With October being Down Syndrome Awareness month, the launch of two new Miniland dolls with Down syndrome couldn’t have come at a better time.
Known as an all-inclusive brand with a focus on racial diversity and social harmony, Miniland’s latest dolls stick to its core ethos of creating a comprehensive range that allows children to play with dolls that look like them.
For distributor Axis Toys co-founder, Paula Opfer, it is a dream come true as developing a range of dolls with Down syndrome with Miniland has been a long-time ambition.
“Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of Miniland and inclusion means not only embracing different ethnicities and cultures from all over the world but also embracing people living with a disability,” she says.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these new dolls―a 38cm Caucasian boy doll with Down syndrome and a 38cm African girl doll with Down syndrome. We will also be adding a 38cm Caucasian girl doll and African boy doll with Down syndrome to the line-up in November.”
Miniland Dolls are racially-and-needs-diverse so children not only get to play with dolls that look like them but understand that people present in many forms.
“Miniland Dolls are an invaluable teaching tool as they build hard and soft skills and most importantly they teach empathy and kindness―values I am sure that we all want to instil in the next generation.”
Retailers have been very welcoming of the new additions and the first shipment sold out very quickly. However, Opfer says they are now restocked and based on this success Axis Toys will add more dolls to the line-up in 2021.
“Currently we are supporting our retailers with a strong social media campaign. October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month so we have reached out to parenting influencers to create content and spread awareness throughout October about teaching inclusivity through use of our dolls.
“These influencers include not only those with children with Down syndrome but also families who are just keen to teach their children that community comes in all shapes and sizes and that diversity is to be respected and celebrated.”
