Miniland Educational
"Miniland’s dolls are well designed and durable. And this company offers options that are rare to nonexistent elsewhere—including dolls with glasses, hearing aids, and with facial features typical of individuals with Down syndrome.
Miniland’s dolls, made by an award-winning toy and doll maker based in Spain, have been a long-time favorite among preschool educators. And for good reason: The dolls are exceptionally well made, with durable hair, velvety vinyl bodies, and varied facial features. Miniland, which has made inclusion and social and emotional learning part of its mission, offers one of the widest range of doll types we’ve seen. These include both cloth- and vinyl-bodied newborn and toddler dolls, most of which are available with different skin tones and hair types. Miniland’s doll designers have included many small, loving details, like chin dimples, “outie” belly buttons, and limbs that rotate easily in their joints. And the dolls smell unusually pleasant, like vanilla cake batter (the company told us it’s used the same proprietary scent for 60 years).
Miniland stands out for offering dolls that represent children with disabilities and physical differences, including dolls with facial features common in children with Down syndrome, and accessories like glasses and hearing aids. In our testing, we found that these accessories were thoughtfully designed (the silicone glasses come with a well-fitted head strap), and they helped spark engagement among kids. When the doll was introduced to my 4-year-old daughter’s classroom, a child with glasses exclaimed, “This doll looks like me!” Another child said she also wanted glasses; others started talking about their older siblings and grandparents who wear them.
I chose this doll with glasses for my daughter because I appreciated that the doll’s facial features look naturalistic, not exaggerated, and even a bit like my Asian-American daughter. Note, though, that some of the descriptions of dolls in Miniland’s online catalog are problematic. For example, the company labels dolls as “Asian,” “African,” or “Hispanic,” even though children with the dolls’ physical characteristics—such as black hair or light or dark brown skin tones—could come from any number of different cultures and backgrounds. Many retailers adopt the same language, though this type of labeling is not on the doll packaging itself. Other companies whose dolls we considered, including Götz and Lakeshore Learning, used similar naming conventions for their dolls. Mar Ivars, Miniland’s chief innovation officer, told me that the company is currently working with AIJU, UNESCO, and other organizations to conduct international doll focus groups, and it plans to unveil new doll nomenclature by the end of 2022."
-from an article in the New York Times Wirecutter written by Julie Kim and edited by Courtney Schley and Kalee Thompson