Breastfeeding Doll?

[satindesire]

SatinDesire,

No where at no time did I make this a "sexual" issue. All I've said is that I am of the opinion that it is not an age appropriate product conducive to a young girls psychogical and maturation development. Nothing sexual about that at all.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

Let me give you an example then, and maybe you can clarify because it sincerely LOOKED like you were sexualizing breastfeeding.

You equating toy condoms in the same light as a breastfeeding doll are YOUR words, RN, not mine. How is a condom not a sexual thing?

In no way was I putting words in your mouth. I was merely repeating the issue you stated.

 

[RNJAG]

Let me give you an example then, and maybe you can clarify because it sincerely LOOKED like you were sexualizing breastfeeding.

You equating toy condoms in the same light as a breastfeeding doll are YOUR words, RN, not mine. How is a condom not a sexual thing?

In no way was I putting words in your mouth. I was merely repeating the issue you stated.

Sorry if I gave that impression, I see now how you could have concluded that. I was merely thinking of something that, to me, would have been as equally inappropriate for a boy. I was not considering the sexual aspect of it.

I am all for the education of children. It is not my intent to keep kids uneducated or ignorant of normal healthy growth and development. Just only to keep it age appropriate. What would you think if your 6-8 yr old daughter tries to breast feed her sibling in the food court?I kept that question gender neutral as I didn't want to imply any kind of sexual context. First thought would be "how cute is that?" but the bigger picture would tell me that there is a lot of context that said daughter is missing.

What about the toy tampon that I suggested, the menstrual cycle is as much a part a natural female development as breasts are., in fact they coincide right!.

In an educational context should the 3 yr old be told about menstrual cycles, how a woman becomes pregnant. The process that happens inside a woman. The roll of the father and how he impregnates a mother. How that process happens and what is needed for the man to able to fertilize the embryonic cell and then the gestation period and terms of the pregnancy and how and why the breasts enlarge as they begin to produce milk? Then because of the sexuality involved to produce the baby should sexuality, good choices - morality of it all and so on be taught? OK OK I got carried away there sorry...

I was only trying to say as I have all along that there is a lot of context that goes along with breast feeding that a child will not understand let alone be taught.

As far as Barbie Dolls it is us as adults that sexualize them. It is us the sees the big sweater-filling breasts because we see them sexually. Children do not. To them it represents the "mother figure" because mothers have breasts and fathers do not, not the sexual aspects of breasts. Only do sexually abused children sexualize objects or situations because they have been exposed to it in a sexual context by some one older .

As far as the young girl bottle feeding a baby? Sure it is mimicking mommy and also helping her out because yes that is something a 6 yr old can physically do and quite often participates in with mommy feeding her new sibling. That is a natural thing for a young girl to do that she is capable of. Breast feeding is not.

 

[SweetErika]

It is not conducive to their age appropriate development. Mimicking bottle feeding is mechanical like a boy playing with plastic hammers and workbench.

I disagree. When done properly, feeding real babies is not a purely mechanical act,.it's an act and time for thinking, bonding and nurturing. And I think it's the same for children with dolls: they are showing nurturing skills and imagination, whether they're mimicking bottle or breastfeeding. Similarly, the kid with the plastic hammer and workbench is using their cognitive as well as their motor skills.

Since the beginning of the human race women have not had any problems figuring out what the function of their breasts are and how to utilize them. Giving a 2-4-6-8 10 yr old a baby to breast feed is beyond their psychological development. There is more to breast feeding than putting a baby to your breast.

Yet many members here have said their children mimic breastfeeding with their own dolls. That doesn't sound like it's beyond their development to me.

Using the same logic and argument then lets come out with plastic little tampons that girls can pretend with and little rubber condoms for boys. They must be missing out on something if they dont have these items either!?

It is no more age appropriate or benificial to their emotional, physiological or psychological development than children pretending to breast feed. It will certainly not be detrimental to them if they don't have them. There are certainly more age appropriate (and educational) toys/tools that they will benefit from than a breast feeding doll.

You're comparing apples to oranges (breastfeeding doll vs. virtually every toy and other thing you can think of), whereas I'm comparing apples to apples in looking at a breastfeeding doll vs. a bottle feeding doll.

 

[RNJAG]

SweetErica And SatinDesire....

I respect your opinions. However I do not agree with it. Maybe I am making too much out of the idea of Children playing with breast feeding dolls. I may change my initial reaction and ideations about this subject therefore I reserve the option to do so at a later date.

For now I will have to agree to disagree. Kindest Regards, RNJAG

 

[SAMMYWATINKA]

What? They's deviants on this site? Who are w...they?

 

[SweetErika]

RN, I respect your disagreement, but I'd like to respond to these points because I think they make for interesting conversation.

I am all for the education of children. It is not my intent to keep kids uneducated or ignorant of normal healthy growth and development. Just only to keep it age appropriate. What would you think if your 6-8 yr old daughter tries to breast feed her sibling in the food court?I kept that question gender neutral as I didn't want to imply any kind of sexual context. First thought would be "how cute is that?" but the bigger picture would tell me that there is a lot of context that said daughter is missing.

I'd explain breastfeeding to my child in an age-appropriate way as the situation called for it.

What about the toy tampon that I suggested, the menstrual cycle is as much a part a natural female development as breasts are., in fact they coincide right!.

My mom showed me her tampons and explained what they did in a way I could understand. She also explained that they were for older women, and she would teach me more about using them when I was old enough to need them. Because she talked about stuff like this throughout my younger years, I didn't freak out or need a big tutorial when I got my period. I told my mom, she asked if I needed help, I declined, got myself a tampon from under the sink, read the instructions and followed them to the letter.

In an educational context should the 3 yr old be told about menstrual cycles, how a woman becomes pregnant. The process that happens inside a woman. The roll of the father and how he impregnates a mother. How that process happens and what is needed for the man to able to fertilize the embryonic cell and then the gestation period and terms of the pregnancy and how and why the breasts enlarge as they begin to produce milk? Then because of the sexuality involved to produce the baby should sexuality, good choices - morality of it all and so on be taught? OK OK I got carried away there sorry...

There's no point in talking to a toddler about that because they won't understand it. But when a 5 or 6 year old asks where babies come from or what sex is, I think it's wholly appropriate to give a very simple answer, answer any other questions they have honestly and encourage them to ask questions in the future.

Most kids in that age range are going to get the simple, age-appropriate answer and go, "OK," without asking other questions. Like my mom told a 5-year-old-me who asked what sex was, "It's something adults who love each other very much do to feel good and make babies." And I went on my merry way with that answer for another few years at least.

I was only trying to say as I have all along that there is a lot of context that goes along with breast feeding that a child will not understand let alone be taught.

I don't think they need to know the whole enchilada at that age. "This is the way most babies naturally eat," or similar, will generally suffice unless the child has more questions.

As far as the young girl bottle feeding a baby? Sure it is mimicking mommy and also helping her out because yes that is something a 6 yr old can physically do and quite often participates in with mommy feeding her new sibling. That is a natural thing for a young girl to do that she is capable of. Breast feeding is not.

To be completely fair, there are MANY things kids can't or shouldn't do, but mimic in play. I'm not going to let my son cook, use power tools, drive a vehicle or have his own house at 6, but I don't have a problem with him playing/mimicking any of those things.

 

[NippleMuncher]

The minute we stop thinking of tits as nothing but big sweater fillers that make boys go cross eyed is the minute we mature more as a species.

But ... But ... I don't want to mature ...

You know I'm kidding



The doll, in and of itself is neither good or bad, it is the adults that are going to twist it to perversion, as is evidenced by the posts thus far. The simplest way to solve the issue is to remove the doll from necessity, if there ever was one to begin with, by raising kids around animals where they learn the "facts of life" in a non-perverted, non-distorted, non-sexualized way. Procreation is a natural and necessary process of life, as is nurturing life, life itself, and the eventual ending of that life.

On that note, here's a serious question. If we need a breastfeeding doll to teach our children about child rearing, don't we also need death dolls to teach them that eventually everyone around them will be dead?

On a tongue-in-cheek note, do we also need a "teacher" doll to educate kids on education, a "boss" doll to educate them about their lifelong servitude to the machine of civilization, an "IRS" doll to teach them about taxation, etc.?

 

[infinity706]

If they spend a lot of time around animals, they'll probably see them have sex. Animals don't exactly go anywhere private to do it.