Breast Feeding Baby Doll Causing Controversy
BOSTON (CBS) - A controversial new doll is receiving mixed reactions here in the U.S.
The Breast Milk Baby Doll is made by a company in Spain. But because critics say it's too mature for children, the American distributor is having a hard time getting them onto store shelves.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports
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The doll comes with a halter top that contains sensors, and when it's placed on those sensors, it makes suckling sounds. The doll also burps and cries.
"The whole purpose of The Breast Milk Baby is to teach children the nurturing skills they'll need to raise their own healthy babies in the future," Dennis Lewis, U.S. spokesman for Berjuan Toys said on the company's website. "Breastfeeding is good for babies, it's good for mommies and it's good for society. We really don't understand why this has created such controversy."
A couple of local moms who spoke to WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe had two very different views.
"I would never ever get my daughter anything like that. It's too weird; creepy. I would never have my two-year-old daughter mimicking that at all," one said.
"When my kids were nursing, my older one, she would put a stuffed animal on her breast because she saw me doing it," another mom said. "It's for milking. We make it so sexual. There's nothing unnatural about it."
The doll is priced at $85, but the company is offering it for half-price during the holiday shopping season.
The company that produces the doll describes itself as a small family-owned Christian toy manufacturer. They say that they are being attacked for promoting something that God intended.
"Churches all over the world are filled with images of Mary nursing baby Jesus, and yet we can't imagine letting our daughters learn how important breastfeeding is for our society?" Lewis pointed out.
