For oppositionists to say a breast-feeding baby doll is inappropriate is inappropriate in itself, since breast-feeding is not a sexual thing. Before baby formula, breast-feeding was how you fed your baby.

I feel the practice is dying off because of the growing number of teenage or early 20s mothers. I personally knew a 19-year-old girl who had a baby and no job. Every couple of days she would borrow money from her mom or boyfriend's parents to buy baby formula. When I asked her why she didn't just breast-feed, she responded, "It's awkward."

The fact is, breast-feeding is free and much healthier for infants. Newborns do not have the immune system to fight off the diseases they face. Breast-feeding provides antibodies from the mother to the child that cannot be replaced by formula from a can.

It is true that some children will not breast-feed no matter what the mother tries, but every mother should try it before immediately knocking it and paying the nearly $20 per can for unneeded artificial formula, especially if they do not have the finances for that.

The breast-feeding baby may be a little advanced for a toy, but we are sending the wrong message about the extremely natural act of breast-feeding by insulting the toy as sexual or inappropriate.

Holly King

Belleville