I would agree with you but, I would not have said this if he was a girl or if
we lived in a society were it would be highly unlikely that this his future
children would be given a bottle!   And I have yet to see my boys 3 and 7
try to breastfeed their doll.  They roll model lots of cuddling and pushing
in the stroller and an occasional bottle.

In a message dated 7/12/00 6:26:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

>
>  I can see the idea of giving a doll to "practice with" to the angry
>  7-year-old who wanted to feed his new sibling might make him less angry,
but
>  I'm uncomfortable with what that implies. Saying that he can then give the
>  baby a bottle when it's ready or older suggests that "readiness for a
>  bottle" is some kind of developmental goal, and might imply that all babies
>  will need bottles. (I know that's not what you meant.) It's the same kind
of
>  discomfort I feel about dolls always coming with bottles.
>
>  I think a 7-year-old can understand why bottles are a problem, and why
>  breastfeeding is important. I'd tell him. Surely he wants the best for this
>  little baby? And I'd help him to see all the other things he can do with a
>  baby.
>  One day he'll be a father, and I think it would be great if he could come
>  into fatherhood knowing that breastfeeding is valuable and that he can
still
>  be involved with a baby despite not having "the equipment."
>
>  Teresa Pitman
>  Guelph, Ontario
>  (whose four children grew up around lots of breastfed babies and never once
>  asked to give any of them a bottle - I guess it shows how far out of the
>  mainstream we are! All their dolls were breastfed. I also did my share of
>  nursing dolls, stuffed animals, action figures, etc.) (Yes, in my house the
>  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were breastfed, too - hey, it made them feel
>  better when they got hurt.)

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