Dolls are the oldest and most common things that children play with. While many societies associate dolls to play with girls, all children must play with dolls regardless of gender. That is because they are a representation of the child and their surroundings. Some of the benefits children get from playing with dolls include:
1. Social skills and communication
When a child starts playing with a doll, they think of them as either their friends or role-play as the dolls’ children. Therefore, they learn how to interact with other children around them and their siblings.
Since the children also play and talk to the dolls, they learn how to speak effectively and improve their language and communication skills.
They learn how to be kind with words and how to take care of one another. Playing with dolls also helps them develop a lot of skills that matter in their developmental years.
2. Responsibility
When children play with dolls, they wash, feed them, and take care of them. That helps them develop a sense of responsibility that makes it easy for them to take care of themselves, their pets, and their younger siblings.
By feeding, undressing, dressing, and feeding the dolls, the children learn how to be independent, such that the parents don’t have to do everything for them.
It also helps the children to learn basic hygiene habits and might even encourage them to learn to use the potty faster. They also learn how to be neat and organized, which is important when they are home or even at school.
3. Empathy and compassion
Empathy and compassion are some of the most important skills that kids learn by playing with their dolls. That is because they take care of their dolls in such a way that they do not hurt them.
By doing that, they learn how to be kind and compassionate to the people around them as they get older.
Researchers found that playing with dolls activated the posterior superior temporal sulcus of the children. That is a part of the brain associated with processing social information like empathy.
The researchers say that people use that part of the brain when thinking about other people’s thoughts and feelings. That part of the brain was activated to the same level as when children are playing with other kids.
4. Imagination
Children love creating make-belief scenarios with their dolls, which helps build up their creativity. It helps the children develop creative ways of which they can live with the doll without hurting them, new games to play with the dolls, and new activities they can do to break the monotony.
It also helps develop some creative skills like braiding the babies’ hair or making their clothes. Their imagination also grows when they have to pick different names for the dolls and different outfits.
When buying a doll for your kid, do not buy the same doll every time. Mix them up to help your child have a diversity of dolls to choose from.
You should also choose high-quality dolls like L.O.L. Surprise! Tween dolls that will last a long time and will not fall apart despite the games your kid plays with them. For more fun, L.O.L Surprise invites their biggest fans to the ultimate party, 707 Day, with a free virtual event and concert on Jul. 7 at 9 a.m. PST/12 p.m. EST.