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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.
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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
What do you think ?
COcO BAMa 4 years ago
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
rabbitsrabbit 4 years ago
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.
COcO BAMa 4 years ago
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
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Viviane 4 years ago
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.
ChickyChicky 4 years ago
Then they won't buy these dolls. And the kids who do want them will buy them.
Load More Replies...
COcO BAMa 4 years ago
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
rabbitsrabbit 4 years ago
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.
COcO BAMa 4 years ago
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... Viviane 4 years ago
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.
ChickyChicky 4 years ago
Then they won't buy these dolls. And the kids who do want them will buy them.
Load More Replies...
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