Parents told to shun ‘preggy’ dolls

MANILA, Philippines—Don’t buy those “preggy” dolls.

The Department of Health on Friday warned parents against buying “pregnant’ dolls as gifts for their children this Christmas.

DOH-National Capital Region Director Eduardo C. Janairo said the dolls, which are proliferating in shopping areas in Metro Manila and sold online, are promoting “teenage pregnancy” and “tends to glamorize the life of teenage girls who have babies at a young age.”

He added that the pregnant dolls being sold had a detachable stomach “where a baby will come out of the tummy.”

“I recommend parents not to give the pregnant dolls for gifts this holiday season. It is inappropriate and offensive. It promotes teenage pregnancy and tends to glamorize the life of teenage girls who have babies at a young age which is not a very good example to share to children,” Janairo said in a statement.

“The emotional development of a child takes place during the tender age of five to eight. They should be presented with a toy that is educational and essential to their learning years and be guided in playing with it,” he added.

Janairo said that the “imaginative minds of children” are influenced by what they see and hear and, from age four years through five, they build up role playing scenarios.

They participate in this type of play through the use of toy figures, puppets, dolls, or stuffed animals. They act out a particular role and create “a drama amongst themselves. They often dress up and use props in this kind of role play,” he said.

Janairo explained that most children during this age period have yet “to distinguish the difference between fantasy and reality.”

“Most children will think pregnancy is fine because they are presented with an attractive pregnant doll to play with,” he said.

Janairo also noted that the “anatomical presentation” of the dolls is “a perversion of the natural way of a child’s delivery.”

“As parents, we should be responsible in providing our children with significant information about life as they grow up rather than learning them from others sources,” Janairo said.

He claimed that pregnant dolls were banned in the United States in 2002 following complaints from various customers.

Since the pregnant dolls are not food or drugs, the DOH does not have the legal authority to ban them. They fall under the oversight of the Department of Trade and Industry.