Baby Dolls from Yesteryear

With all of the new toys out there, I got to wondering: Do kids play with baby dolls anymore?

When I was little (many moons ago), my sister and I had a couple of baby dolls that we fed and dressed and put down for naps. Their names were Pammy and Susie.

When I got tired of playing with them, I would put the baby doll dresses on our cats. They didn't like it much. But it was fun till the claws came out!

The baby doll shown here is an original Tiny Tears doll my sister gave me for my grandchildren to play with. And they love her! I even have a tiny newborn disposable diaper that we "change" every once in awhile.

Even though they don't play with her all the time, each time they visit, one of the grandkids picks her up and I find her somewhere new. They have to pick her up and see how she's doing at the very least.

Photo Credit: Peggy Hazelwood

The Tiny Tears baby doll was made by the American Character Doll Company starting in 1950 until the early 1960s.

She has "tear ducts" that allow her to, well, cry like a baby after being fed a bottle. Pressing on her stomach induces the tears.

A very young Patty Duke hawked Tiny Tears in television commercials.

Betsy Wetsy is a baby doll in a class all her own. Like her name says, she drinks then she wets. She was made by the Ideal Toy Company starting in the 1930s and she reached her peak of peeing popularity in the 1950s.

According to Wikipedia, another doll was made that also drank and urinated. Ideal sued for patent infringement but "The judge ruled that drinking and urinating are natural movements and cannot be patented." This sounds logical to me!

Who would you rather take care of?

This author, Peggy Hazelwood, participates in Amazon, eBay, All Posters, and other affiliate advertising programs. When you click an advertising link on this page and make a purchase, I receive a small percent of the sale. Thank you for reading this far!