Christmas
Baby Dolls (the toys, not underwear)
Mumto3thatsme · 05/11/2020 21:19
Looking for recommendations for a doll for dd age 3.
What’s your little ones favourite and why?
----
This thread is quite old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for a doll for your child, we’ve recently updated our best dolls page with lots of great options, as tried and tested by Mumsnet users and their kids. We hope you find it useful. 
MNHQ
Kanaloa · 05/11/2020 21:21
At that age mine loved Baby Annabel. She has a soft body so easy to change clothes. Baby Born is all plastic and it’s hard to get clothes on her. There is also a boy version of Baby Annabel but I don’t remember what he’s called. You can get loads of accessories too, my dd had a baby walker, cot, plenty of outfits and bottles.
ShortSilence · 05/11/2020 21:31
Corolle Bebe Do, which I think was identical to Corolle Eloise: - Eloise Goes to Bed - 14 Inch/35cm Soft Bodied Baby Doll and Accessories [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MY37Q4Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_W3gPFb1J450A?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
It’s really sweet — the face is much more delicately modelled and cute than it looks in the photos. Body is soft. I regard all other baby dolls as demonic nuggets of evil but this one is genuinely nice.
It’s also quite compact and a better size for a younger child to cuddle and carry about than some of the standard ones.
And yes I know it’s a million quid but it was worth every penny, DD loved it SO much.
ShortSilence · 05/11/2020 21:33
Oh god sorry, hang on. Proper link
www.corolle.com/coffret-eloise-va-au-dodo-1430.html?version=mobile#null
user686827 · 05/11/2020 23:07
I have a baby doll obsessed 7 year old that plays with nothing else so I think we've had nearly all of them. By FAR her favourite is Baby Born. It is really overpriced for what it does, but I think it is the open ended aspect that makes them so popular. Ones with interactive features are good for very young toddlers, 18 months to 2, but they are gimmicky and don't allow as much imaginative play as they get older in my experience so they tend not to take to them as well. Often those that love Baby Annabel play with her more turned off.
At three, my dd struggled to hold Baby Annabel and Baby Born. There is a new Baby Born that is smaller than the standard Baby Born, I think it is called Baby Born little sister and I think it does all the same things as Baby Born. That is what I would recommend at 3.
My daughter's second favourite doll is the Argos Tiny Treasures doll, which is a realistic weighted doll, similar to a reborn. They also do a smaller version, my son got one aged 3 and it was a great size for him.
The benefit of a hard bodied doll over soft is being able to take it in the bath, take it swimming, take it to the beach etc. My daughter says hard bodied ones feel more realistic and soft bodied ones more like a teddy, but I guess it's individual.
If you really want a sound feature I'd suggest looking at the Baby Alive range, some talk or cry, and they are all a good size for a 3 year old and not too expensive.
jemimajim · 09/03/2021 00:15
Anyone has experience with NPK reborn silicone dolls with soft bodies? NPK website states all dolls meet safety requirements of ASTM F963 and EN71. One I ordered was NPK but from a different seller with no box and no paperwork. Would you worry if a doll doesn’t have a CE label? Would you worry about quite a strong ‘supposedly baby’ smell? Do dolls stop smelling eventually from your experience and if so how long does it take? I washed it with a soap 3x and used alcoholic wipes as well but it still smells though possibly less. It seems NPK dolls are sold mainly on Amazon or Aliexpress. I wonder if I should have shopped for dolls in Argos and similar places which would guarantee safety?
FiloFaxx · 13/03/2021 10:23
My three year old got a Tiny Tears for her birthday and she loves it. It's called "Classic" but doesn't look like the Tiny Tears I had as a child 😂 she loves her but maybe not babyish enough for what you're looking for?
www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Tiny-Tears-John-Adams/dp/B009E29I1M?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.