Friday, April 1, 2011

Child's play? I don't think so.

I'm a huge supporter of breastfeeding.  I'm also a huge supporter of bottle feeding.  I guess I should say that I'm a huge supporter of whatever a mother chooses to do and how she chooses to feed her child.  It's not my business or my place to judge.  I know what I feel is important for my kids and what works for me, but that's not for everyone.  The whole you're an awful mother for not trying (or pumping or continuing for a year or hiring a lactation consultant to figure out the problem or sticking with it) thing is ridiculous and unfair.  I have spent a total of 2 years of my life nursing an infant or a baby and I feel fortunate for that.  It was convenient, good for them, quiet alone time, and absolutely all-consuming at times.  It was a choice I made and my body complied.  I was lucky.

Drew saw me nurse William and both of them saw me nurse Lauren.  I explained what it was, how it worked, and why I did it.  I never hid it or made it an issue.  It wasn't an issue.  That's how Lauren ate for 9 months of her life.  They were interested for a bit and then it was just, "Oh, Lauren is eating lunch."  Drew sometimes would put her doll to her chest and she'd say the baby was eating but it never creeped me out.  She was mimicing what she was seeing and it was kind of sweet.  

This, however, creeps me out completely.

 


My first thought when I saw this was that it must be an SNL skit.  It's not.  Is it weird to you?  Like creepy weird?  I think there is nothing weird or creepy or inappropriate about breastfeeding but I think this is all of those things. 

I could go on and on but I won't.  I'm just wondering your thoughts.



 

6 comments:

  1. you know its weird b/c i wouldnt buy it for lakota, but at the same time i had a doll that pissed and shit when i was a kid so i sorda see it in that same light. like its something natural and normal, but its one thing for a girl to mimick what she sees her mom doing and having a doll actually trying to do it. im a completely in agreement with you on this one.

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  2. This grosses me out. I would never buy this for my kids. There are some things that a parent should be responsible for teaching their kids, not a doll. Yes, it's natural but there are all sorts of things that are natural that I don't want my kids reenacting. This being one of them.

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  3. I saw this on The O' Reilly Factor last night. I have to say I was grossed out, for sure. But then I caught myself wondering why. We've fed baby dolls for years with bottles and that doesn't creep anyone out. I guess I realized the part that bothers me is the suggesting to young girls that it's ok to use their breasts in ways for which they're not ready- physically or emotionally, and THAT freaks me out. What they should learn is that only Mommies can feed babies with their breasts, but anyone can feed a baby with a bottle.

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  4. She's six. Once again I ask, where are the rites of passage?

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  5. When I saw this for the first time my gut reaction was, "What's next, an insemination action figure for boys?". I don't have a problem if a little girl uses a doll to mimic her mom's breastfeeding, but to create a special doll to promote/push the idea on to a child just screams "Onward Christian soldier!" to me. Give it a rest and let it happen naturally. The way you've handled it is a model example of appropriate parenting. Well done you!

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  6. I think this oversteps some boundaries. Yes children play with their dolls this way when they are mimicking the way that they see babies being fed around them. But there just has to be a line with pretend play. We don't let them pretend to become a mother by letting them pretend to have sex, that's beyond the line and I think this is too.

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