So, here's the deal. As you can see by the above picture, Noah is very much into imaginative play. With a new baby on the way, I thought it might be a neat idea to get a boy cabbage doll for Noah to open while we are at the hospital, from the new baby. This way he can have a baby to feed and take care of while I am taking care of the new baby. Dave disagrees with me, thinking that him having a doll is too feminine. Now, I too, prefer Noah to "stay straight" so to speak, but I wonder if at this age it really makes a difference? So I am seeking the opinion's of the blogger world...
Is it OK for a 2 year old boy to have a doll? Weigh in!
5 comments:
Take my opinion for what it is. An opinion.
My brother had a football playing Cabage Patch doll when we were kids. I think it was named Dudley. He also had a few Ken dolls. I think this was all before he was like 4 years old. Anyway, he is straight as straight can be.
I think it is a GREAT idea to get Noah a doll to care for. I did the same thing with Henry, but he just wasn't interested in it.
Here's a song to convince Dave:
William's Doll from Free to Be, You and Me (can you tell I'm a child of the 70s?)
When my friend William was five years old
He wanted a doll, to hug and hold
"A doll," said William, "is what I need
To wash and clean, and dress and feed
"A Doll to give a bottle to
And put to bed when day is through
And any time my doll gets ill
I'll take good care of it," said my friend Bill
A doll, a doll, William wants a doll
Don't be a sissy said his best friend Ed
Why should a boy want to play with a doll
Dolls are for girls said his cousin Fred
Don't be a jerk, said his older brother
"I know what to do," said his father to his mother
So his father bought him a basketball
A badminton set, and that's not all
A bag of marbles, a baseball glove
And all the things a boy would love
And Bill was good at every game
Enjoyed them all, but all the same
When Billy's father praised his skill
"Can I please have a doll now," said my friend Bill
A doll, a doll, William wants a doll
A doll, a doll, William wants a doll
Then William's grandma arrived one day
And wanted to know what he liked to play
And Bill said, "Baseball's my favorite game
I like to play, but all the same
"I'd give my bat and ball and glove
To have a doll that I could love"
"How very wise," his grandma said
Said Bill, "but everyone says this instead"
A doll, a doll, William wants a doll
A doll, a doll, William wants a doll
So William's grandma, as I've been told
Bought William a doll, to hug and hold
And William's father began to frown
But grandma smiled, and calmed him down
Explaining, William wants a doll
So when he has a baby someday
He'll know how to dress it, put diapers on double
And gently caress it to bring up a bubble
And care for his baby as every good father
Should learn to do
William has a doll, William has a doll
'Cause someday he is gonna be a father, too
Just to be fair...Ben C. sides with Dave on this issue.
I think a doll is a great idea, for all the reasons you listed. My little brother always wanted to do what my sister and I were doing, and he had many "man dolls" and even an Indian war pony to play with when we played My Little Ponies. He has turned out straight and manly. Besides, Noah clearly does like playing with dolls, and not giving him one is not going to change that fact. I love Ann's song, and I think those things will help make Noah a great, loving father some day and a great big brother in the meantime.
I think it's rather illogical to say that playing with dolls affects your sexual orientation. In fact, I would wager that withholding something he enjoys and ascribing a gender-specific roll to it would instead cause more confusion than just letting it be. Similar to the other girls, my brothers always played with dolls and both are quite confident in their manliness. However, my brother always tells a story about how my grandmother made fun of him for being interested in a sewing machine because only "little girls" sewed. To this day, he remembers that, how hurtful it was, and how confused it made him feel.
I say give the boy a doll and teach him how to love and care for it as any daddy would.
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