Breast Milk Baby - What Do You Think?

I heard about this on Good Morning America a while back but had forgotten about it until they mentioned it again today  because the Breast Milk Baby is coming to the U.S. market, starting with the ASD trade show in Las Vegas July 31.  It's a doll that comes with a special halter top with two flowers positioned where nipples would be and makes suckling sounds when its mouth is brought close to sensors embedded in the flowers.

Apparently, this doll is quite controversial.  There are people who think it over-sexualizes young girls, forces them to grow up too quickly, and even might encourage young girls to want to have babies at a very young age.  Really?  Little girls have been playing with dolls for ages - feeding, changing, rocking, burping, etc.  And, little girls with moms who breastfed their younger siblings have been pretending to breastfeed, too.  I know my little girl did.  She loved her baby dolls, and when I nursed her baby brother, she 'nursed' her baby.  Did it force her to grow up too quickly, make her want a baby at a very young age?  Not any more than all the other things she did with her baby dolls.  The people who don't want little girls playing with these dolls ought to seriously think about taking all dolls away from those little girls.  Little girls pretending to breastfeed, which is completely natural, is really no different than little girls pretending to be mommies and taking care of baby dolls in any other way.

The only problem I have with this doll is that, I can't find the exact selling price anywhere, but I remember from the earlier GMA story that it wasn't cheap.  Why pay so much for a baby doll that simulates breastfeeding, when young girls can pretend just as well with any other doll?

What do you think about the Breast Milk Baby doll?

Related articles

• 'Breast Milk Baby' Coming to U.S. (abcnews.go.com)
• New Doll That Teaches How To Breast Feed Causing Controversy (thedaleygator.wordpress.com)
• New Doll That Teaches How To Breast Feed Causing Controversy (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Breast-feeding doll shocks Americans (rt.com)

Stimulating, Creative Toys

A few years ago we bought some magnetic toys you can use to build all kinds of things. They're really a lot of fun. I even played with them some, and talking about them makes me want to get them out again. Jeffrey and Cory had a lot of fun with them, and that's what makes me think they'd have a lot of fun with this MagNext iCoaster. Cory doesn't like riding roller coasters, but I bet he'd like playing with this one. It looks like so much fun. You can build different roller coasters and then send the magnetic balls rolling. It looks like those magnetic balls do some amazing things, all with good scientific explanations, I'm sure. They call it ultra-cool physics. Cory is taking Physics in school this year, so maybe he'll understand why it works. I don't think you have to actually understand why or how it works to enjoy it, but it looks like a really fun way to actually get to see some of the stuff he's learning.

I do think the boys could have a lot of fun playing with this, and that's just one of the toys you can learn about on the MEGA Brands website. Remember MEGA BLOKS? My kids had those when they were little. We might even still have some of them around here. I had no idea they had other things - like this coaster.

You can search the site by age, brand, price or category to find the perfect things for the 'kids' in your life. I'm going to see what else they have under magnets. You might like the mickey mouse figurine or some of the items from the Disney movie CARS. I like those, too. That was such a cute movie.

For each toy listed, they give you detailed views, downloadable instructions, TV commercials, a full description, and product benefits. With all that information, it should be easy to find the perfect toy(s), right? Then, once you decide which toys you want, just click on 'where to buy' to find out where you can get it.

Mama Wants a New 'TOY'

The big news around here is that Jeffrey finally got his big screen TV. He's been looking, and he's been wanting one for a long time. He finally found what he thought was a good deal, and he got free financing for two years, so he went ahead.

Now, I'm thinking that, since he got a new 'toy' that I ought to get something, too. Of course, he wouldn't object. He's always telling me I can get what I want. I found this Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer that would be really nice to have. It's not really a 'toy' but it would certainly be fun to play with. My current mixer, a hand mixer, isn't even a Hamilton Beach® Mixer. It's another brand, and it's my second one. I wore the first one out.

This morning I decided to make zucchini bread, and, while I was at it, I made this video:



If Hamilton Beach® thinks my video is creative enough, I could win an Eclectrics® Mixer. I want the red one that's in the video. Can I get the red one? The website is great. You can try out all the different colors.

Oh, I could have fun with this mixer! It's got 400 watts of power, 12 different settings, a flat beater, a dough hook, and a wire whisk, and a 4.5 quart stainless steel bowl with handle. That bowl would be great. You don't see it on the video, because I only got so far as to mix the eggs, oil, and sugar, but by the time I had all the ingredients in the bowl, it was all the way to the top. I had to be really careful not to make a huge mess.

Also about the video, I was going to say that I don't really dance around while I'm mixing stuff, but then I went back and finished mixing the zucchini bread, and I realized that, actually I do kind of dance around while mixing. Do I really want people to know that?

The Hamilton Beach® Eclectrics® All-Metal Stand Mixer also has a three-year limited warranty, so if I wear it out, they should replace it. Think of the things I can bake. It really is a 'toy' we can all enjoy. Like the TV.

The zucchini bread is in the oven and should be ready in about an hour. If you drop by, I'll share.