boy playing with baby dolls

Carly - posted on 02/21/2010

My 17 month old baby boy has a baby doll that he sleeps with every night. My almost 3 year old has always loved babies. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Stacey - posted on 02/21/2010

Dont worry about it. I would not go the extent of buying my Son baby dolls & Barbies etc if he showed no interest, but if your Son is clearly interested in them and asking for them, I say go for it. I think it is ridiculous to say to a child 'no you cant have that doll because you are a boy and boys dont play with dolls' or 'no you cant get that car because girls dont play with cars'. If he starts asking to wear dresses then you can draw the line (joke). I think it's good that he wants to explore his nurturing side, and I say what is the difference between a boy wanting to play with a doll and a Man wanting to have a baby??? My Husband almost always pushes the pram or shopping trolley by choice so why cant boys play with prams and trolleys etc too? Hope this helps

Christine - posted on 02/17/2010

My son plays with dolls strollers bottles etc... I don't see anything wrong with it, he is just being nurturing which is what he see's you doing. Also my brothers used to play with my dolls and they turned out just fine they are very loving to my kids and even though they aren't dads yet when they become fathers they will not be afraid. Besides a toy is a toy no one gets upset if a girl plays with a truck or a tool set.

Jessica - posted on 02/14/2010

my 7 year old daughter makes him play tea party and dolls with him.. he see's her playing and wants to get involved... and i can say he is super easy and nice when he see's real babies..

Stephanie - posted on 02/05/2010

My son does the same. We got him a boy baby doll for Christmas. Everything they do at this age is harmless...it doesnt mean anything about how they will turn out. They will turn out just fine :)

Melissa - posted on 01/22/2010

He is going to be a good daddy. My son is the same way but he started copying what I was doing with his baby sister. Don't worry about it at all. I taught kindergarten and the boys wanted to play house as much as the girls did and they would take care of the babies too. I think that it is great the boys are wanting to "take care of" baby dolls. It means that they had good daddy role models.

Felicia - posted on 01/21/2010

I don't think it's ever a bad thing to nurture a nurturing nature in little boys. Maybe if the men of our generation did that as little boys and had that nurturing nature nurtured and developed, maybe we wouldn't be stuck with so many assholes.

Suzette - posted on 01/21/2010

This is really common. As a pre-school teacher, I saw this all the time. Given that your son really wants a baby sibling, it makes sense that he would be attracted to all things baby. Not to mention, if you don't have baby dolls at home, they are novel toys and so may be more interesting to him. He is showing a nurturing side - awesome! Something to be encouraged! Your son sounds like a sweet boy. Be proud and don't worry. :D

Heather - posted on 01/20/2010

my oldest son was 14 months old when I had my second son, and he played with dalls. He was actraly very gentale to his brother till his brother got bigger. I think that because he had a dall and was shown how to bee gentale to the baby that he did so well with a real baby. My boys both are very gentale with real babys.

Ashleigh - posted on 01/18/2010

I think your very lucky to have such a nurturing and caring little boy! I dont see anything wrong with that at all! My 2 yr old daughter loves dolls but also loves toy cars, scary dinosaurs, bugs, spiders, snakes and anything to do with Bob the Builder! I think its great!

Shirley - posted on 01/18/2010

my son is 6 and he plays house with his sister and her babies all of the time. before his sister came he used to play with my old purses....we bought him dolls. i think it makes them more nurturing. society doesn't have a problem with girls playing with cars so IDK why they make such a big deal about boys with dolls.

Colette - posted on 01/17/2010

Again, my son loves playing dolls with his sister! I see absolutely nothing wrong with it!!

Alexa - posted on 01/13/2010

I wouldn't worry about it. My son loves playing with baby dolls also and he refers to them as his baby sister too. When I was little, my brother played barbies with me and he turned out just fine. I think it's just society putting to much emphasis on these things that make us wonder.

Karina - posted on 01/12/2010

That's great! Maybe he wants a baby sister/brother. Maybe he will grow up to be a great father! Maybe he will work in childcare. This morning at my daughters swimming class I had a great conversation with another Mum mourning the lack of men in Early Childhood teaching, as her son was very unruly and responds much better to stricter male instruction.

When I was a little girl I played with trucks and cars and my Fisher Technic set. Now I am an Engineer.

Sharon - posted on 01/11/2010

I wouldn't worry! My son loves baby dolls. I am a stay at home mom now but previously I operated a daycare in my home. I have my degree in Early Childhood Development and in one of my classes I remeber that being a topic we studdied. It is completly normal. Boys have to learn to be nurturing dad's someday. What a better way than to learn it through Imaginative play!

Alejandra - posted on 01/08/2010

no need to worry...it is perfectly fine if he plays with dolls. it just means he is a nurturing kind of guy...and that's great! best think you can do it just let him explore, he is too young to understand "boys play with cars and girls with dolls" (which I totally disagree with, but unfortunately we live in a society where that's how it is). I have a bachelors in child development and from a professional stand point I can tell you it is okay...

Lakisha - posted on 01/07/2010

I don't think you should be worried it may just be as you've stated "he wants a sister" or he can just be the nurturing type. My daughter likes to play with both dolls and action figures/cars...so i think it's perfectly normal and he will probably grow out of it.