Have you seen the Reborn Baby dolls? They are in the center of a controversy. Some say these dolls are cute and cuddly, while others see them as creepy and macabre. I tend to lean toward the second group. (If you missed the first part of this article, please click here to catch up: Are Reborn Babies Scary and Harmful?
ABC News has reported several stories about these dolls and included expert testimony. In one story, it is stated that carrying one of these babies around is not mentally healthy and could actually lead to serious problems, such as baby stealing or harming a real baby. One psychologist urged owners to seek help for unresolved issues, such as loneliness rather than emerging into a harmful fantasy world. For some people, the report implied, owning one of these Reborn Baby dolls could lead them into taking your real baby!
At the very least, it seems that many owners have a hard time distinguishing the dolls from real babies. They rock them, cuddle them, change them and take them along shopping in carriers and strollers. Many owners enjoy the positive attention they get from appearing in public with a well-behaved infant. On one creator’s website, as the dolls are described: “The nostrels are also opened so the baby can breath…” Um, reality check anyone?
In one recent case, police broke the window of a car to save one of these dolls that was strapped into a car seat. Passerby were sure that the doll was a baby dying in the heat of the car.
Many people who are in support of these Reborn Baby dolls say that having them is a form of therapy for women who suffer from miscarriage or infertility. I just can’t imagine this. To me, there is nothing in a doll, even this type, that could ever resemble a real infant. Having suffered a second trimester miscarriage myself, I cannot even look at one of these dolls without thinking “dead baby.” My heart goes out to anyone who wishes to have a baby but cannot. I don’t think Reborn Babies can or should be the means of easing that pain.
What is your opinion? Please share.
Image from sxc.hu
Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.
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