I was really pleased to see that the Baby Annabell brand makes a boy doll, which little boys may relate to better and I received one to try out. Dressed in a blue baby grow and hat, he comes with a bib, bottle and dummy for realistic pretend play.
The little brother doll is a soft bodied, interactive doll who blinks his eyes, moves his mouth, makes realistic baby sounds and cries real tears. You can feed him real water from the bottle, and he will move his mouth as he sucks. If you wind him he will burp! Lie him flat or rock him in your arms and he will coo, then fall asleep and gently snore. When he cries, he can be calmed by having his chest, back or cheek rubbed.
The doll's sounds and actions really are endearing and even I felt compelled to pick him up and cuddle him. This doll allows realistic imaginative role play and helps develop responsibility and empathy in children as they care for the doll.
I love watching the boys have free reign over an assortment of toys, which includes dolls. I'm all for children having a choice of what they want to play with, rather than sticking to gender stereotypes. Even though Freddy loves playing with superhero action figures, trucks and action men, he is also happy playing with this doll, feeding him water and calming him down when he cries his real tears. The babbling, crying and snoring really are lifelike, and the soft body makes him very huggable! Everyone has been quite enthralled by the little Baby Annabell Brother doll.
The Baby Annabell Brother doll is 46cm tall and takes 4 x AA batteries (which are not included). He is suitable for children aged 3 and up. The RRP of the doll is £49.99.
