Comments on: Daddy Dolls to Remember Deployed Dads

By: Army Wife 1St Deployment

Army Wife 1St Deployment — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:49:15 +0000

It is rather bothersome that there is so much time being spent on the naming of the dolls. Wives of deployed service members created these wonderful tools of comfort for their children and wanted to share them with others in the same situation. The notion that people are not in tune with the demographics of the military these days is just absurd. This is a great product, meant to comfort a child in a parents absence, to help them remember what they look like and sound like if you get the recorder. Our children connect and bond with the sound of our voices from the womb, to add the visual representation of their parent (or grandparent) while they are away serving their country, is brilliant in my opinion.
This product is something that, regardless if it’s called a Daddy Doll, a Mommy Doll, a baby doll, or that “thing” over there will help little ones get through their times of need during deployment or long trainings. I see it in the children that have them.
So, how about focusing on the benefits of the product instead of the semantics of a name…. “a rose of any other name is still the same”

By: Cortney

Cortney — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:57:16 +0000

From a child development point of view, these dolls are a great idea. The idea of seeing the face of their loved one will help them establish a liking to their face so that when they return they will “know” (subconsciously) whom the person is.
I do not believe children see this doll as a “play thing” or an idea of imagination. They see it as mommy or daddy.
I will keep my own opinions to myself about people who wish to not see the pain children go through and think they should just “suck it up” and go about their lives. If we can offer a child a small resemblance of their parent, why not? Did you yourself not have something that made you feel comforted as a child? You would show children pictures of their loved one, why not put it in a form that can comfort them?
I can understand the idea of feeling awkward that your child has a doll in your resemblance, but I’m sure once the said parent is back in the picture, the doll is cast aside for the real thing.
Huge kudos to the creators from the child development field!!!

By: Army wife

Army wife — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:46:40 +0000

I wish people would understand what these creators are doing. They have made an item that can be so helpful for young children. Whether it’s their mommy or daddy that is gone, it’s hard. It is devistating to see a young child not recognize his/her own parent when they finally return after 15 months in a war zone. This is helping children still feel connected to the missing parent. I wish everyone would get off their high-horses and realize this is about the children, nothing else. It’s to help children cope with a situation they have no control over. I think the creators have come up with a great idea. Good for you guys!

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:57:53 +0000

I can’t believe all the politically correct nonsense in these posts. Of course we know women serve and have to be away from their families. Gender restrictive?? To whom exactly? You don’t have to tell your child that it’s a ‘daddy’ doll? You be the grown up and let your child have a great picture of you or your spouse, in WHATEVER clothing you think is best, on a huggable medium. My goodness people, this is about helping children deal with the separation from their hero parent, not your PC hang ups.

I see that those posts are old, but these things make me crazy. My 2 y/o was born while her dad was in Iraq, and he’ll be there again when she turns 3 and her brother turns 1. She loves that doll, whether he’s in Iraq or just training for few weeks, it’s a source of great comfort. I’m about to order a 3rd one, so we have one for each of us.

By: Jeanette

Jeanette — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:37:58 +0000

I am a preschool teacher. I had first hand experience with a child who at 2 yrs old had a dad deployed to Iraq for a year,and then not knowing him when he came home. We talked about him daily, we made pictures for him and made a huge deal of his dad and what he did. He was our classroom hero. He was a year old when his dad left. His dad came to class with his mom to pick him up and the little boy ran away from him scared to death and clung to me his teacher. Besides his mom I was the one constent. A doll like this would have kept his face fresh in this little boys mind. It would have given him a tangible thing to look at and hold on to instead of this abstract person we talked about. I bawled at the look on the dads face, all he wanted to do was see his son and his son had no real idea who he was. Anyone who thinks this isnt a good idea needs to talk to a military dad who has come home to a reception of fear and not being known. This little boy would have related the doll his dads face and I believe he would have better received his dad on his return. If this helps another father from going through what I witnessed then more power to the creaters.Even with a father who is in a childs life everyday,is subject to become a charecter in their fantasy play. Give kids more credit for knowing reality from fantasy. This is an amazing tool in a difficult situation. The Army mom, come on, we all know its all people from all walks of life who make up our military. Life is not politically correct. It is symantics,we all know woman are serving our country as well and we support and wish the best for them and their famalies.

By: Lisa Berg

Lisa Berg — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:27:02 +0000

Hello. I ran across this blog and wanted to thank everyone for their comments regarding Daddy Dolls, which is also referred to as Hug-A-Hero dolls (because we know more than just daddy deploys). Daddy Dolls’ (registered trademark) name came about because the co-founder of the company asked her daughter what she wanted to call her new doll and of course, Daddy Doll was created. We love what we do and are trying to get the word out about our company, including our non-profit, Operation Hug-A-Hero. On this side, we give these dolls free to families who cannot afford them or lose their Hero in the line of duty. If you would like to help me spread the word, contact me by visiting our website at http://www.operationhugahero.org. Any group (i.e. Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, 4H, churches) can hold fundraisers for our cause and we will make sure families in need are taken care of. We’re also on Facebook under Causes, if you would like to join. Have a great day, everyone! Support our troops and their families!

By: Blanche

Blanche — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:13:50 +0000

Like many others I was once a soldier (8 years-3 deployments) when I had my first child I decided that deploying again and leaving my daughter was not an option. Three years later my husband who remained in was deployed.

At three years old my daughter feels EVERY emotion of having her daddy leave-sad, mad, helpless, lonely.. I have tried teddy bears dressed in ACU’s, pictures of her daddy everywhere but the Daddy Doll is the only tangible item she can hug and hit at the same time. Thank you inventors of DaddyDolls.

Thank you to all those who served, are serving and those who support them!

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:43:23 +0000

I think this is such a neat idea. I grew up an army brat and have many friends with husbands deployed and a few that have husband and wife in the army. THANK YOU to all of our troops AND to their families. Just had a random thought. I saw that for an extra fee you can have Daddy’s back on the reverse side; I was curious if you could possibly put an ACU pic on one side and a civ. pic on the other, to show both parts of Dad’s life. I know for some kids that may be a reminder of their daddy at home as well as deployed/that daddy is coming home too. I think anything that helps the kids keep dad/mom close or even helps the deployed parent feel like they are closer or more visible part of their kids day to day life is a wonderful thing! Out of sight out of mind doesnt pertain to the military, but in sight and in arms is much more fun. God bless our troops, their loved ones and everyone who seeks to help and support them!

By: Tracy

Tracy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:43:31 +0000

So…I am an Army wife and I have been a Solider too…to all of you being negative or feeling begrudged…We are all in this together, Moms, Dads, Sons, Daughters, Wives, Husbands…all of them are fighting for the same thing…US! So, be proud, hold your head up high…and LET THE KIDS BE KIDS, letem’ carry their dolls everywhere and just say “You’re Welcome” to anyone who has something negative to say, because all in all it’s our family members who put their lives on the line for their 1st Amendment right!

I love this idea…my girls love their daddy doll!

And to take it one step further, I am ordering a doll of myself and each of my girls to send to my husband…they have lonely nights there too, and snuggling us…makes them feel a little closer to home!

“If you can’t get behind our troops, GET IN FRONT OF THEM!”

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:33:18 +0000

This is also a great gift for the military child who’s dad was KIA. When my husbands platoon was targeted by a suicide bomber my best friend lost her husband. her daughter was just 2 months old. next month she will be a year old and i am going to get her a daddy doll so she will forever have him at her side.