do you let your boys play with dolls?

Charlie - posted on 10/01/2010

The whole idea that a little boy shouldnt "nurture" a baby doll , pretend to cook or clean really feeds the archaic idea that cooking , cleaning and babyrearing a womens roles .
By denying little boys to explore these activities mothers are only doing a disservice to their own sex .

Denikka - posted on 10/01/2010

I have a little boy and you guys have actually just given me some great ideas for Christmas and his birthday :P The kitchen sets and cleaning sets would be perfect!!
I've never had a problem with him playing with so called *girl* toys, just like I won't have an issue with his little sister playing with *boy* toys.
I would rather be worrying about whether my kid likes their toys and has fun with them than what sex they are supposed to geared towards.

Sharon - posted on 10/01/2010

My son often plays dolls with his sister. He loves to rock the baby and cuddle it. He calls it Benjamin and my daughter dresses it in blue for him. He also likes the Baby Alive doll because it sings and talks and it will drink from a bottle. But believe me, he is all boy!! Rough and tough and bold.

Charlie - posted on 10/01/2010

Haha Cooper just brought me his baby and told me it did a poo !! he is now changing its nappy , he will make a great daddy one day :D

Teresa - posted on 10/01/2010

My son loves his dolls, his sisters old My Little Ponies, wearing their pink backpacks, 'cooking' in play kitchens, driving his trucks, being a 'monster', kicking his soccer ball.... basically just about anything. :) We also had the girls who would play w/ cars and trucks and catch frogs.... and then go play princess. lol

Charlie - posted on 10/01/2010

Cooper 22 months has a baby doll that he rocks , changes its nappy , sings to it just like mummy and daddy does with his brother , its been a great tool for teaching him how to care for and love a baby he is also obsessed with motorbikes , trucks , cars .

Its human nature to want to care for a baby and i think its wonderful for boys especially to learn this through play , as a result Cooper is an amazing big brother he is gentle and caring and always loves to help .

ME - posted on 10/01/2010

Miles has had a doll since he was born...he sleeps with it every night...he calls it his "night-night dude"...

Emma - posted on 10/01/2010

my son is 15months old tomoro (2nd oct 2010) and he has 2 baby dolls one which is a lil girl and one which is a lil boy. what is the difference in letting a girl play with cars and trucks etc than letting a boy play with dolls? there is no difference. my son has loads of cars but now and again he still goes to the dolls to play with them i just let him get on with wat he wants to play. if he grows up to be gay just because he plays with dolls at this age then so be it i will still love him all the same. xx

Alison - posted on 06/20/2009

I let my son play with whatever he likes providing it's safe. I got him a soft baby doll wearing blue to play with. He also likes to play with toy kitchen things and tea parties. He plays with traditional boys stuff too so I'm not worried. I hate to admit that I would be a bit worried if he only played with "girls things".

Cathelijn - posted on 06/20/2009

I think it is cute they will learn to be gentle and kind. Once we took my husbands nephew to a toy shop and he really wanted a big doll on rollerskates in a pink tutu and all :-) but his mum said we were not allowed to buy it for him because he is a boy and he needs to be a man?? I was ready to take that doll to the till myself... I don't think having a doll or playing with girls toys has anything to do with being gay!

?? - posted on 06/19/2009

My son is only 7.5 months old but I remember growing up there was Steve, my brother the oldest, and then me, Jade and Melina all girls younger than him. Steve was born 81, me 84, Jade 86 & Meli 90 so we're all 2 years apart except for Meli she's 4 years.... but anyways... my mom always babysat the neighbourhood.



So even though there were 3 girls & 1 boy in the house living there... there was Steve, Chad, Ryan, Tyson, Tyler, Blaine, Shane, Kyle and then later Connor & Cailan... all boys... compared to Shannon, Angie, Jo, Jade, and Meli the only girls. Those were the kids that were there on a daily basis - there were also almost 10 more kids that were there speratically depending on when their parents worked. 10 boys - 5 girls.



We all played together. We had just as many boy toys as girl toys and more often than not... we would mix and match. Or we'd just forget the toys and go outside... which meant baseball, football, hockey, tree climbing, building forts, climbing the mountain behind the house or bike riding.



I don't think it's wrong for any child to play with any toy or participating in any activity as long as they are having fun and are able to play appropriately.



The reason I say that is cause I've heard many guys say "I'll buy my son a Barbie so that GI Joe can have a wife and not be gay with all the other army guys" or "I'll buy my son an easy bake oven so he can melt things and burn stuff" or "I'll buy my son a barbie and an easy bake oven so he can cut barbies hair and then melt her"



When lil boys are given toys for THAT purpose... then nope, they shouldn't be playing with them. But if they are nurturing a baby doll like it is his baby, that's adorable and very precious!

Abby - posted on 06/17/2009

the way i look at it, is my son sees daddy holding a baby, so it's the same with cam picking up his sister's dolly!

my sister in law is constantly putting clips and stuff in my son's hair cos it's always been quite long.

i see no problem, and even if he turns out to be gay(which will have nothing to do with any of this), i'll be out clubbing with him finding him a nice man!!!

Jessica - posted on 06/17/2009

I have son 7yrs, daughter 5yrs, son 3yrs, and daughter 21mths and they all play together, whether its with trucks or tea sets. My 5 yr old actually dressed my 3 yr old like a little princess and he had a blast, of course 10 minutes later he was wrestling with the 7 yr old. I think when they're young they don't think so much boy/girl stuff as will this be fun to play with. When it comes down to it he's 100% boy, he just has 2 sisters and he is bound to play their stuff too.

Erin - posted on 06/17/2009

I don't see anything wrong with it at all, especially at such a young age and with a baby brother!! My friend's little man is nearly 3 and has a doll called Baby Boy who he feeds and burps and changes when Mummy tends to his 4 month old brother. It's adorable :) And I agree it helps him learn to tone down and be gentle with babies when he's otherwise your typical chaotic little boy!!

Sapphire - posted on 06/16/2009

It is perfectly OK and 100% acceptable for a little boy to play with a doll. It's been a topic that has been well documented and researched by child psychaistrists, pediatricians, and early childhood specialists. My 4 year old son prefers male oriented toys, but we have absolutely no problem at all with female oriented toys. In fact, one day when I went to pick him up form daycare, the kids were playing dress up and he was in a Tinkerbelle costume. Another time the kids were playing 'house' and he was feeding the 'baby'. To a small kids, it doesn't matter. Boys also love to mimic their Mommies. I used to cringe when he wanted to wear my dresses or try on my bra! But that stage has since passed and I know it's normal and natural.

Sarah - posted on 06/16/2009

I have two girls, so our house is full of dolls! We also have cars and lego and Thomas the Tank engine too tho!

I don't think there's anything wrong with boys playing with dolls (i think it's cute!)

As you say, it's nice for them to develop a nurturing side.

I certainly don't think it will impact on their sexuality!

Let them play with what they want i say! :)