Mom Starts Making Inclusive Dolls After She Couldn’t Find Any With Hearing Aids For Her Deaf Daughter
It’s very natural to want to play with toys that remind us of ourselves. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many dolls available for differently-abled children who have medical conditions and look different than others. 39-year-old British mother of two, Clare Tawell, decided to solve the issue and created the nonprofit organization Bright Ears UK which she uses to modify baby dolls to match children with medical conditions.
Clare’s biggest inspiration was her 4-year-old daughter Matilda who is deaf. “I became really disheartened when I couldn’t find a doll or any toy with hearing aids. It felt to me that society didn’t deem her important and therefore she shouldn’t be ‘acknowledged,’” she told Today.
The medical radiation technologist works on the dolls during her spare time and her goal is for every child with disabilities to play with toys that are just like them. She hopes to empower children and promote inclusiveness with her handmade dolls and accessories.
Clare Tawell founded Bright Ears UK and now modifies dolls to make them look like children with various medical conditions
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Clare has sold over 2k dolls since starting her toy-altering mission in 2017. She hopes that, in the future, children with medical conditions will be able to go into any shop and see dolls with cleft lips or hearing aids next to regular dolls. That way, kids will feel normal and won’t feel different from others.
The founder of Bright Ears UK has had her hands full of new orders recently and some of her products are temporarily sold out. So if you’ve spotted something that you desperately want, you’ll need to have a bit of patience. Clare also does custom requests whenever she has the time.
According to Clare, we live in a world that puts a lot of emphasis on ‘being normal’ and anyone that looks different from the norm might feel ‘abnormal.’ That can affect kids’ confidence in themselves and their self-esteem and create further problems down the line.
It’s not just individuals who buy Clare’s dolls. Schools and nurseries have also purchased them and use them when they talk about inclusiveness and learning not to judge people by how they look.
Incomplete Cleft & Blue hearing aids
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Partial cleft, purple hearing aids & mic-key feeding tube
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Left incomplete cleft lip
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Right incomplete cleft lip
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Left incomplete cleft lip
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Custom cleft
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Cleft lip doll
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Cleft lip repair, macrostomia cleft & blue hearing aids
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Insulin Pump & CGM Sensor
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Insulin Pump & CGM Sensor
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Haemanhioma (Strawberry Mark) Custom made
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Stoma & Mic-Key Feeding Tube
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Oxygen Nasal Cannula
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Macrostomia cleft
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Central Venous Line
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Tracheostomy
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Heart scar doll
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
PEG feeding tube dolls
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Woody & Jessie Hearing Aids & Cochlear Implants
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Princess hearing aid doll
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Christmas Elves with various medical conditions
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
Dolls with hearing aids
Image credits: Bright Ears UK
I;m gonna get a down vote but i think this is nice for younger kids who have no care in the world this makes them have a connection with their favorite doll i have a daughter with down syndrome which then affected her hearing personally i think she would love these dolls
I don't know how useful this is... these dolls look like they are for really young kids who may not be that sensitive to their physical differences (yet). Having really different looking toys might bring them unneccessary attention. Let kids have toys, no need to make everything into a social mission.
Yes your right it might even make the kid more comfordent as if a african americian girl or boy would feel more comfindent with a doll in their enthicity
Load More Replies...There's criticism of these dolls that bring up some points to ponder. I'm wondering if anyone with a visible disability would have wanted a doll that reflects their appearance.
Then they won't buy these dolls. And the kids who do want them will buy them.
Load More Replies...These dolls are cute, it would mean so much to the kids, just wish that they have more black dolls.
I can completely get behind the sentiments with this, a great idea but Barbie tried this with a recent range of dolls. We ordered from an assortment and got a Barbie with a skin condition and a Barbie that had a 'fuller figure' - Despite my protests, my daughter simply would not play with them. She was scared of the one with a skin condition and didn't like the other one because none of the dresses fit.
It’s bc it’s Barbie and she’s perfect Ppl can’t and won’t handle something that they’re used to. Reasons why I hate Barbie dolls smh
Load More Replies...Such a neat idea! It must be so nice for those kids to have a doll just like them. Sweet <3
This mom is so nice, I can just imagine a kid looking at these and saying "she/he looks just like me!"
But to me, that's the problem. I didn't want a doll that looked like me when I was younger. I wanted them to be pretty, I wanted to be proud of them and show them off.
Load More Replies...This was so sweet! I liked the strawberry one, my baby sister has a strawberry on her shoulder. I call her Boo Boo Chicken. (Not because of the strawberry but because it's a cute nickname)
I know that American Girl dolls have the option for hearing aids and even alopecia now. Good that other companies are doing the same.
I think that the main greatness in this is that a child will feel less alone, if there is a doll like them then there must be many others out there like them also...it can also be something for siblings to be less fearful of, understand more and have greater empathy for their siblings.
"I became really disheartened" These were made to make the mum feel better, not the child. The cleft lips also confuses me slightly, don't doctors fix all cleft lips? So wouldn't the child just want repaired cleft lips with their scars and not the open cleft, they likely wont even remember all the surgery and problems with their mouth by the time they can understand "hey this doll has the same appearance I once had". Wouldn't that also be disheartening for them, to know no matter how much they pretend doctor they can't actually fix the dolls mouth like the doctors did to them.
At first, I was a bit startled, but I think this is a fantastic idea! Especially as I see a few Black/brown dolls. Hopefully, she'll expand the range of ethnicities.
These would be wonderful for all children, to help those without medical conditions understand and gain comfort with those who look different than what they commonly see.
Yeah I agreed with your comments. With the hearing aid is something that could actually help kid to "ajust" but with lip and other tubes.... I'm not on it at all. Very disturbing.
Yeah let’s celebrate the things that make kids and families suffer. This is ridiculous.
its not about that and please dont we so harsh its just about when kids see dolls that dont look like them it can make them feel worst and then question why their different i feel like its meant for younger kids who might not see their selfs as different
Load More Replies...There are reborn dolls, which look very much like newborn babies. Some are owned by parents who have lost infants. Are you uncomfortable with visible disabilities in people or just representations of them?
Load More Replies...I;m gonna get a down vote but i think this is nice for younger kids who have no care in the world this makes them have a connection with their favorite doll i have a daughter with down syndrome which then affected her hearing personally i think she would love these dolls
I don't know how useful this is... these dolls look like they are for really young kids who may not be that sensitive to their physical differences (yet). Having really different looking toys might bring them unneccessary attention. Let kids have toys, no need to make everything into a social mission.
Yes your right it might even make the kid more comfordent as if a african americian girl or boy would feel more comfindent with a doll in their enthicity
Load More Replies...There's criticism of these dolls that bring up some points to ponder. I'm wondering if anyone with a visible disability would have wanted a doll that reflects their appearance.
Then they won't buy these dolls. And the kids who do want them will buy them.
Load More Replies...These dolls are cute, it would mean so much to the kids, just wish that they have more black dolls.
I can completely get behind the sentiments with this, a great idea but Barbie tried this with a recent range of dolls. We ordered from an assortment and got a Barbie with a skin condition and a Barbie that had a 'fuller figure' - Despite my protests, my daughter simply would not play with them. She was scared of the one with a skin condition and didn't like the other one because none of the dresses fit.
It’s bc it’s Barbie and she’s perfect Ppl can’t and won’t handle something that they’re used to. Reasons why I hate Barbie dolls smh
Load More Replies...Such a neat idea! It must be so nice for those kids to have a doll just like them. Sweet <3
This mom is so nice, I can just imagine a kid looking at these and saying "she/he looks just like me!"
But to me, that's the problem. I didn't want a doll that looked like me when I was younger. I wanted them to be pretty, I wanted to be proud of them and show them off.
Load More Replies...This was so sweet! I liked the strawberry one, my baby sister has a strawberry on her shoulder. I call her Boo Boo Chicken. (Not because of the strawberry but because it's a cute nickname)
I know that American Girl dolls have the option for hearing aids and even alopecia now. Good that other companies are doing the same.
I think that the main greatness in this is that a child will feel less alone, if there is a doll like them then there must be many others out there like them also...it can also be something for siblings to be less fearful of, understand more and have greater empathy for their siblings.
"I became really disheartened" These were made to make the mum feel better, not the child. The cleft lips also confuses me slightly, don't doctors fix all cleft lips? So wouldn't the child just want repaired cleft lips with their scars and not the open cleft, they likely wont even remember all the surgery and problems with their mouth by the time they can understand "hey this doll has the same appearance I once had". Wouldn't that also be disheartening for them, to know no matter how much they pretend doctor they can't actually fix the dolls mouth like the doctors did to them.
At first, I was a bit startled, but I think this is a fantastic idea! Especially as I see a few Black/brown dolls. Hopefully, she'll expand the range of ethnicities.
These would be wonderful for all children, to help those without medical conditions understand and gain comfort with those who look different than what they commonly see.
Yeah I agreed with your comments. With the hearing aid is something that could actually help kid to "ajust" but with lip and other tubes.... I'm not on it at all. Very disturbing.
Yeah let’s celebrate the things that make kids and families suffer. This is ridiculous.
its not about that and please dont we so harsh its just about when kids see dolls that dont look like them it can make them feel worst and then question why their different i feel like its meant for younger kids who might not see their selfs as different
Load More Replies...There are reborn dolls, which look very much like newborn babies. Some are owned by parents who have lost infants. Are you uncomfortable with visible disabilities in people or just representations of them?
Load More Replies...
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