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
Nothing in your comment warrants a downvote.
why is this own vote did you mean your comment would get a downvote
I'm so confused...what did you think worthy of a downvote? What you said was the WHOLE POINT of the article.
Lea S. lol
Lea S. what
Lea S. follower
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
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.
A full facial cleft is a once in 300.000 live births occurrence. That's not gonna work ;) The hearing aid dolls are great and are also a permanent part of their appearance.
i had a (now fixed) visible disability when i was very little and was bullied bc of it. I would've hated a doll that reflects on that. The hearing aid dolls are better imo because it shows the "after", a solution and it's positive. A cleft, i'm afraid, is not. But that's just me.
not really its for kids not grown adults little kids would love playing with these dolls and because their use to their selfs they will think the dolls are normal
Thanks all for the responses. Issues of representation and accessibility interest me, in part because of my work on online training.
These dolls are cute, it would mean so much to the kids, just wish that they have more black dolls.
They do
I love this because as a kid i always felt different from everyone else for having hemangioma and this makes me feel so much better about the future and how people think of this . Thank you so much for making the future better . I love these 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
Phil Potts -
because it was a barbie which arent really pro in this department but the maker of this doll is when going onto esty they have a range of dolls
Such a neat idea! It must be so nice for those kids to have a doll just like them. Sweet <3
your_lesbian_friend what
schopenowski no
schopenowski +
schopenowski no
schopenowski like
schopenowski like
schopenowski -
your_lesbian_friend Good response!
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.
You opinion is yours, I would love this and think "wow the world actually likes me instead of telling me to f*** off"
not in a mean way D:
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)
im deaf too well not fully deaf i was born 14 weeks early (I wear hearing aids)
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.
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.
Also, while they are expensive, American Girl makes dolls with things such as hearing aids, insulin kits, and who don't have hair. Except it is American Girl, which is rather expensive.
Yeah let’s celebrate the things that make kids and families suffer. This is ridiculous.
It's not celebrating, just acknowledging.
It’s acknowledging to ppl bc they re so used to stupid Barbie stereotypes. Ppl should be proud
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yeah, let's constantly remind children of how they are different! How about bed linens with medical conditions on too? wallpapers perhaps..? Come on, give the kids a break, let them feel slightly normal.
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
Tor, ttbqts the point of the dolls- showing it’s not completely abnormal and that they aren’t lone
Also i don't see a problem with being different and you must teach kids at a young age to love theirselfs and their differences and these dolls start that a kid with a hearing aid should be proud and happy with their life dont sheild that away and when kids ask them about their hearing aid they were never taught this and sheilded from how different they are which can harm them even more
For them, this is normal.
Actually, no it's not. They see others as normal and feel different. It's where toys like these can give some reassurance that it's ok. And the same reason clefts are unnecessary to be represented in a post op way.
Britta B +
Britta B good
I agree with you on the cleft ones. But talking about the hearng aids ones, what I meant was: This is what they experience every day. Its their reality they carry this device.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Does she make dead dolls for those that lose their kids to cot death? Missing dolls.. abused ones. Ones run over by cars or abducted by pervs? I find it perverse. Hi, buy my attacked and killed by a rabid dog doll. . . . . Not what I see as healthy.
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?
Neither. When my 22 year old cat died, I got sad, I cried, I buried it. End of. I did not feel the need to get it stuffed and mounted so I could look at it every day. Some people have disadvantages in life. Mental, physical, whatever. I do not see a need to dwell on them. Celebrate what they can do, and what they do have. I see at as concentrating on the negative, not the positive.
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
Nothing in your comment warrants a downvote.
why is this own vote did you mean your comment would get a downvote
I'm so confused...what did you think worthy of a downvote? What you said was the WHOLE POINT of the article.
Lea S. lol
Lea S. what
Lea S. follower
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
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.
A full facial cleft is a once in 300.000 live births occurrence. That's not gonna work ;) The hearing aid dolls are great and are also a permanent part of their appearance.
i had a (now fixed) visible disability when i was very little and was bullied bc of it. I would've hated a doll that reflects on that. The hearing aid dolls are better imo because it shows the "after", a solution and it's positive. A cleft, i'm afraid, is not. But that's just me.
not really its for kids not grown adults little kids would love playing with these dolls and because their use to their selfs they will think the dolls are normal
Thanks all for the responses. Issues of representation and accessibility interest me, in part because of my work on online training.
These dolls are cute, it would mean so much to the kids, just wish that they have more black dolls.
They do
I love this because as a kid i always felt different from everyone else for having hemangioma and this makes me feel so much better about the future and how people think of this . Thank you so much for making the future better . I love these 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
Phil Potts -
because it was a barbie which arent really pro in this department but the maker of this doll is when going onto esty they have a range of dolls
Such a neat idea! It must be so nice for those kids to have a doll just like them. Sweet <3
your_lesbian_friend what
schopenowski no
schopenowski +
schopenowski no
schopenowski like
schopenowski like
schopenowski -
your_lesbian_friend Good response!
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.
You opinion is yours, I would love this and think "wow the world actually likes me instead of telling me to f*** off"
not in a mean way D:
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)
im deaf too well not fully deaf i was born 14 weeks early (I wear hearing aids)
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.
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.
Also, while they are expensive, American Girl makes dolls with things such as hearing aids, insulin kits, and who don't have hair. Except it is American Girl, which is rather expensive.
Yeah let’s celebrate the things that make kids and families suffer. This is ridiculous.
It's not celebrating, just acknowledging.
It’s acknowledging to ppl bc they re so used to stupid Barbie stereotypes. Ppl should be proud
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yeah, let's constantly remind children of how they are different! How about bed linens with medical conditions on too? wallpapers perhaps..? Come on, give the kids a break, let them feel slightly normal.
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
Tor, ttbqts the point of the dolls- showing it’s not completely abnormal and that they aren’t lone
Also i don't see a problem with being different and you must teach kids at a young age to love theirselfs and their differences and these dolls start that a kid with a hearing aid should be proud and happy with their life dont sheild that away and when kids ask them about their hearing aid they were never taught this and sheilded from how different they are which can harm them even more
For them, this is normal.
Actually, no it's not. They see others as normal and feel different. It's where toys like these can give some reassurance that it's ok. And the same reason clefts are unnecessary to be represented in a post op way.
Britta B +
Britta B good
I agree with you on the cleft ones. But talking about the hearng aids ones, what I meant was: This is what they experience every day. Its their reality they carry this device.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Does she make dead dolls for those that lose their kids to cot death? Missing dolls.. abused ones. Ones run over by cars or abducted by pervs? I find it perverse. Hi, buy my attacked and killed by a rabid dog doll. . . . . Not what I see as healthy.
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?
Neither. When my 22 year old cat died, I got sad, I cried, I buried it. End of. I did not feel the need to get it stuffed and mounted so I could look at it every day. Some people have disadvantages in life. Mental, physical, whatever. I do not see a need to dwell on them. Celebrate what they can do, and what they do have. I see at as concentrating on the negative, not the positive.