One simple tip to help your child thrive

New Shoots founder, co-owner and director Michelle Pratt shares on one simple and old-fashioned way to help our children thrive: let them play with dolls.

Why dolls? Imaginative play is crucial for growing children and has numerous benefits, so it's a great idea to encourage it from a young age; enabling them to reap the benefits later. Baby dolls are fantastic toys for both boys and girls, as they learn about themselves and their world. Playing with dolls can help bring the immense world down to a manageable size for children. Simple, realistic dolls are best as they look most like the real thing and don’t take away from the child’s imagination. You can add to the fun with accessories like a pram, blankets, knitted jumpers, trousers, and skirts that are easy to pull on and off. Play can take all sorts of forms, and while many children will have their preferences, any play has positive impacts. Improved success in developmental milestones is just one example, particularly when children can choose how to play and what to play with. 

Boosting language. Playing with dolls offers plenty of extended opportunities to learn and practise different types of words for colours, sizes, positions, actions, and feelings. All these different words become the building blocks children use together to make longer sentences. You can support doll play by making comments and introducing the thinking of “where, what, who” – keeping questions broad enough to keep the conversation going. Pretend play sequences such as feeding, bathing, and bedtime with dolls deliver countless opportunities for children to learn names related to the body, clothing, and eating utensils. 

Supporting development. Dressing skills like managing buttons and zips are often easier for children to practise on their dolls than themselves. Feeding dolls gives children extra practise holding and using utensils such as spoons, forks, cups and bowls. Acting out toileting with a doll can sometimes be helpful for toddlers who are ready for toilet training. Encouraging your child to share books with their dolls allows them to practise what they are learning about, how books work, and the sound of storytelling. These are all critical foundational skills for learning to read later. Doll play helps children develop helping, sharing, nurturing, and caring skills. Children re-enact their own experiences, so it often helps prepare them for the arrival of a new sibling – they get to care for their baby doll while their parents care for the new baby. 

CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST EPISODE WITH MICHELLE ALL ABOUT PLAY!

newshoots.co.nz