Dolls are the most common toys that are associated with childhood because of how young babies are when they first begin playing with dolls. Babies as young as three months old start playing with dolls. One of the best benefits about dolls is that they are not just for girls to play with; boys will learn just as much from dolls as girls do. A doll is a great pretend toy because it provides your child with open-ended play opportunities. It is also commonly used in pretend play, which can help develop your child’s imagination and creativity.
Dolls can also be used to improve your child’s receptive language, even when your baby is still young. The way this works is that, you and your baby have to play with the doll together. When playing with the doll what you can do to help improve your child’s receptive language is point to the features that you are talking about. This will allow your baby to see what you are talking about so they can associate the word with the feature.
Dolls can also be used to give your child examples of certain things. Dolls are a great stand in for your baby, which can help you to explain how certain things work or what is going to happen with your baby. For example, if your child has to go through surgery for her ears or eyes you can use the dolls to show your child what is going to happen when she undergoes surgery. Dolls can also be used to help correct behavior problems. For example, if you have a hard time getting your child to go to bed at night, talk to them about how it is time to go to sleep and how everybody including their doll is going to sleep.
Dolls are also a great thing for your child to use during emotional hard times. Children can use the doll to play through these emotional difficulties by pretending the doll is them, it can help your child better understand their feelings. They can also just hold and cuddle the doll during these rough times or when they are sick because a soft doll can provide comfort for your child.
The main thing you need to think about with dolls is making sure that you choose an age appropriate doll. Some dolls are made from plastic; others are made from cloth, so you will want to buy the right doll based on the age of your child. Here are other features that you will need to look for when picking out the best doll for your child.
· Soft – you want the dolls to be soft so that if the doll falls on your child by accident it will not hurt your baby. Soft dolls will also prevent your child from getting hurt or hurting others if they hit or are hit with the doll.
· One piece – you want to make sure that the doll does not come in pieces; you want it to be in one solid piece for your baby’s safety. If the doll comes in pieces, your child will be able to take it apart, which means parts can get lost or parts can become choking hazards.
· Features – you want to choose a doll that has their features embroidered on their face. If they are buttons or fake eyes that are sewn on, there is a chance that they will fall off and your baby can choke on them.
Once your baby turns two years old they can start p[laying with the plastic dolls, but you still want to make sure that they come in one piece and are large enough for their hands to grasp.