Baby Annabell Brother

With the arrival of our baby boy just a few weeks away, I have wondered how the boys are going to take to having a baby around the house. Since it’s not practical to borrow one to try out their big brother skills, we put the new Baby Annabell Brother doll to the test instead.

The boys actually took to the task of playing big brother without any question. Neither have had a doll like this before and I did wonder if I might come up against some resistance but no, they thought it was an interesting idea.

The most interactive doll I’ve ever seen, the Zapf Creation Baby Annabell Brother doll really took me by surprise! It’s incredible features include:

• Realistic crying and contented sounds
• Mouth movement when drinking from his bottle
• Babbles, gurgles and sucks his dummy
• Can be soothed by stroking his cheek, rocking him, feeding or giving him his dummy
• Cries real tears
• Drinks real water from his bottle
• Can be burped

Now I have to say it’s been quite a while since I’ve played with a doll, but I found the level of interaction on the Baby Annabel Brother doll to be amazing. Rather than be simply programmed to make certain noises or movements on a loop, it genuinely interacts with the child, meaning that their actions trigger a relevant response from the doll. That’s pretty satisfying when you’re a five year old boy who isn’t quite sure what a new baby in the house is going to be like. Now, my five year old knows that you must be kind and gentle, that certain actions such as rocking, stroking baby’s cheek, feeding and giving baby a dummy all contribute to having a calm and happy baby.

Of course, having an actual baby isn’t going to be as simple as that, but the Baby Annabell Brother doll has given the boys an insight into what the future holds for them as big brothers.

The doll requires 4 AA batteries which aren’t included and is suitable for children aged two and over. There are lots of accessories available should you want to add to your collection of Baby Annabell Brother toys and the whole range is available from good toy stores priced from around £50.00.