Baby Dolls for Little Boys?

I think baby dolls are great for boys. Boys DO have sensitive sides and we shouldn't stifle that. I'm going to get one for my 1 year old soon, especially since baby #2 is on the way. Because of baby #2 we'll spend more time being gentle with the baby.

My mom used to say it was good for boys to play with baby dolls, that it helped them be better fathers when they grew up. My husband played with his mother's old doll.

You could make it part of Easter- let the Easter bunny leave a baby doll in a basket for him.

I guess I don't understand the input you're looking for!! Is there a reason why you wouldn't get him a doll? He likes them, so sure get him one!

Your husband needs to lighten up!! What does he think will happen? He'll be feminine, or wimpy, or gay, or...? A doll isn't going to make him that. I mean, that's so incredibly silly. If a girl plays with trucks and action figures, is she going to be manly?? Surely, he can't be that narrow minded. Maybe, if men DID jump at the idea of kids playing dolls, or cooking, or cleaning, or taking care of things...we wouldn't have so many crappy fathers and husbands. Just a thought.

When I was pregnant with my second I got my son (who was two at the time) a baby doll. It was a gender neutral baby, in a yellow outfit, sometimes he called it a him, sometimes a her. I also got him a little stroller that was green and white with a jungle print on it. He loved it and I thought it was great "practice" for being a big brother. Get a plastic one so he can wash it too, they love that :)
Your husband may not think it's a big deal, you seem to be assuming he'll have a problem with it. And if he does you can remind him that boys like to play being a daddy just like girls like playing to be mommy. I assume your husband held and cuddled and kissed his son when he was a baby?

Hmmm. I don't understand why you'd have to talk your husband into it. Would it make a difference to him if it was a girl doll or a boy doll?

My son was raised with an older sister and he loved playing with her dolls. I think it's perfectly normal for ALL little ones to be fascinated by babies and therefore play with dolls.

Little kids this age are totally "generic" and they are figuring out the world around them.
Babies? Everyone loves babies. We hold them and pat them and kiss them. Your son is certainly figuring out that he's not the only baby in the world. Having a doll and engaging in imaginative play is actually quite healthy.

When my son was that age, he wanted hair pretties in his hair because mommy and sissy had them. My husband was practically an ape and surprisingly, it didn't bother him one bit. My son played with dolls, had his own toy vacuum and kitchen sets. He's a junior in high school now and definitely all boy. However, he still loves babies. He adores my grandson, (his nephew). He holds, him, changes him, plays with him, feeds him. He can't wait for him to get big enough to teach him how to fish.

I would let your son have a baby doll. They make some that look like newborns that you can put any type of clothes on, girl or boy. The kid is kissing a diaper cream box, for heaven's sake, lol.

Just my opinion and best wishes.

I think dolls are good for little boys. My son had a doll when he was that age. It was a boy cabbage patch doll, and became his buddy. He enjoyed carrying him around, playing with him and just chatting with him. We didn't refer to it as a baby doll, just by name or as his buddy. I hope our husband will be ok with your son having a good outlet for his natural nurturing abilities.

do girls play sports? do girls ride bikes, scooters? do girls hunt/own guns? I know I've done it all...

Good grief! YES, boys can play with dolls. Boys can play "mommy/daddy". Boys can play with dolls. Boys even like dressing up. !!

All of the boys I've encountered thru my daycare, all of the boys in my circle of family/friends.....ALL of them have owned their own dolls - including both of my sons. :)

& further.....I am very proud that both of my sons (15 & 24) cannot walk past a baby or toddler without engaging the child. Just yesterday, I had to pry an 8month old out of my younger son's arms so I could change her diaper. Earlier in the day, I was serving drinks to the older kids...& I turned around & my older son had her in his arms! She'd made one little fussing sound & he picked her up when he walked thru the room.

Too cute....she has all of the men in our home wrapped around her finger! & what's really funny is that our sons say the exact same phrase their Dad does, "hey, there! Watcha doin' ?" :)

My older son had an "Ernie" doll from Sesame Street. He loved it! My younger son had a Cabbage Patch doll with curls just like his....adorable!

My 3 year old boys loves loves dolls. Santa brought him a princess Jasmine for Christmas and it is still his favorite. I know some men can be weird about this luckily that was not the case with my husband. I think you just have to nurture what they are into. Someone once told me something that made a ton of sense about boys who enjoy playing with barbie and princessesy things....the dolls and babies are so loving and happy and the male toys they almost force on out little boys are fighting toys, "bad guys" seriously I went to the store to look for some super hero stuff for my son and almost all of them came with a gun or weapon of some kind. I am happy he is drawn more so to the happy aura that is incorporated with the "girly" stuff. Anyway...thought I'd share because it made a lot of sense to me! I say let him decide and embrace his choices and it is my opinion not to force any gender stereotypes on little ones....they get enough of that everywhere else.

OMG! The story of him kissing the box with the picture is so cute, it just made my morning. I love 2 yr olds. My husband is a little bit macho, so he'd probably have an opinion about it, but I say let them play with whatever they want. Unless it is harmful, they are nothing but pure innocence and should be able to express their little personalities freely. I would not go out of my way to tell your husband, and if he did notice, just say you were out shopping and your son insisted on having the doll. And you thought why not? Which is the truth. Good luck!

Have you ever heard the story of the little boy who wanted a doll. The father kept trying to persuade his son into more manly toys, after months of trying he got the boy the doll and asked his son why this doll so important to him anyway? He son looked up at him with admiring eyes and smiled "I want to practice being a good Daddy just like you"

Yes, if he wants one. You might ask him. FYI, this phase might not last long. Both of my boys (now 12 and 15 and "all boy" as they say) went through doll phases, but it didn't last long. When my oldest was 2-3 and I was pregnant with my youngest he went through a phase in which he carried around a stuffed doll that he called "My Baby," but that pretty much ended when the real baby was born. My youngest had a "Baby Katie" we used for potty training, but after potty training she pretty much ended up in the closet. We also always had a toy kitchen around for "picnics." That got a lot more use than the dolls. But I wouldn't let the fact that he's a boy stop you from getting him a doll if he wants one. (Another phase young boys sometime go through is wanting their fingernails or toenails polished. We always used colors like silver, blue and green, our school colors. That phase passed on its own too.)

I read your response, and I'm so glad you're going to get one. My twins are three, and per my son's OT advice, we bought one a doll for sensory needs. Well, of course, his brother was jealous, so we bought a second doll. They love taking care of it, and one even tried to teach his doll to talk. My daughter is eight months old, and one son will breastfeed the doll while his brother bottle feeds. I totally took a picture to be pulled out at an embarrassing time later is his life! And, my husband is completely okay with all of this.

My son is an only child, and he still, at the age of 10, loves babies. When he was little we got him a doll that he immediately started calling baby sister. As we continue to clean things out of his room baby sister stays. She's been put away so the guys from his little league team can't see her, but she's still there. He is an incredibly caring and sensitive young man, and I think his father and I both knew that as a planned only it would be good for him to have something that he could treat like a sibling. I credit the way he treats our friends wee ones with the skill he learned by carefully taking care of baby sister. And lest your husband or other men worry that it will impact their sons - my boy plays basketball, soccer, has been drafted up in little league, loves Star Wars, and is a typical 10-year-old - he just happens to be a sensitive boy as well, which is a total win in my book.

i see you're going ahead and i'm so pleased. i love that little boys are allowed to explore this nurturing side of themselves more and more by today's parents. so sad that it's taken society this long to understand that.
khairete
S.

No thoughts for or against boys with dolls. But lately I hear dolls are good for boys, it helps them with fatherhood. My husband was and still is all dirt bikes, paintball, and hockey. No dolls. He was the best dad to my older daughter from 12 to today and is so gentle with his baby girl now six. Really, he should have ran away from the 12 year old, but he didn't.

So if he likes them, then great. I don't think boys need dolls to prep them for fatherhood.