Furby Infatuation

Dr. Langguth brought in his daughters Furby to class to raise the question of is this toy alive or not?  My initial reaction is of course not it is a battery operated toy.  But that is not how most children think.  As Turkle discusses in her book, children build such a strong connection with this toy that they go as far as wanting to "perform surgery" on it when the batteries die. This attachment to an inanimate object is very interesting.  Are these kids latching on to this toy because it gives them the attention they wish their loved ones would give them?  Or do they really, truly believe that it is real?  I found it interesting too that if you were to place a barbie upside down and a Furby, most people would flip the Furby right side up first simply because you can hear it complain or sound in distress.  If we can develop sentimental feelings for a simple robot as a Furby, imagine the attachment to a robot that looks and sounds like a human.