Just had to throw in a thought about whether 2 and 3 year olds could feed a
baby a bottle.  (1) It depends on the 2 or 3 year old, some can, some
probably can't be trusted or aren't strong enough, but if baby is in an
infant carrier, and older child is really interested, why not? (2) in Mali,
as in many "traditional" (non industrialized) cultures, young girls assume
child care responsibilities we would consider way beyond their years; young
girls of 4 or 5 carry their younger siblings around on their backs, and use
them as "dolls" in their play, even when the infants are just a few months
old; a 4 year old might be left in charge of the baby while mother goes to
the market -- they don't use bottles, so if baby cries they put baby on
their backs and walk or dance around to amuse baby; and 3 year old are sent
to the market, blocks away, to purchase food, and expected to bargain for a
good price and return with the correct change, and they do (3) remember that
these dolls are supposed to be for imaginative play -- tell the company that
if the little girls can pretend these are real babies, they can certainly
pretend they have breasts to feed them with!

Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Specialist in infant feeding and growth of children
Texas A&M University
e-mail to [log in to unmask]
(409) 845-5256
(409) 778-4513