A first for the retail giant, the new line of Kmart disability dolls is the company’s latest endeavour in their “mission” to broaden the representation of diversity for young children.
The line of ‘Fashion Dolls’ features a doll with crutches, one with glasses and a cane, an amputee doll and one with a cochlear implant.
“We hope these dolls help children celebrate all of the wonderful things that make us different and unique; and that they can help remove some of the stigma around disability,” says John Gualtieri, Kmart Retail Director Australia & New Zealand.
“We’ve dressed them in trendy outfits and named them ‘Fashion Dolls’, to show they are just like their able-bodied friends.”
Gualtieri hopes the dolls will help normalise disabilities for young children and help those with disabilities see themselves better represented.
“It’s so important for kids to see toys and dolls with disabilities; to have them play in their imaginary world and then normalise it for real life.”
Emma Evert, whose son Harlen is visually-impaired, says the Kmart disability dolls made him “one supper happy boy”.
Seeing disabilities represented in TV, books and toys “empowers kids to celebrate and encourages early conversations”, she told Yahoo! Lifestyle.
“It’s equally important [their] typical developing peers have exposure to these things,” she adds.
Toy companies Little People and Barbie both have wheelchair dolls, but Kmart is one of the first major retailers to launch a full line of disability dolls.