[craigmason]

what do people think of these dolls???
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/lif...cle4206469.ece
they featured them on bbc breakfast and are talking about them on the wright stuff ch5 at 10.15 this morning

[Minimo]

My immediate reaction was how horrible to try to profit from an affliction (not sure what word to use) but there may be some families who will buy them for their Downs children because the child will see the similarity to itself, which is only what a doll is. The market must be quite limited I would think.

[slickwitch]

They actually seemed to take all the negative aspects of a Downs Syndrome child and over-exaggerate them whereas a doll can't show the sweet nature and lovely smile which is typical.

I believe that toys are just that. My little girl isn't remotely like the blond haired blue eyed thing she calls "Baby", but it doesn't bother her in the slightest. Mind you "baby" can't throw a strop, refuse to get dressed, demand £5 for circus gear and tell me I'm ruining her life, so she has her plus points over the real thing!

[boutiquechoc]

But, if you had a disability then wouldn't you want a doll that looked like you? The children might have normal looking dolls and be thinking 'why dont they look like me?'

I think the dolls are freaky tbh, but then each to their own....

[Draggletail]

Originally Posted by slickwitch

They actually seemed to take all the negative aspects of a Downs Syndrome child and over-exaggerate them whereas a doll can't show the sweet nature and lovely smile which is typical.

Agreed, well pointed out, shame they couldn't have made a smiling doll!

[julado]

Originally Posted by slickwitch

They actually seemed to take all the negative aspects of a Downs Syndrome child and over-exaggerate them whereas a doll can't show the sweet nature and lovely smile which is typical.

Negative aspects????

Ask the parents of a Downs Syndrome child what the negative aspects are and they will probably tell you that the only negative is how the child is perceived by society.

My own child (29 next Tuesday - where does the time go) has a syndrome not far removed from Downs....and I wouldn't change him for a minute. You would be hard pushed to find a happier chap.

As for the dolls - I think they could be a useful tool of acceptance for a Downs child....to see a child with a dolly that s/he can identify with can't be all bad. But as you say in a later post children - whether Downs or not - will latch on to a doll and make it their "baby".

Indeed my son had a sort of alien creature which my Nan's sister (great aunt?) knitted for him.....it was green with knobbly bits and a protuberance.....and my son for a while wouldn't part with it

[Merry_Legs]

I think Slickwitch meant they exagerated the typical features of Down's. I agree with her.
My neice has Down's and these dolls don't convey her smiley cheekiness!

[julado]

Originally Posted by Urban_Pebbles

I think Slickwitch meant they exagerated the typical features of Down's. I agree with her.
My neice has Down's and these dolls don't convey her smiley cheekiness!

I must admit I clicked onto the website and I don't think they have made a doll to reflect the cheekiness (I understand what you mean here entirely....my son is certainly cheeky too).

I don't think they are exaggerated - it is a typical expression but it is just one of the many facial expressions and perhaps a better one could have been used.

[slickwitch]

Originally Posted by julado

Negative aspects????

Ask the parents of a Downs Syndrome child what the negative aspects are and they will probably tell you that the only negative is how the child is perceived by society.

My own child (29 next Tuesday - where does the time go) has a syndrome not far removed from Downs....and I wouldn't change him for a minute. You would be hard pushed to find a happier chap.

As for the dolls - I think they could be a useful tool of acceptance for a Downs child....to see a child with a dolly that s/he can identify with can't be all bad. But as you say in a later post children - whether Downs or not - will latch on to a doll and make it their "baby".

Indeed my son had a sort of alien creature which my Nan's sister (great aunt?) knitted for him.....it was green with knobbly bits and a protuberance.....and my son for a while wouldn't part with it

I'm sorry Julado, I should have written "perceived" negative aspects. What I meant was they seemed to have left the doll devoid of the happy features of a typical Downs child. Just the miscommunication of the typed message I'm afraid.

[Mathom]

I've got quite a straightforward reaction to these dolls and that's if parents of a child with Downs want one for their child, then why not?

[hennypenny]

I think it is a similar thing to the reason to have more black dolls available in nurserys and other child care settings. It is simply that a child can feel alienated and disassociated with a society that never seems to have any role models that resemble them, for instance for a black child if all the books they read show blonde blue eyed children they can start to feel that they are somehow different and not acceptable to society. That is why there has been so much work done in recent years to encourage positive role models in children's books and in child care settings to use pictures and toys showing people with disabilities and of different racial origins. I think this is a positive move, and that these should be available freely, not just for children with downs syndrome but for all children. Humans do come in lots of different shapes, colours and abilities, and this should be reflected in the images children see about them.

[cloudybay]

Kids today should consider themselves fortunate, unlike the poor sods in the 1980's who had to put up with these grotesque inventions http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ayphotohosting

[cressida]

If I was a Downs Syndrome child I wouldn't want one of those dolls, it would seem to drag me further away from the norm, there was one on This Morning with crutches

[pinklady]

Originally Posted by Urban_Pebbles

I think Slickwitch meant they exagerated the typical features of Down's. I agree with her.
My neice has Down's and these dolls don't convey her smiley cheekiness!

my friends daughter is Downs and ive never seen her with that expression ....... a cheeky mischevious smile would have been more apt.

I have mixed feelings about these dolls, but if they are readily available on the market ........ wouldnt 'disabilities' become part of the norm for the kids growing up wth the dolls erradicating the 'unknow'?

[honeyb35]

i like the idea behind them...in a way...but i think those dolls are ugly! as someone has previously pointed out, it doesn't capture the cheekyness, children with downs can smile! I'm sure they could have made a more realistic one.
People would have to decide if they wanted to give one to their children or not, depending on their personality. Some kids would hate them, and not want a doll to represent any 'differences', whereas others would maybe love having a doll 'like them'. I think the difficulty would be a well meaning friend or relative purchasing it for a child who wouldnt want to be seen as 'different'

[ContraryMary]

I saw this on the TV this morning, and I've got mixed feelings about the subject.

In an ideal world of all things being equal, why shouldn't we have a Downs Syndrome doll? As someone else has said, nurseries cater for children of all colours, so why not for all children, full stop?

If a child suffering from Downs Syndrome in a nursery, can feel a relation to a doll that depicts DS, then where's the harm?

I appreciate that some people are saying that these dolls don't reflect the true personality of children with DS, but then again, does a 'standard' (for the want of a better word) doll reflect personality?

[funkymiss]

Originally Posted by hennypenny

I think it is a similar thing to the reason to have more black dolls available in nurserys and other child care settings. It is simply that a child can feel alienated and disassociated with a society that never seems to have any role models that resemble them, for instance for a black child if all the books they read show blonde blue eyed children they can start to feel that they are somehow different and not acceptable to society. That is why there has been so much work done in recent years to encourage positive role models in children's books and in child care settings to use pictures and toys showing people with disabilities and of different racial origins. I think this is a positive move, and that these should be available freely, not just for children with downs syndrome but for all children. Humans do come in lots of different shapes, colours and abilities, and this should be reflected in the images children see about them.

I'd never really thought about this but it's a really good point. However, I think sometimes young children seem almost oblivious to differences between them and other children or even characters from stories. I love watching children get totally absorbed in a story - it often looks like it wouldn't matter whether the character was boy/girl/white/green! Children generally don't even seem to notice disabilities in other kids, they just accept their characteristics as part of them...

The very fact that people come in all different shapes and sizes often seems to be a fact naturally accepted by children. However, I can see how it may feel for a child in some sort of minority in terms of feeling different so maybe these dolls/stories could help.

[spicey]

I think they are a good idea but I agree with the comments made by the expression, a smile would have been better.

I have heard of children's hospitals using toys to help children understand what is happening to them, giving the teddy an injection, missing leg, bandage etc. Apparantly it helps.