Lego launches new range of toys with missing limbs, Down’s syndrome

A new range of toys with mental and physical disabilities was unveiled by Lego which includes characters with missing limbs, Down’s syndrome and anxiety.
Lego Friends characters’ new collection is an attempt at reflecting diversity and “enable more children to feel represented during play”.

Not just mini figures are included in the range of Lego Friends, but also in a television series. The new generation of toys has been created to “celebrate diverse friendships in the modern world”, the firm said, as well as enhance the perspectives of children on physical disabilities, ethnicity and mental health.

The characters included in the new range have different skin tones and suffer various physical disabilities as well as vitiligo, which is an autoimmune disorder due to which there is a loss of pigment in the skin.

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Lego Friends mini-figures, which were first launched in 2012, are almost the same size as the traditional Lego figures but are more detailed, compared to the previous ones.

“The new sets and series will feature characters with limb difference, Down’s syndrome, anxiety, vitiligo, and a dog with a wheelchair,” the Danish company said in a statement.

Head of product for Lego Friends’ Tracie Chiarella said, “We understand that children want the characters they encounter to be more like the diverse personalities they meet in real life.”

Lego stated that its research shows around three-quarters of children feel a lack of toys with characters that represent them. It stated that around 80 per cent of children wish to have toys that look like them and reflect their personality.

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The “Mr” was dropped by Hasbro two years ago from the classic toy Mr Potato Head, which was made in 1952, so as to make the toys more gender-neutral. Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, also known as GLAAD, had welcomed the decision.

“Hasbro is helping kids to simply see toys as toys, which encourages them to be their authentic selves outside of the pressures of traditional gender norms,” Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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