Iraq war dad dolls deployed to comfort children

FOR two-year-old Anna Pribyla, it can be difficult to understand what it means for her dad to be in Iraq.

Every soldier looks like him. Even the neighbour’s car looks like her father’s.

But like thousands of other military children, Anna has something to cling to. She has her Daddy Doll — a small pillow, shaped like a person, with a digital picture of her dad, Capt Eric Pribyla, on the front.

“She gets to sleep with the doll at night and still kiss her father good-night,” said mother, Chrissy Pribyla. “He goes everywhere with her because it keeps him fresh in her mind.”

As the four-year Iraq war drags on, more families are keeping memories alive with the dolls or life-size posters called Flat Daddies.

Michelle Kelley, a psychology professor at Old Dominion University, said dolls and posters weren’t a panacea for missing a parent, but they could be a good litmus test for how well children were coping.

“If the caregiver sees that they are clutching and being weepy, it might be a good indication that they have emotions they can’t explain, or aren’t feeling well about deployment,” she said.

And the worst scenario is the dolls or posters end up at the bottom of a toy box.

“Each kid’s different. Some kids might be into dolls and might be interested in it,” Ms Kelley said. “The big picture is to continue doing everything you were going to do. Keep the routine going.”

Daddy Dolls started when Tricia Dyal asked a relative to make a doll for her children. Her husband, Marine Maj Justin Dyal, was heading to Iraq for the second time in less than two years, with a four-year-old and newborn at home.

“My husband just deployed; the kids got sick and were hospitalised. I contacted my great-aunt and said: ‘A picture’s just not doing it. They need more,’” said Ms Dyal.

What she got was a doll of Mr Dyal that their children could clutch to remind them of their dad.

Flat Daddies were created by Sgt 1st Class Barbara Claudel of the Maine National Guard to help families stay connected during deployments to Iraq.

Jill Crider, wife of a Fort Riley cavalry battalion commander, acknowledged some families thought the idea of getting a Flat Daddy was “creepy”.

“What’s creepy is pretending a major part of our life’s not here,” Ms Crider said.