Mommy Doll

Mommy Doll

Rag Dolls - The Perfect Playmate

It might be hard to believe, but not too long ago, the most popular toys didn't take batteries, didn't giggle when tickled, or light up, or make laser noises. The most popular toys were handmade ones, like the rag doll.

Rag dolls were originally made from scraps of fabric left over from when clothing and bedding were made. They weren't color coordinated, and rather than having long, luxurious, brush-able hair, they had a little mop of yarn, stitched X's for eyes, and a yarn smile. And they were soft, cuddly and oh-so- huggable. The best thing about having one was that if she got torn or flat, mom (or whomever) could just cut open a seam, add more rags for stuffing and re-stitch...she was good as new. Now, they can be purchased, but still have the benefit of being easily repairable and wonderfully unique.

A rag doll could hear all of a child's secrets at night, and during the day still have time to attend a fancy tea party in the back yard. This simple, home made play is something children of today don't really have to do. Their dolls typically come with some type of play set, with their back story already created. Just pop in new batteries, and the toy will speak, so there is no reason for a child to animate it and create a voice just for that doll. This type of imagination play is almost becoming a lost art. Sure, most children are capable of creating their own stories and games with their toys, whether or not the toys are preprogrammed, but a lot of kids don't do that as much as they used to.

Something simple and classic like a rag doll opens up play universes of all types, and they tend to last longer and be lower maintenance then their plastic, molded counterparts. A plastic doll with a cracked hand will always have a cracked hand. A rag doll with a torn hand can just get sewn back up. They are pretty hard to destroy. It won't be the toy that breaks Christmas afternoon, just a few scant hours after the wrapping paper is torn off.

Perhaps the best thing about a rag doll is that it is timeless. A child who loves a rag doll will have that her forever, eventually storing it safely and lovingly for the time when she has her own child who needs a doll to love. Every adventure that a prepackaged molded doll can have is one that a rag doll can have too. However, instead of a mechanical voice crying "mommy" over and over, their voice can change with her mistress' whim, and can say anything that the day's adventure calls for.

The technologically advanced toys of today are wonderful, and they have their place in every toy chest. However, the simple, imagination fueled rag dolls of yesterday will always have a place in a child's arms.

About the Author

The author, Claire Rigby owns Anara Toys which had an amazing range of soft dolls and accessories including rag dolls and clothes sets.

Help deciding on a baby doll please!?

Which one? Baby alive (the original that poops) or the little mommy real loving baby doll. My daughter will be 5. PLease tell me why too that will help me decide. Its a birthday present. I read reviews and I am having a hard time deciding. I want to go get it for her today while shes in school. She likes the baby alive but The reviews havent been the best, i dont want to waste money if the lips are going to peel the color and she gets clogged because of the food.
Helllp.....

Go with the Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Doll. I have heard nightmare stories about the Baby Alive Doll. I no longer recommend it. Here's the reasoning on my choice:

The downsides to the Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Doll:
More expensive than Baby Alive Doll
Doll takes care of itself/leaves lots of time for child to just "watch" doll
Feeds bottle to herself

The positives to the Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Doll:
Uses speech recognition
Can be given a special name and recognize her name
Realistic
Highly Interactive
Doesn't sound like "gears turning" when it moves

Bottom line on Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Doll:
The Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Doll is the cutest, most interactive doll that I have seen to date. It can be named by your child, recognize the name your child gives the doll, and so much more. There are no expensive refills to buy, and the voice that the doll has is very soothing, soft, and sweet. The one thing Iw ill say about this doll however is that it does a lot of the "mommy" jobs on it's own, like feeding itself. Some little girls who really want to play mommy will not like about the doll, but it's still a great doll.

The downsides to the Baby Alive Doll:
Finding refill food
Finding refill diapers
Cost of refill food
Cost of refill diapers
The diapers are too lightweight, do not hold the mess
You need to cut a larger hole in the bottle that it comes with
Messy and difficult to clean up
Takes a long time to go potty (problem for young children)
Doll looks kind of scary
Have to give doll a bite of food, drink of water, bite of food, drink of water in order to get food to go down
Have to rinse doll down throughly by giving it bottle after bottle in a row to prevent the food residue from molding on the inside of the doll
While food takes awhile to go through the doll, water goes straight through it

The positives to the Baby Alive Doll:
Eats, drinks, and fills a diaper like a real baby (kind of, lol)
You can use real baby diapers
You can use a real baby bottle

Bottom line on Baby Alive doll:
If you have an older child (5 years of age or older), then they may have the patience for the Baby Alive Doll. For younger children, steer clear of this one, as the child will not be able to do much of the "taking care of baby" that they are wanting to do. The doll is difficult to clean up after it goes potty, especially if you use the tissue paper like diapers included with the dolls, and you will end up doing most of the changing. It can also be difficult to get the doll to eat the food properly or drink the bottle in the right way. The doll is really a lot of work, and the refills are so expensive that you should steer clear of this doll all together. If you do decide to purchase this doll, go with Amazon for refill food packets and diapers, they seem to offer the best price and the refills can be hard to find in stores. It's not uncommon for the doll to burn thru an entire refill pack in a single day!

There are lots of other great similar dolls on the market, however I'll only compare these two, since those are the two that you mentioned.

Goldberger Mommy's Doll