Last Updated on December 11, 2024
The American Girl doll company is making a splash in the diabetic community this year. The famous doll company announced they would begin selling a “diabetic doll” beginning January 1st. The decision to sell diabetic accessories for their dolls was encouraged by the outcry of an 11-year-old diabetic.
Anja Busse, a young type 1 diabetic living in Wisconsin, noticed that none of her dolls were “like her.” After being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, she wanted a doll that was like her. After realizing there were no diabetic doll accessories being sold, she decided she was going to do something about it. At the beginning of 2014, Anja created a petition for others to sign to show support of American Girl to creating these diabetics accessories. In the petition, Anja states her reason for wanting the dolls made, “I feel so different now, and my whole life has been turned around. I want to have diabetic accessories for my American Girl doll, so she is just like me. I just want everyone to feel good about themselves no matter if they have something ‘wrong with them'” With the petition Anja included a short letter to the Executive Vice President of American Girl, Jean McKenzie. The letter was short but useful, “Please make an insulin pump and diabetic accessories for American Girl dolls. It would mean a lot to thousands of girls with diabetes.”
The petition gained attention quickly with the diabetic community and local and national news stations. Several news stations near the Busse family interviewed Anja about her desire for the new doll accessories. The petition was even shared by Bret Michaels, the lead singer of rock band Poison, who happens also to be a type 1 diabetic and a leading voice in the diabetic community.
After gaining over 4,000 signatures to her petition, Anja heard the news she’d been waiting for, American Girl was going to start selling the diabetic doll accessories in 2016. They announced they would start selling diabetes doll kits which include blood sugar monitors, insulin pumps, lancing devices, glucose medication, insulin pens, diabetes log books, medical bracelets and much more to manage the dolls diabetes. The diabetic doll kit is being for $24 at 24 of the store locations or on the official American Girl website and has excellent reviews from customers that have already purchased the kit for their diabetic children.
The diabetes kit is not the only helpful accessories sold for the dolls. You can also buy crutches, a wheelchair, a service dog and much more for your American Girl doll. Making all girls feel included is something American Girl doll has been working to do for many years.
Aside from being a heartwarming story of a child that accomplished something she put her mind on, this is an excellent step for parents of diabetic children. Toys like the American Girl dolls are not only entertaining for your kids but can also be extremely educations and supportive.
They can be used to teach your child about their condition and how to manage properly their diabetes. Many children feel “different” or “alone” after they are diagnosed with diabetes and have to start using an insulin pump, these dolls help them feel “normal.” Hopefully other toy companies will pick up on the American Girl idea. Type 1 children are a huge demographic that need to be catered to, and not forgotten about.
Anja Busse’s story is an excellent one for all diabetics to remember. Being diagnosed with diabetes is going to bring plenty of challenges; some might seem as trivial as a doll while others are going to be much larger. Regardless of the problems coming from a diabetes diagnosis, with a little determination and support, it can be overcome.
