By Richard Cerda, Vice President, JC Toys
Every child is different and the best doll is the one that matches where they are right now. A doll that is too big to carry stays on the shelf. A doll with accessories a child cannot manage gets abandoned halfway through the game.
Here is how we would think about it, whether you buy from us or from anyone else.
Start with what they can handle
Three things decide whether a doll gets used or put down.
Size and weight. A child wants to pick a doll up without asking for help. For a toddler that usually means something in the eleven to sixteen inch range. Weight matters as much as height.
The age on the box. Age grades on toys sold in the United States reflect safety testing done for that specific product, usually turning on small parts. Treat the age as a floor rather than a suggestion and check the accessories as well as the doll, because a set can carry a higher grade than the doll inside it.
Whether you can clean it. A doll that cannot be cleaned easily stops being used. Look for a body you can spot wash and clothing you can machine wash.
Realistic baby dolls
Realistic dolls let children play at caring for something that closely resembles a real baby. They suit children who are already drawn to family and caregiving play rather than to toys that do something on their own.
The La Newborn collection is where most families start with us. For the wider range including the collector end, see the realistic and reborn dolls.
One thing worth knowing before you buy in this category: some realistic dolls are built and tested for children and others are collector pieces that were never meant for a toddler. They look similar in a photograph. How to choose a realistic baby doll covers how to tell them apart.
Soft body dolls
Cuddly, light and easy for younger children to carry and hug. These are the dolls that end up in bed, in the car and at the table. They are usually the right answer for a first doll and they stay in use long after other toys have been outgrown.
Our soft body dolls and the Nonis Boutique range both sit here.
Bath time dolls
Bath dolls turn a daily routine into play, which is often what makes a reluctant bath manageable. The important part is checking that a doll is actually made for water. Many vinyl dolls are water friendly. Soft body dolls generally are not unless the product page says so.
The bath ready dolls are the ones designed for it.
A first doll for a baby or toddler
For the youngest children a doll is about comfort and texture more than caregiving. Soft, light, nothing loose and machine washable, because everything at this age needs washing.
If you are choosing for a two year old specifically, we went through this in detail in best dolls for 2 year olds.
Accessories are what make play last
This is the part people underestimate. A doll on its own is a single object. A doll with a stroller, a crib or a bath set is a routine and routines can be repeated tomorrow with a small change.
That is the difference between a toy that gets played with for a week and one that is still in use a year later. Dressing for an outing, pushing the stroller, feeding in a high chair, bathing before bed. Each one gives a child a sequence to run rather than an object to hold.
Our doll strollers and accessories are built to the same scale as the dolls, which matters more than it sounds. Accessories sized for a different doll are the usual reason a set gets left in the box.
The same idea runs through our Lots to Play sets, which extend the caregiving instinct outward to a place, a vehicle or a journey.
Why the doll matters at all
A doll is one of the few toys that gives a child someone to talk to and most of what happens in doll play is spoken out loud. There is a proper look at what speech and language professionals say about that in how baby dolls help children develop empathy and early language.
The short version is that the doll is not the active ingredient. A doll being played with alongside a parent or a grandparent is where the learning happens.
Where we fit
We are a family business and we have been designing and making dolls for more than thirty years. We do both parts ourselves, which is why we can tell you what a doll is made of and what it was tested to without having to ask anyone else. The detail is in what actually makes a baby doll safe.
The right doll is rarely the most impressive one. It is the one that fits under an arm and comes to breakfast.