A while back I wrote a post asking why all the Barbie dolls were naked. Some people liked it—some didn’t. Well, today I want to ask another question in relation to children’s toys.
What is with the anatomically correct (well, very nearly anatomically correct anyway) LOL Dolls?
My granddaughter loves LOL Dolls. They come in these ball-shaped containers that the kids have to unwrap and then open several individual packages inside the ball. Inside of the individually wrapped packages are the doll’s clothing and accessories as well as the doll itself.
She received several of these for Christmas. We thought they were cute for the most part. But then we noticed something, um, er, “different” on these little dolls!
Read on to see what we discovered!
Not all dolls are created equal
We hadn’t really looked over the dolls carefully. We are usually much more diligent in looking at her toys, videos and the like BEFORE we let her play with or watch them.
But these LOL dolls were so cute and tiny and unimposing—if not a little freakish (some of them anyway)—so we didn’t give them much thought.
Imagine our surprise when, as usual, our granddaughter had her LOL’s laying on the table naked and we saw this:
Yep. You are seeing this correctly. The little boy doll has the whole “thing” down there! The penis is the hollowed out area that protrudes from the dolls body. My granddaughter informed us that this is so they can “pee.” Apparently, some dolls are “spitters” and some are “pee-ers!”
It was the testicles that really threw us off, though.
Don’t get me wrong, I think we should teach the children in our lives about the differences between boys and girls, but seriously, as an “old-fashioned” grandma in a “new-age” world, I was shocked to see this. I was perplexed.
Did my six-year old granddaughter really need to see little “boy balls?”
I did my best to explain this physical difference between boys and girls. But in my mind I could just hear my granddaughter going to her school—she attends a private Catholic school—and telling her teachers and friends all about her new little boy-toy complete with balls!
By the way, the girl doll just has a flat area with a hollowed out area in case she is a “pee-er!”
We didn’t have toys like this when I was growing up!
We sure didn’t have toys like this when I was a kid. We had to use our imagination to know what Barbie and Ken had going on “down there!” Sure, Barbie had breasts, but if we wanted to know anything else about anatomy, we needed to sneak out the encyclopedia and get educated!
We had dolls that wet and drank and talked. I remember the only doll I had that I really liked was my “Drowsy Doll.” My sister had tons of Barbies and my brother had trucks and farm equipment. We had board games like “Monopoly” and “Life.”
But the one thing I am quite certain we did not have were anatomically correct dolls!
Raising Grandkids who are Curious
My granddaughter is very curious. That is one of the things that we really love about her. Sometimes her curiosity gets her into a little trouble, but most of the time, she just wants to know things and we like to help her “safely” learn about things. When a toy surprises us like this, we have to take a moment and think of how to approach this in a way that will educate her, but also keep her “safe” from the myriad of garbage that is out there in the world.
When we can’t depend on toy companies to at least “warn” us about these details on their toys, it makes it difficult to help keep our kids safe—physically, emotionally and spiritually.
At age six, my granddaughter is ready to learn about the differences between boys and girls, but I know a lot of much younger children are playing with these toys, too. They may not be ready.
See for yourself!
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About the author
Karin Nauber, “G.G.” is a professional journalist who has worked in the newspaper business for the past 27 years. She is also a grandmother who, along with her spouse, is raising one of their granddaughters. G.G. has nine grandchildren with whom she enjoys spending as much time as possible. She began this website with the hope of helping other grandparents who may be struggling with their role as parent/grandparents. If you would like to contact her, please do so at: gg@grandparentssecondstory.com.
Well, I have to say, the colors you have used work amazingly! I think your content is good, I’m not too sure what your niche is but I’m sure it’s working well. Maybe sort out that header it is very big and I would say it distracts viewers from the content and they are likely to click off.
Thanks for the feedback. It is amazing how differently things can look from one browser to the next. I will keep your suggestions in mind.
With 2020 Vision,
Karin 🙂
I definitely did not have that when I was growing up. I have to be honest though, this is really funny. I can imagine the look on your face when you saw it. But seriously, I have to agree with you regarding the idea that the doll companies owe it to the consumers of their products to, at the very least, give them heads up in product related updates, especially one of this much significance.
Great post, Karin. I’m really glad you shared.
Thanks for visiting my site, Rhain. Let me tell you, the shock we felt was not easy to hide! It was funny, especially since one of our daughters was there and she hadn’t noticed it either.
I do think the doll companies should give us a little warning or one in BIG BOLD letters!
I think if I had seen anything like that on my “Drowsy Doll” I would have been scarred for life! (Not really, but…)
With 2020 Vision,
Karin 🙂
Wow, that is definitely not something that I would expect! I do not think I would like my 6-year old playing with dolls like that, they are a little to young in my opinion to understand all of that. Then again, you are right, they do need to learn the differences between boys and girls. I think I would be ok with it a little older, fortunately all of my kids are now well past 6!
Thanks for visiting my site, Travis! We did not expect it either. Thankfully we were able to use the discovery as a learning tool, but I sure wish the manufacturer would let parents know in BIG BOLD letters what to expect from these dolls! 🙂
With 2020 Vision,
Karin 🙂
Many thanks to you for sharing such an excellent article with us .I totally agree with you because I think a little kid can understand the difference between a boy and a girl with a doll. The procedure for your registration is very nice and these dolls can show the difference between a boy and a girl.And I think our kids should play all the dolls from an early age so that they can understand the difference between a boy and a girl from an early age.I will collect these dolls for my children and share Ratnapur’s words with you.
Thank you for visiting my site! It is so nice to know that I am not alone in how we educate our children about this delicate subject matter! I agree, dolls are a good way to show our children the differences. I only wish we had been warned a little! 🙂
With 2020 Vision,
Karin 🙂
🤣🤣🙆🏽♂️🙆🏽♂️ Oh Karin, this made me laugh so hard! Anyways, it made sense differentiating between the male dolls and female dolls. Our kids these days indeed need sex education from us. If they don’t get it from us, they probably will get the education outside and in an unsafe way. We need to educate them but at the same time in a safe way. I guess your granddaughter must be a smart girl… 🙂
Thank you for visiting my site and for your comment! I laughed a few times while I was writing it, too! I believe that parents or in my case, grandparents, should be the ones to educate our children/grandchildren on sex. The problem is, so many of us do not do it because we are scared or nervous or whatever. While my granddaughter is very smart, I am hoping that we are sensible enough to know what to teach her and when.
Hope you have a great day!
With 2020 Vision,
Karin 🙂
Hi! I’d also be concerned about these dolls. . Who would imagine one would find these things in a child’s toys. And it’s difficult to explain these things when one has time getting prepared for the subject. But when the topic is addressed abruptly and one has to explain things to a kid, it’s even more difficult.
Thanks for your spot on summary, Henry. It is a difficult subject anyway, but then to have it sprung on a person… well that just adds to the potential mayhem!
Thanks for visiting my site!
Best wishes,
Karin 🙂
I know how it feels when you saw the hollowed out area and especially the testicles in front of your granddaughter. It’s kind of shocking. This is nowhere found in those days. But it’s a good thing you were there to educate her.
Yep, that’s exactly what most children will do. A “strange” thing beneath their doll like this will want to bring about discussion in the school among classmates and even their favorite teacher, “Hey, did you see what my mom gave me for a gift? A male doll with balls.” That alone will throw any teacher off.
Indeed, doll companies needs to give the “specifics” of any doll in the package before purchasing. We might buy a doll present for our kid without knowing what we actually bought if it’s “safe”. This includes other things like games, videos, etc.
Thanks for visiting my site, Leon. Yes. We were completely taken off guard when we saw the dolls! We warned the teachers that she might talk about this at school just so they had a heads-up… Certainly more than the doll company gave us! 🙂
I guess this educates us as parents and grandparents, too, we must be more diligent in checking out the toys we give to our children.
It’s truly sad that it has come to this.
Best wishes,
Karin 🙂
Toys come such a long way. I only had the pleasure of playing with barbie and also Polly’s pocket. I am surprised that they have genitals….. I am just trying to understand what is the point of this? I remembered when I played with them the thought of taking them to do no.1 and 2 never occurred to me.
I think the talk of the birds and bees come eventually when they are a bit older. They might be curious but most of the time their attention shift and focus on something else. When that time come we can teach them.
Thanks for visiting my site, Nuttanee. You make some very valid points. We were so surprised, too, that they have genitals. I do not know the point, other than the doll had pink hair and maybe they have them on there so you can tell they are a boy?
I don’t know, but I think parents should know ahead of time that they have these so we can prepare!
Best wishes,
Karin 🙂
Wow, I’ve never heard of a lol doll. Not really sure what to make of this scenario, it sure is an interesting topic for discussion. I would also say that there should be pictures of the doll without clothes on where you can see exactly what you are buying for a child. This should not come as a surprise once you have bought the item.
When I first heard of LOL dolls I thought they meant dolls that literally laughed out loud!
My granddaughter—who is 7—informed me the other day that this is how you can tell if they are boy or girl dolls. The gender fluidness of these dolls is a bit disturbing to me, as a grandparent (maybe I am too old school), but I want the option of telling my granddaughter about sexuality (in amy form), not learning it from her dolls!
I think pictures would be useful, but since it is an LOL Surprise doll, they don’t have a depiction of the actual doll at all, just a generic one. I guess when you open the box and see the little boy balls and winky looking at you, you get your surprise!
Thanks for visiting our site!
Best wishes,
Karin 🙂
Personally, I agree with you based on the topic of being surprised to see something like this, but at the same time we need to educate our children from a very young age the anatomy of the human body. We should be teaching them that if an adult man shows them their penis in whatever circumstances that they need to speak up and know what’s okay and what is not. Due to parents not having this mentality it is why a lot of children – can be molested (talking from personal experience) – I think it’s great that dolls nowadays are showing kids normal basic things. The anatomy is nothing to be ashamed of – that can also mislead and traumatize trans children who don’t understand how their own bodies work.
I agree with you. I just wish the LOL company would have warned us that these “features” were present!
I agree that many parents do not properly teach their children about anatomy and sexuality. I think there is a long held stigma about doing so.
The topic of sexuality and anatomy is under discussion at my child’s school district now. There is a book that goes into fairly graphic detail about sexuality that is wanting to be introduced and their is a group that is fighting the introduction of the book to students as young as kindergarten.
The book is quite shocking with detailed depictions of sex acts and more. I am torn. I am not sure I want my second grader learning about what goes where right now.
Well, with distance learning a real possibility this coming school year parents will be more in charge of the health training of their kids. Let’s hope they get it right.
With 2020 vision,
Karin 😁
This is a very controversial article you wrote. I don’t have any real issues with it. But others might. I’m a very open person and so as my family members. Toys are there for kids to react to or learn from them. Because most parents are afraid to talk to their kids about the gender thing. All they do is point to a person with a beard and a person with a lipstick/long hair to identify the genders. But to have toys that give a little more identification of the genders, is educational by itself. That said, I think that it is one of the most safest way to help kids learn without being raw about it.
Thank you for visiting our site.
I agree with you that we do not do a very good job of teaching our children about genders. My problem was that there was no warning that this was what we would find. I think it was the shock of seeing it without warning was the thing that threw me off guard.
Best wishes,
Karin 🙂
Hi Karin, thanks for bringing this matter to the attention of parents. Personally, 6 is a bit young for children to exposed to opposite sex body parts. But times have changed and 100% agree with you, a warning before purchasing a LOL Doll would be the considerate thing for this company to do. Sharing this article now people should be aware of what they’re exposing children to!
Thank you for visiting our site. I felt that way, too. The warning would have been very nice to have had before the surprise. I guess that’s why they call them, LOL Surprise!
Best wishes,
Karin 🙂
We surely live in different times. Some parents would say there is nothing wrong with this that it helps the kids learn about the body anatomy and I think that was probably what the manufacturers of that toy had in mind or I hoping that was what they had in mind.
In my opinion, these kids are too young for this. There is time for them to properly learn about the body anatomy and it should not be at such a young age. I even watched a video recently whereby young kids were being thought the safety of sex and how to put on protection.
Is this really necessary at such an age? We definitely did not have those growing up so what has changed. We live in strange times whereby a lot of things are being exposed to our kids that should not be. Even the cartoons they watch are no longer safe and innocent. I watch some of the cartoons these kids watch and I ask myself if these cartoons were really produced for kids. Really strange. We parents need to consciously involve ourselves in the lives of our kids so they are not exposed to what they not supposed to see.
Thank you for visiting our site, Manuel. I felt the same, this was too young for her to be introduced to male anatomy. I think it was the initial shock of seeing the anatomy without being forewarned. Some of the cartoons are very questionable, too!
Best wishes,
Karin 🙂
I think it’s a difficult subject matter, everyone has their own opinions on how our children ought to be educated about our sexual differences. In my generation, buying a doll with genitals would probably have been quite shocking, but now, perhaps not so much. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is again down to personal opinion. Personally I can’t see how these dolls could harm a child, but they could bring about some quite embarrassing and possibly humorous questions for parents/grandparents to answer. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for visiting our site. The initial shock was what took me off guard with the dolls. Personally, I want to teach my granddaughter, not some company that has no interest in my child other than selling her more toys.
We still get her the LOL dolls occassionally, but I don’t freak out now because I know what to expect.
With 2020 Vision,
Karin 😎
Hello Karin, I had to laugh when I read your article about the “LOL dolls” and how surprised you were about the gender-specific details on the doll. I can imagine how surprised you must have been. In my opinion though, there is nothing wrong with a doll having a penis or vagina. On the contrary, it makes it more real. Why didn´t dolls have genitals? They are part of the human physique, just like arms or legs. I think it is better to talk with children about genitals just like you talk about any other body parts and name them with their correct name. And when a doll has a penis or testicles, ok it is just like a doll has arms and legs. The less “secretive” and “embarrassed” we act when it comes to genitals, the better in my opinion. I really like your site, interesting insight in every day as a grandparent / parent.
Thank you for visiting our site, Drea. All of what you say makes perfect sense. I just would have prefered to have a little warning that this was how the dolls were made! LOL indeed! Our granddaughter treats these things as matter of fact. I guess that is good.
I hope you will continue to enjoy our site!
With 2020 Vision,
Karin 😎