Author: Lisa Park

You might have heard the term tossed around by your daughter and her friends, but what is a dress up game? Is it the kind of game you remember from your childhood with outdated clothes and your mother’s shoes? It can be, but in today’s online world, dress up games are much more than actually playing dress up in the play room – it’s a huge online phenomenon. (more…)

Check out Doll Diaries to see what they thought about three of our doll dresses!  We appreciate the review and thank Doll Diaries for including us in their shopping reviews.

By the way, many of our doll dresses are on sale through the end of November.

Enjoy!

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As a mom, I’ve always felt that imaginative play was a worthwhile part of my child’s development and something I encouraged from a very young age.  As tiny children, my boys were encouraged to take on roles that were both traditional and non-traditional with the games, toys, and other items we brought into our home.  Now that they’re adults, well-rounded, and grounded, I think back on all the fun times we had playing at the role of what they’d be when they grew up

Brian Enjoying a Treat in Germany

Brian, my oldest, loved his play kitchen, which at the time, the mid-eighties, was a bit frowned upon as not being a “boy” toy. He’s now just about to turn 23 and is fascinated with all things food.  He thought for awhile about becoming a chef, but decided to forgo that for now, for a job at an airline that allows him to travel at no charge.   His greatest joy  getting a bunch of friends together from work, flying to a location for a enjoy a great meal, and then flying back the same day.  He’s been to Bonn,  Paris, and Dublin and ate and drank his way through all.  I’m confident his love of travel was stoked with all those hours of playing with a globe that had photos of exotic places inside.  He spent countless hours at a time learning countries, customs, and more.

My youngest had a passing fancy in the kitchen but he preferred the dress up clothes. Not a day went by that he didn’t come out in some goofy outfit just to get a laugh.  He also loved anything wildlife.  Plush animals were everywhere in his room – from domestic animals to exotics, and even make-believe.  He’s nearly 21 and is in his 3rd year of college studying Wildlife Management.

He leads an active lifestyle which mimics the pretend play that he preferred as a kid.  Unlike his brother who pursued quieter play, Alex preferred pretending to be an action hero, fire fighter, etc.

We exposed our boys to everything we could think of.  Meals were a time to be silly, sing songs, swap food, and reminisce about what we’d done during the day.  We went to movies, libraries, read voraciously, and incorporated what we read into our daily life by reciting passages, phrases and more.

We never labeled their toys boy/girl and each had a doll or two and many stuffed animals that they cared for.  They wore dresses and high heels at times and did other things that some might not find “manly”.  They learned nurturing, to be empathetic by imagining the other person’s feelings by acting out roles that were different from their own lives.  We concentrated on adventures and experiences that created a sense of wonder in them.

It’s nice to know that make-believe prepares kids for the real world, and that as parents we encouraged and nurtured their natural desire to explore the world through fantasy.  I couldn’t be more proud of my boys and am so privileged to be their mom and to have enjoyed all those moments with them.

Spend some time with your little one in imaginative play.  You’ll both be richly rewarded. He or she with significant gains in readiness skills and you with a lifetime of memories that will make you smile and tear at the same time.

Sadly, most boys in our culture are not given the opportunity to play with dolls because frankly many people believe, inacurately, that doll play encourages femininity. Additionally, the vast majority of dolls are designed specifically for girls – dressed in pink, frills, et all, and rarely designed as a uni-sex or male-specific toy which doesn’t encourage many parents from purchasing for fear of their child being teased.

When my first son was born I purchased a “My Buddy” doll. It happened to come out the same year he was born (1985) and coincidentally as he grew up looked quite like him.

He loved that doll and it did become his buddy. As an infant it was a tumble toy, pillow, and sleeping friend. As a toddler he learned parenting behaviors like feeding him pretend food, putting him to bed, dressing him, etc. All of this was at about the same time my second son was born. Using the Buddy Doll we were able to teach my son that babies are to be handled gently, spoken to softly, and treated with respect.

My son is now 23 and a kind, gentle young man. Did he play with traditional boy toys? You bet. He also played High School rugby and football. Will he make a great father and husband? We think so. In an age full of self-help and relationship books and TV talk shows full of women complaining their spouses don’t communicate enough; our son is a compassionate soul who understands communication and caring. Was it all because of one doll? Probably not, but learning at a very early age how to care for others and look outside of oneself to other’s needs, is always a good lesson and one that is missed quite often in the machismo-filled little boy world.

That Buddy Doll is one of a handful of treasures my son has tucked away in a box in the attic. He’s missing a shoe and is well loved. I have to think he’s being saved for his own child, but I don’t dare ask. I’m just glad he kept him as it reaffirms our decision to go against the “norm” all those years ago.

Consider adding a doll, doll house, or other like imaginative play toy to your son’s toy repertoire.

Connie Ott
My Jewel Boutique
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