I was worried about the same thing and bought my daughter who turned 7 in July a bitty baby last year. And she has sat on the shelf. Sydney never plays with her. So for her birthday this year I got her Mia and she adores her. We've had several chats about the care of Mia and I have to say she's done fairly well. I was really worried about the hair because you have to spray their hair before brushing, but she's great. I do have to stay on her about leaving Mia's clothes laying around so the dog doesn't get to them or she doesn't lose them. But we got a lot more action out of the bigger doll than the bitty baby. She likes that she can match their clothes too! HTH, Heather