Dolls help keep parents of military kids close by
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In an attempt to bring her military husband a little closer to home, a Manitoba woman has created a line of dolls that are cuddly replicas of the children's parents.
The 12-inch, stuffed replica of mom or dad are for children who must spend time away from their parents.
Mandi Hein, from Shilo, and her business partner, Dolores Higgins, are the minds and muscle behind the "Heinsight Dolls." The idea has been primarily for the children of Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan, but Hein said the dolls are comforting for any child whose parent can't always be nearby.
Hein's husband, Cpl. Dwayne Hein, will be leaving for the front lines in Afghanistan sometime in the next six weeks, along with nearly 1,000 soldiers from Manitoba's Shilo army base.
Mandi hopes these dolls will help comfort their twin, six-year-old sons.
She said one of her sons will "stick him in a GI Joe Jeep and play army with him," while her other son, who has cerebral palsy, will "use him more as an emotional tool, where he can kiss and hug dad good night." "For one, it's more of a playing toy and for the other it's more of an emotional toy," she said.
When Hein's husband left for his first tour in Afghanistan in January of 2006, his sons were at a loss to bridge the nearly 11,000 kilometres that separated them from their father.
"Being away from home is pretty normal for me," said Dwayne Hein, who is often away from home on training exercises, and also served in Bosnia. "But it's never easy on the family." And he knows all to well the struggle that military life has been for their children.
"No matter how much you try to be both mom and dad, you cannot fill that void," said Hein, who lives in Shilo with her family.
An American company, Daddy Dolls Inc., sells a product similar to the Heinsight Dolls, and was also started by two military wives.
But Hein says she was dissappointed with the design of the Daddy Dolls -- they are shaped like a bowling pin and have no individual legs or arms.
So, Hein decided to one-up her American counterpart and started plans for the Heinsight Dolls.
Two full-body pictures of the parents -- front and back -- are printed onto a white piece of cloth at a Winnipeg business, Shirtfire.
The images are cut out, sewn together, stuffed and stitched at the shoulders, waist and knees to create simple joints.
Without any promotion, Hein has already been getting a positive response -- she has 75 orders. Seven of those will be "memorial dolls", for the families of fallen soldiers.
Each doll costs $35, and 10 per cent of the proceeds will be dedicated to the CDS Military Families Fund, a program set up by the Canadian Forces in April 2007 to assist the families of Canadian soldiers serving away from home.
For dolls purchased by non-military families, the 10 per cent will go to the Children's Wish Foundation.
Within the next two weeks, online orders will be accepted at HeinsightDoll.com.
For now, orders can be placed at (204) 761-8803.
