Best Baby Dolls That Look Real [for Kids] – The Modern Mindful Mom (2024)

We highly recommend getting your child a realistic baby doll. There are many benefits to a child having a baby doll that looks real. However, there are several important factors you need to consider, which we’ll discuss below. We put together a list of the best baby dolls that look real for kids.

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Why should you buy your child a realistic baby doll? There are so many reason and so many benefits! First, what do we mean by “realistic baby dolls”? For us, this means not only realistic facial features, but also anatomically-correct.

What’s an anatomically correct doll? An “anatomically correct” baby doll has realistic anatomy, specifically in the genital area. Most traditional baby dolls have no defining details in the genital area. Even if the baby doll looks real, the realistic features typically end under the clothes.

Here is a side-by-side of baby dolls: one with a soft body, an anatomically correct girl baby doll and an anatomically correct boy baby doll.

Benefits to Baby Dolls that Look Real / Benefits of Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls

1. Representation matters. Children benefit from playing with dolls that look like them. This includes gender, but also race and disability. This leads to increased self-esteem and confidence.
2. Facilitates conversations and aids in teaching children anatomically correct terms.This is useful in teaching children the correct terms of their own body parts, as well as teach about body parts of the opposite sex.
3. Aids in teaching about consent and appropriate touch.
4. Helps children safely practice for properly caring for a real baby (like if becoming a big brother or sister!). For instance, how to hold a baby, change a diaper, etc.
5. Aids in teaching self-care. For instance, can be useful in potty training (or potty learning).
6. Playing with baby dolls in general is great for role-play, imaginative play, as well as building social and emotional skills, language skills and fine motor skills.

Reborn dolls are probably the epitome of realistic baby dolls. Reborn dolls look eerily like real babies. They are meant to look this way. In many cases, reborn doll owners also treat their dolls like real babies.

Reborn dolls aren’t a specific brand, but rather a style of dolls – uber realistic dolls. Reborn dolls are often hand-made. Etsy has tons of reborn dolls, but there are also popular brands of reborn dolls like Ashton Drake.

Some reborn dolls are anatomically correct, but many aren’t. Many reborn dolls have a soft body, often weighted, to better resemble the weight of a real baby.

According to the BBC, reborn dolls are often “used as therapeutic aids to help women through infertility, miscarriage and loss of a child, as well as anxiety and depression.” The use of reborn dolls hit mainstream media when a reborn doll was the center of the hit show Servant on Apple TV (P.S. If you like creepy shows, then this is for you!).

Reborn dolls (specifically the anatomically correct ones) are the best baby dolls that look real – however, they are not the best realistic baby dolls for kids.

With a some exceptions*, reborn dolls are not meant for kids. Reborn dolls are not marketed towards kids or labeled as toys. Instead, reborn dolls are marketed and sold as collectibles.

This is important for several reasons. Products sold as “toys” are required by law to meet stricter safety requirements. One of the big safety issues with reborn dolls and kids is lead. Toys must have lead levels of 90 ppm (parts per million) or less, whereas there are NO minimum lead requirements for non-toy products.

The reputable brand of reborn dolls, Ashton Drake states on their website that many of their reborn dolls contain the California Prop 65 Warning: “California Proposition 65 notice for lead crystal: To enhance optical clarity, some crystal products might contain lead, a chemical substance known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.” Ashton Drake also has warnings on most of their reborn dolls in bold lettering “Fine adult collectible, not intended for children under 14.”

*There are some reborn dolls that are considered “toys” and marketed towards kids. For instance, places like Ashton Drake and even places like Target sell a few “reborn” dolls on-line that are toys (and meets the testing requirements for toys), but these reborn dolls are not anatomically correct. In general, we recommend avoid buying “reborn” dolls for kids.

In summary, most reborn dolls are not meant for kids. Most reborn dolls that are safe for kids are not anatomically correct. For this reason, we do not recommend reborns for kids if you are looking for a baby doll that looks real.

There are many bloggers and articles out there that incorrectly recommend reborn dolls for kids:

• Paradise Galleries Reborn Baby Dolls (most of these are not suitable for kids; this brand has a select few that are safe for kids, however, the ones that are, are not anatomically correct)
• Ashton Drake Reborn Baby Dolls (most of these are not suitable for kids; this brand has a select few that are safe for kids, however, the ones that are, are not anatomically correct)

If you do decide to buy a “reborn” doll for your child, please do your own research and make sure it’s safe (and meant for children).

1. Safety reasons

• • Most reborn dolls are sold as “collectibles”, meaning they do not meet the more rigid safety standards for toys
  • Most (legitimate) sellers of reborn dolls specifically state “not for kids” for this reason
  • Our biggest concern is unsafe and unregulated lead levels found in most reborn dolls
  • The manufacture of reborn dolls also involves toxics paints and finishes

2. Practical reasons not to buy your child a reborn doll

• • More expensive than realistic baby dolls that are meant for kids
  • More delicate than realistic baby dolls meant for kids
  • Requires “maintenance” that baby dolls meant for kids don’t require

Now that we’ve talked about the benefits of children having baby dolls that look real and why you shouldn’t buy reborn dolls, let’s get into the best baby realistic dolls for kids. This list only includes anatomically correct baby dolls.

Our list includes realistic baby dolls from 3 different brands:

1. JC Toys
2. Miniland
3. Minikane

What We Like about JC Toys Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls:

• Easily accessible (you can order from Target!)
• BPA-free
• Fragrance-free / unscented

It’s important to note that JC Toys makes a lot of different baby dolls. Most are pretty realistic looking on the surface, but not all of them are anatomically correct. It can be somewhat confusing to know which JC Toys baby dolls are anatomically correct, so be sure to read the product descriptions carefully. It will specifically say “anatomically correct” in the product description.

Here are two examples of baby dolls that look real from JC Toys – one anatomically correct girl and one anatomically correct boy:

Here is another realistic baby doll from JC Toys in a more gender neutral outfit (anatomically a boy). This also gives an idea of the size:

One downside to these baby dolls is the lack of diversity. JC Toys does have some dolls of color, but not enough in our opinion. Here is one baby doll that looks real (aka anatomically correct) with darker skin. It is smaller in size (so less realistic size-wise), but this does make the baby doll cheaper in price:

Where to Buy JC Toys Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls: Target

What We Like about Miniland Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls:

• We love their mission statement: “With our dolls collection, we help little ones understand values of inclusivity and coexistence through play, by promoting empathy and accepting people of any race, gender or condition.“
• Miniland has both newborn-style baby dolls and baby dolls with hair
• Miniland Has baby dolls with diverse skin tones and ethnicities
• Miniland has baby dolls with a variety of hair color (even the often overlooked redhead)
• Miniland has baby dolls with different conditions (Down Syndrome, option to buy glasses etc)
• Miniland has a clothing collection that fits all their dolls
• Hand-made in Europe
• Easily accessible (can order on-line fromMaisonetteor Target)

Here are examples of baby dolls that look real from Miniland in the “newborn style”:

Here are examples of baby dolls that look real from with hair the Miniland brand:

Here are examples of baby dolls that look real, featuring different conditions. Miniland makes dolls with down syndrome, hearing aids and glasses:

Where to Buy Miniland Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls: Maisonetteor Target

What We Like about Minikane Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls:

• Sold at one of our favorite baby boutiques (Happy Mango, a black-owned small business in Atlanta)
• BPA-free
• Hand painted
• Minikane has both newborn-style baby dolls and baby dolls with hair
• Minikane has dolls with various skin tones and hair styles

Here are examples of the Minikane “newborn style” dolls:

Here are examples of the Minikane baby dolls with hair that look real:

Where to Buy Minikane Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls: Happy Mango

We’ve already covered the downside to buying “reborn” dolls for kids.

But there are even downsides to buying the realistic baby dolls that we do recommend for kids.

The downside to buying realistic baby dolls is that they are all made of PVC.

We generally try to avoid products made with PVC, especially in kid’s toys. Unfortunately, you just won’t find baby dolls that look real and are non-toxic. Hopefully this will change one day, but as of now, PVC just comes with the territory if you’re looking to buy a realistic, anatomically correct baby doll.

We did find a couple good options for non-toxic “realistic” baby dolls, but they aren’t anatomically correct. Realistic is in quotes because admittedly, these aren’t the most realistic looking dolls even in terms of facial features.It’s ultimately up to each family to weigh the pros and cons if having an anatomically correct doll is more or less important than having a non-toxic baby doll.

For a non-toxic baby doll, we recommend the following 2 brands: EcoBaby Dolls & Gotz (only the “Pure Lina” doll from this brand). These are the most semi-realistic non-toxic baby dolls we could find.

1. EcoBaby Dolls

EcoBaby Dolls, although they are not anatomically correct, are a great option for a semi-realistic non-toxic baby doll for kids.

What We Like about EcoBaby Dolls:

• Handcrafted from 100% natural rubber and stuffed with cotton
• Clothing is made from cotton
• Painted with food-grade paint
• Biodegradable
• Free from harmful chemicals
• Plastic-free
• BPA-free
• PVC-free (Vinyl-free)

What We Don’t Like about EcoBaby Dolls:

• On the pricier side for a baby doll
• Not anatomically correct
• Limited selections of skin tones
• All dressed in stereotypical girls clothes with traditionally female names (why is there no “boy” version, or better yet a gender neutral doll since the body isn’t anatomically correct anyways.)
• Facial features are more cartoony and less realistic (the belly button on the “older” looking dolls are also heart-shaped, which is cute, but not realistic if that’s what you’re looking for.)

Where to Buy EcoBaby Dolls: The Tot

2. Gotz “Lina” Baby Doll

The Lina doll by Gotz is another good option for a non-toxic baby doll for kids.

What We Like about the Gotz Lina Doll:

• Made from 100% natural rubber (also known as “Caoutchouc”)
• Free from harmful chemicals
• Plastic-free
• BPA-free
• PVC-free (Vinyl-free)
• Comes with a cloth diaper
• Not gendered (so child can project whatever they want without feeling limited)

What We Don’t Like about the Gotz Lina Doll:

• On the pricier side for a baby doll
• Not anatomically correct
• Only one skin tone

Where to Buy the Gotz Lina Doll: Direct from their website or Amazon