My Child dolls are a toy made by Mattel from 1985-1988. Most had felt "skin" on their heads although some had vinyl skin. The dolls are around 35cm in height, with petite features and poseable limbs. The sales slogan was that every child could have a doll just like them. These highly collectible dolls have a large international fan-base.
History
The first dolls were made in Taiwan. Their features differ slightly from those made later in China. A rounder face, smaller belly button and longer toes are just some of the differences. Taiwanese dolls are also known for eyes which protrude from their face and, as they age, are more prone to facial "sagging" and make-up fading than those made in China. Between 1987 and 1988, Mattel brought out a vinyl faced doll called a "Loving Baby". These dolls had bodies made with the same soft fabric as a My Child, with similar skin-tones, posable legs and solid arm-joints and pink or blue torsos. A button on their back allowed them to hug. Their skin-tone was either pale or peachy, and they had red, brunette, ash-blond or blond hair. They came with one outfit, a two piece short and top set in either blue or pink.
Description
Dolls came as boys or girls, with four different skin tones: American pale, Australian/European peach, African-American, and Hispanic. Canada also produced its own dolls. Eye color varies too. All African-American and Hispanic dolls had brown eyes. The other dolls had blue, aqua, green, or brown eyes. Occasionally a doll can be found with a factory 'flaw' and their eye color can vary from the standard, for example hazel, lilac, blue-gray, blue-green, and green. However, some people attribute this to aging rather than to a factory flaw. There is also a variety of hair colors. The African-American dolls have black hair; Hispanics have dark brown hair, and the others had platinum blonde, ash-blonde, brunette, red, and strawberry-blonde. Strawberry-blonde therefore being the rarest and most valuable, followed by red heads and brunettes. Upon production, red heads and brunettes were batched at a lower ratio to the ash-blondes and platinum blondes. Hair styles varied as well. African-American girls all came with 'curly pigtails'. The other girls had 'top-knots', 'double top-knots', 'curly pigtails'. Only American dolls had these hair styles. Hispanic girls came with a v-part style. Australian and European dolls were manufactured with other variations of pigtails. As well as the v-part and crimp and the 'ultra-long' worn in bunches on either side. In 1988, as part of the 'Ribbons & Bows' collection introduced solely to the Australian market, the 'side-part', and 'mid-part' were made. These dolls had long tightly curled hair worn down. Boys' hairstyles were either curly with no part or straight with a short part. Other facial features differ between dolls. Eyelashes range in color from peachy-orange through to dark brown. Or dark grey to near black. Cheek color is either pink or peachy-orange. Lip color varies between pale to dark cool pink and pale peach to dark peachy-orange. Grape and charcoal eyeshadow are the most sought after, and come only with pink cheeks and lips. Peach eyeshadow however can be found with either the peach cheeks/lips or the pink cheek/lips. African American and Hispanic dolls have charcoal eyeshadow, with warm red cheeks and lips and are the only ones to have this combination.
Clothing
The dolls came with many different clothing outfits. Girl dolls had sailor dresses, pinafore outfits, smocked party dresses, seersucker overall outfits, sleeper sets, ducky dresses, flare dresses, playtime/ABC dresses, Australian pinafores/jumpers, school dresses and many others. The boys had their own outfits; some of these are the sailor outfit, ducky overall outfit, vest and shorts outfit, sweater outfit. Other outfits were available separately. Shoes were sold in 2 different styles, a Mary-Jane/t-bar style or a lace-up Oxford.
My Pets
My Pets were also sold. They were puppies, bears, cats and rabbits. With the same "My Child" eyes, they had an animal-style mouth, with fur covered bodies.
Collecting
Collectors look for many things when looking to purchase a doll. Certain facial features, eye and hair colors, styles and skin tone may affect a doll's desirability and so will influence the price. These dolls are now around 30 years old, and as they were designed as a children's toy, many are in "played-with" condition, which varies from slight pilling, eye scratches and other damage, stains, broken joints, "melted-eye syndrome" and hair-cuts.
