In recent years, toy companies have paid greater attention to inclusiveness. Powerhouse doll company Mattel has created Barbies with skin conditions like vitiligo, as well as curvier dolls and dolls in wheelchairs. Inclusiveness does matter. Studies have shown that owning and playing with dolls that reflect and represent children’s own features has a positive impact on their self esteem.
There’s still a lot of work to be done when it comes to creating inclusive dolls, and one Etsy shop is certainly helping the category grow.
Bright Ears is an Etsy shop that is dedicated to inclusiveness in the doll world.
The shop creates an array of inclusive dolls and accessories that make representing all children in play a breeze.
The shop includes an array of hearing aid accessories and cochlear implants that simply attach to any doll’s ear.
Dolls with the accessories already attached can also be purchased, like Jessie and Woody from Toy Story .
The shop really thought of a host of adaptive devices children may use.
They have ostomy bags that can be customized to sit in one of four possible positions to really reflect how the child wears theirs.
They also have dolls with PEG feeding tubes , heart operation scars, and nasogastric NG tubes.
The shop is probably the first to have a doll with a cleft lip.
Like the ostomy doll, customers can customize the type of cleft lip to reflect their child’s.
All orders also have the option to add more accessories, from medical devices to glasses.
Check out Bright Ears’ Etsy shop for the full collection of inclusive dolls and accessories.
Looks like Mattel has some work to do!
Last Updated on August 27, 2020 by Olivia Nazarewich