The Best Soft Dolls for Babies - Haba Snug-Up Dolls Review

Effie’s First Dolls – Haba Snug Up Dolls

Ok I can’t apologise for just how cute my little Effie boo is in these photos! I mean seriously if I wasn’t sure I am done with having kids, then she would definitely make me broody for another! Haha! But I’m not here to chat about how cute my little miss is…I am here to talk about how cute these Haba Snug-Up Dolls are though! Effie was gifted these perfect soft dolls for babies from Amaroni recently and she loves them.

The dolls were gifted to us from Amaroni in exchange for this review but as always all words and images are our own.

You may have seen my post about these dolls over on our instagram last week, and I was very honest and said I was never much of a doll lover as a child, and I honestly didn’t expect to have dolls in our house when we thought we were only having boys (not that boys cant play with dolls! They just aren’t something Elian has ever shown an interest in!) But now we have a little girly in the house I knew the toy situation was going to change. And honestly she has taken to these 2 dolls so much already, she will often sit with one on her lap and babble at it while playing, or we can say to ‘give dolly cwtches/tuddles’and she will give the doll a cuddle to her chest or lay her head on it, which is just too cute!

Haba Snug Up Dolls. The perfect first soft dolls for babies

When I think of dolls usually what comes to mind are brands like Barbie and other hard plastic type dolls, and these aren’t really great for babies or small toddlers to play with. Luckily there has been a great influx in beautiful soft dolls for babies and the Haba brand has a lovely selection for you to choose from. I think a soft fabric, rag doll type is the safest option and perfect as a first doll for little ones to play with.

The 2 dolls Effie was sent are part of their Snug Up Doll Range, called Marie and Pit. They are made fully of material, so no hard plastic, making them both soft and light weight, so they are great for little hands to grab and easily lift. Ours are in a seated position with a small amount of beans in the bottoms to help them stay seated. They are dressed in little beanie hats, bandana bibs and all in one dungarees style outfits which are attached so cannot be removed. There are no buttons and the eyes are stitched on, meaning no small parts which could come off, I think this is safer for dolls intended for babies as they pose no choking hazards.

The Haba Snug-Up range has a number of other soft dolls intended for toddlers and older kids, that aren’t in the seated position so can be fully manipulated for all sorts of imaginative play, and dressed in different outfits

Benefits of playing with dolls for babies

Playtime for kids, especially when they are small, isn’t just about having fun. Children learn so much from playing with toys without evening knowing it. It is so important for their development to play with different toys and for them to be allowed to use their imagination. And soft dolls for babies is a great place to start. Playing with dolls can provide important growth for children, regardless of gender. Here are some of the ways playing with dolls can help your Childs development

Imagination – Allowing a child to role play imagined life scenarios helps build their creativity, their imagination and allows them to build on all the skills listed below
Social Skills – Children develop their general social skills at an early age from their interaction with those around them. Playing with dolls helps them to practice these skills to help them learn social interaction. Caring for a doll, sharing and playing gently with it all help the child to develop skills which they can use when playing and interacting with other children
Language Development – When children are allowed to independently play with their dolls and their imaginations they will talk to themselves and allow themselves to proactive speech skills without interruption or feeling self conscious. Then when they play with dolls with other children they were learn to interact with others and may come up against new scenarios and words they had yet to learn, it is through this play they will develop new vocabulary but also learn about the world around them and how other peoples homeliness may differ to their own
Learning Responsibility – Caring for their doll, and making sure it doesn’t get hurt or damaged can be a good way to teach responsibility for a child. It can be a great way to help prepare an older sibling for the addition of a new baby too, by allowing them to practice being responsible and caring for a younger sibling
Learning Empathy and Compassion – Dolls are great for allowing young children to explore their emotions and learn to be caring and compassionate towards others. If they are taught that they need to play gently with their doll so they do not hurt them, or if their doll has a bump they can care for them this will help develop these social skills

If you have enjoyed this post and found it useful, here are some ways you can say thanks and support Two Hearts One Roof

Pin this post to Pinterest using the Pinterest image at the end of the post
Leave me a comment
Share this post with friends on Facebook or Twitter
Buy me a cuppa
Follow us on Facebook or Instagram (interact with our posts if you see them, a simple like or comment is a huge help with algorithms)
Buy one of our Forever Loved Star Pin badges to help support our Stars For Ebben Fund