The little man has loved playing with dolls from a young age and having previously reviewed the Baby Annabell Brother doll, I was keen to see what he’d think of the Baby Annabell Learns to Swim doll.
Baby Annabell Learns to Swim comes dressed in a cute pink swimming costume with her own inflatable armbands and purple hooded towel. She requires 3 x AA batteries to work ( don’t forget these if you’re buying her as a gift!).
You’ll need screwdriver to put the batteries into the back of the doll. Once closed, the back panel is watertight so the batteries are safe inside.
Baby Annabell has quite angelic features and big blue eyes. The little man seemed pretty impressed with his new baby and couldn’t wait to get her into the bath.
To get Baby Annabell Learns to Swim to actually swim you need to put her in a sequence of three positions. First you need to start her upright in the water where she will splash her arms, you can then float her on her back with your hand underneath and she will giggle and gurgle, then slowly move your hand away and she will kick her legs and move her arms, slowly swimming in the water. Don’t expect her to whizz round the bath, she just plods along nicely which is probably perfect for younger children.
After a while in the water Baby Annabell fills up with water, stops swimming and sinks so you need to lift her out of the water, drain her and then go back through the steps above to get her to start swimming again.
I’d recommend a quick read of the instructions before you get started, it will save you time and a toddler tantrum if you know exactly how she works ( don’t make my mistake).
This Baby Annabell isn’t a lightweight doll. She’s hard bodied and not really the type of doll to carry around or cuddle up with which is worth noting if you’re buying it for a child who likes to treat their doll like a baby.
The little man likes to give her a quick dry we he gets out of the bath but then we tend to let her sit on the side of the bath to drain properly. I wouldn’t recommend sitting her on your carpet for a while as she does leak water for quite a while.
I think Baby Annabell Learns to Swim would make a great gift idea for a a child who is learning to swim or one that’s a little reluctant or wary in the water. The doll is well made and I liked the addition of the towel and arm bands,I think most young children would recognise them as things they use themselves when swimming.
Baby Annabell is the no.1 selling large doll brand in the UK. Promoting imaginative role play, Baby Annabell encourages the development of key nurturing and social skills from a young age.
It is aimed at kids age 3 years and over. It has an RRP £49.99 and is available from all good toy stores or on Amazon.
* We were sent the doll in return for an honest review.
