A baby doll that rejects food is slated to hit store shelves in the United Kingdom next month, and mental health experts believe the toy will encourage eating disorders among children.
The Daily Mail reports the toy is called the 'Nenuco Won't Eat' doll made by the Spanish company Famosa, and was introduced recently at a toy fair. The doll is an infant girl and comes with a plate and a plastic spoon and a magnet in the spoon causes the doll's head to turn away when food is offered. The toy, which is already available in parts of Europe, will accept the food when the spoon is positioned a certain way, manufacturers say.
Nikki Jeffery, Famosa’s UK marketing director said to the Mail the “idea is that the child understands that the doll is being mischievous and that the child encourages the doll to eat the food, just as a parent does with their child.”
The toy, according to Chris Leaman, policy manager at the child and adolescent mental health charity YoungMinds, told the Mail the doll, "promotes unhealthy attitudes towards food."
“This doll sends the wrong message to children and encourages them to think that refusing food is normal behavior,” she said.”
The doll is expected to sell in the UK for a price that equals about $58.
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