Your Child’s American Girl Doll Can Receive Check-Ups at the American Girl Place in NYC

Bringing dolls into the Doll Hospital can help kids normalize going to the doctor.

By Jacqueline Neber October 18, 2019

At the new American Girl Doll Hospitals in New York City and Chicago, kids can bring their dolls in for checkups, dental care, surgery, repairs, and more. This interactive play experience is designed to broaden the scope of how kids can play with their American Girls, while normalizing health care for kids–plus repairing dolls that have been subjected to some rougher play. While more extensive repairs require dolls to be shipped to American Girl’s headquarters in Middleton, Wisconsin, dolls can get cleaned up and look brand-new again in NYC.

When your child brings her doll into American Girl Place in midtown, the doll will receive a free wellness exam that includes checking her pulse, temperature, and reflexes, Romper reports. If your child is into interactive play, there’s a special area where he can help his doll receive an eye exam, take x-rays, and get a dental checkup. Does his doll have a more severe issue? The dolls can even be placed in a hospital gown and wheeled in for a visit. Going through these procedures with her doll will help your child learn about the importance of routine checkups, and teach her about health and wellness practices that apply to real life.

During a “wellness visit,” meanwhile, your child’s doll can receive beautification services like hair brushing and blemish removal. If your kid has taken a marker to her doll or maybe hasn’t brushed the doll’s hair in a year, this could be valuable!

For the dolls who need major surgery to reattach their limbs–or heads–you can drop them off at the NYC flagship or ship them yourself to the American Girl Headquarters in Middleton. Just grab a prepaid shipping label on the American Girl website. Dolls should take two to four weeks to come back to your child, depending on the severity of their injuries. No matter the current status of your child’s doll, consider making your next trip to American Girl Place a healthy one. You never know what your kids could learn from the Doll Hospital!

Main Image: Courtesy Anne Vorrasi, via Romper