In Australia, baby dolls are amongst the most popular toys for toddlers, and are enjoyed both by little boys and little girls. Baby dolls have a unique function in imaginative play, with children as young as toddlers mimicking how they would treat a real life baby when playing with their doll. Feeding the baby doll a bottle, changing her nappy, dressing her, pushing her in a stroller and rocking her to sleep – these are all part of a child playing at make believe and grown up.

Dolls are human or even animal figures that have historically been most used as children’s toys, but were also used in magic, ritual, and education centuries ago. Archaeological evidence suggests dolls are the oldest known toys in the world.

The oldest dolls ever found are wooden paddle dolls, found in ancient Egyptian tombs. The ancient Greeks had dolls with articulated arms and legs. Roman dolls were made of wood, clay, rags, or ivory, and these have been found in the graves of children and were dressed in fashions of the day. Greek and Roman girls dedicated their childhood dolls to a goddess when they got married.

In Africa, Native America, and other cultures across the world, dolls were used to educate, and were also seen as ritual tools and messengers from the gods. Dolls have been made from everything from wood to corn husk; apple to soapstone; clay to wax; leather to straw; porcelain to celluloid.

Modern dolls have their roots in Germany in the 1400s.

The first baby doll appeared for sale in the mid-1800s. Before this, children (traditionally little girls) were limited to dolls that were fashioned elaborately and based on adults. Doll manufacturers in the mid-1800s worked to produce dolls that resembled infants. Lifelike wax baby dolls were popular in the late 1800s, followed by the Bye-Lo baby, designed in 1922, which was created to look like a newborn of age three days.

Betsy-Wetsy and Dy-Dee Dolls were popular in the 1930s, and these dolls would drink and wet like a real baby. In the 1930s’ the Shirley Temple Doll sold in the millions, and was popular alongside Kewpie dolls. Almost every little girl in the last century has had some form of baby doll.

Today, baby dolls are as realistic and as popular as ever. Even the most basic baby doll cultivates nurturing and parental-style role play in children. Baby dolls from Australia can be a great gift for any toddler or small child, but especially one who is soon to become an older brother or sister. It can help alleviate jealousy of a new baby, and assist in the child feeling grown up like mum or dad when they have their own “baby” to look after.

Choose New Dimension Oz when you shop for baby dolls in Australia for the highest quality and an impressive product range.