes in the night and hears mommy and daddy "having fun" and then the next day imitates the sounds heard... would that to be exceptable? I mean it is the natural instinct of humans to "have fun" so why not.... and what if a little boy is playing with the little girl... and she puts on the bra and starts feeding her doll. that could potentially open a whole can of worms. I just think that some things are for mommy's to do and that they will get to that when they are older. I drink... do I want my 4 year old to pretend to pour a glass of wine and drink up? No. I think it's the same thing.


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## Spinningplates2 (Aug 7, 2009)

Double no, with a side order of, you have to be kidding me.


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## Pilgrim72 (Aug 7, 2009)

(Honestly, I don't even know why I'm joining in this conversation... it's about "breastfeeding" of all things...)

It just seems kinda strange that other people think different than me...  Of course I know that we all think differently, I just find it sorta humorous that some are defending this, what seems to me, weird situation...

Anyway, I find it awkward, not because breastfeeding may come across as sexual, but because it seems to me to be a private thing to do. So to see little girls running around revealing their daisies, with their dollies attached to their chests seems somewhat wrong.
In my whole life, I have honestly never seen a mother breastfeeding in public. Unless you're posing for Vanity Fair or National Geographic, (or maybe singing at the Superbowl) it just doesn't occur...

In our society it doesn't seem to be an acceptable practice. Maybe in Mexico it is... not sure...


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## BJClark (Aug 7, 2009)

Pilgrim72;



> In our society it doesn't seem to be an acceptable practice. Maybe in Mexico it is... not sure...



but it is becoming more and more prevalent and open in our society, laws are even in effect making it legal to breastfeed in public, and most women do so discreetly.

Breastfeeding State Laws

I guess if parents have a problem w/ this doll, then they don't buy it for their children and ask that others don't buy it for them either.

And if by chance their child does get one, the parent make's sure to leave the baby doll at home when they go places so they don't have to worry about their child trying to breastfeed a baby doll in public. Though I think some folks would merely see this and think.."aww how cute' and not think anything sexual or ewww about it in the slightest way..

Honor,



> and what if a little boy is playing with the little girl... and she puts on the bra and starts feeding her doll.



Okay, what if?? What if the little girl doesn't have such a doll but does this anyway with another baby doll? They didn't have these type dolls when my daughters were little, but they pretended to breast feed their baby dolls anyway..but..that is where the teaching aspect of parenting comes in, teaching your daughter that while breastfeeding is a natural thing, there is a need for discretion and modesty. 

It teaches your daughters that they are more than just sexual objects, where daughters can have a healthier image of their bodies..



> I drink... do I want my 4 year old to pretend to pour a glass of wine and drink up?



What would you do if when your daughter is a little older and wants to play tea party, and asks if they can have some 'wine and cheese'?

Personally, I would give them grape juice and sliced cheese..and use it as a teaching opportunity..that drinking in and of itself is not bad, but is done in moderation..



> I mean what is next? a pregnancy suit for a four year old? some things are just a bit mature for them..



I guess you've not seen little girls put pillows and balloons and such under their shirts playing pregnant?? My girls did that when they were little too, seeing me pregnant, and other pregnant women..they added that to their play..


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## a mere housewife (Aug 7, 2009)

Interestingly, little boys holding children when they cry sometimes try to feed them too -- this is also natural; and quite humorous, but at some point the boy does have to be told what's going on, why it works for mom and not for him, and why it isn't appropriate behaviour for guys. I would say that depending on how a little girl was playing the same kind of instruction might be necessary for her; a special halter top seems like precisely the sort of thing one would wish to avoid. Hopefully the little girl is also learning modesty from her mom's example; and I don't think a child should be encouraged to think of their body in a way that is inappropriate as a child (nor should any onlooker). I also don't think one should wait to educate about 'facts of life' until a child is too old to be aware that there are dangers they should protect themselves from, and barriers they should not cross even with other children.
In Mexico people are much freer about breastfeeding in public without adequate covering. There are also a great many more forms of sexual perversion accepted as matter of fact there, so I'm not sure that feeling so unrestrained is necessarily a sign of a healthier outlook.


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## py3ak (Aug 8, 2009)

This doll would be a better purchase.


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