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Critics Dump on Potty-Training Baby Dolls

By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 22, 2008 10:54 AM CST
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(Newser) – This year's hot toy is as chatty as Tickle Me Elmo but much, much more realistic. Little girls are crazy for new baby dolls that eat and excrete, but psychologists and some parents aren't thrilled with Hasbro's Baby Alive Learns to Potty and Mattel's Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Gotta Go Doll. "That is just so wrong," one shopper tells the Washington Post.

The manufacturers tout the dolls' realism and young children's fascination with bodily functions; after a flood of advertising, kids' interest seems to bolster the claims. But child psychologists recommend toys that foster imagination, rather than creepy animatronic dolls that come with fake bananas. "It makes a real mess," one mom says. "I'm not looking forward to it."

Baby Alive Wets N' Wiggles has been elbowed out of the market by her younger sister, Baby Alive Learns to Potty.
Baby Alive Wets N' Wiggles has been elbowed out of the market by her younger sister, Baby Alive Learns to Potty.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)
No one's disagreeing that kids love bodily functions, but doll manufacturers' claims that their toys help with potty training have child psychologists crying foul.
No one's disagreeing that kids love bodily functions, but doll manufacturers' claims that their toys help with potty training have child psychologists crying foul.   (©bdjsb7)
This Christmas, many little girls are asking Santa for Baby Alive Learns to Potty, or Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Gotta Go Doll. Not all parents are thrilled.
This Christmas, many little girls are asking Santa for Baby Alive Learns to Potty, or Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Gotta Go Doll. Not all parents are thrilled.   (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)
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As adults, we might be a little grossed out. But it's so magical and so funny and so silly for these girls. This little doll is coming to life, so the little girl doesn't believe it's just a doll. It's her baby. - Kathleen Harrington, senior brand manager for Hasboro's Baby Alive dolls

This toy is shocking enough that it's going to be noticed. But at best, this toy is unnecessary. At worst, it's really gross. - Susan Linn, a child psychology professor at Harvard

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A grandma remembers the first Baby Alive
Tri City Herald (WA)

Preview of Baby Alive
About.com

The opposition
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

 
parenting • children • Hasbro • Mattel • diapers • Christmas wish lists • doll • potty training • Baby Alive

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