Dolls are a great play idea for kids – boys and girls alike. They allow your child to practise caring for another being, they allow them to pretend play maybe something that they’ve already seen at home with siblings or on the TV and they allow your child to become a care-giver when usually they are the one being taken care of.
Playing with dolls shouldn’t be seen as gender-specific to girls purely because we all, surely, want our sons to grow up and help take care of their kids as well as we take care of them.
It’s not just a mum’s or a woman’s job to look after the kids in this day and age.
Ideas for Activities with Baby Dolls
- Scissor Skills – Give your dolls a paper hairstyle and get your toddler to give them a haircut using toddler-appropriate scissors. This helps develop their fine motor skills.
- Wash the baby doll’s clothes – String up a washing line with some pegs. Provide a selection of doll’s clothes and let your toddler wash them in a bowl of soapy water, wring them out and peg them up to dry. This allows practice of their fine motor skills.
- Feed the baby – Using a toy kitchen and pots and pans, make an imaginary picnic for the doll and feed them.
- Give your baby a bath – Provide a bowl of soapy water, a sponge or flannel, a towel and some bath toys and get your toddler to clean the baby by giving them their own bath. They could also brush their teeth after the bath.
- Change the baby’s nappy – Get your little one a basket with some play or real nappies and some flannels to act as wipes.
- Decorate a paper doll – Have the outline of a person and ask your toddler or pre-schooler to design an outfit and give them some facial features and hair.
- Paint one of their dolls – Choose one of their least favourite dolls that is easy to wash and let them loose with paint and a brush to paint their doll.
- Teach body parts using the doll – Sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and get use a doll to show the body parts. Get your toddler to join in using a doll to show the body parts too.
- Take care of a poorly baby – Provide a doctor’s kit and help your toddler make the baby better. They might need their temperature checking or a bandage applying.
- Take your baby out for a trip. This could be to the shops or the park. If you’ve got a pram or pushchair all the better. Just remember that you may end up pushing the pram yourself.
Resources For Playing With Dolls
- Dolls with different skin colours
- Pram
- Pushchair
- Highchair
- Car seat
- Feeding Set
- Nappy changing set
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