Did you know that, during a recession, dolls and other classic toys go through a renaissance in popularity? No doubt part of this trend is because vintage toys are considered to be the best toys in the long run, especially at a time when faddish toys are so expensive yet short-lived in popularity. This is especially true for baby dolls, which remain the #1 girls toy. However, today’s baby dolls are unique in many ways compared to the cloth baby dolls from a generation ago.

The big change in today’s realistic baby dolls is that they are built to look exactly like living, breathing babies. In fact, every year there is a story about a security guard who breaks a car’s window to save “the baby” locked inside – only to find a realistic baby doll! These soft dolls couldn’t be more different than the hard plastic dolls from twenty years ago. Girls literally can’t go without their baby to take care of; this is a common behavior noted by psychologists and parents. This fact alone accounts for the constant popularity of baby dolls; even during a recession, parents will buy a doll for their daughter because of its valuable relaxing function.

Medically-accurate, or realistic, baby dolls were designed to help new mothers, but they also sell well in economic down turns. What still remains to be seen is how mainstream these soft dolls will go in an extended period of tightened budgets.