Firetrucks and dollhouses

Your son is getting a WHAT for Hanukkah? "A dollhouse", I replied. "He likes imaginary play so we're getting him a dollhouse. It's not pink or anything. It's an all wooden structure with little wooden furniture and people in it." 

I'm not sure why I felt the need to explain to anyone why we chose to buy my son a dollhouse. As a former educator, I know the importance of creative play for young children. Recently, while visiting his Mimi, my son discovered his aunt's old dollhouse. He sat for a long time playing with the little people inside. He especially liked the baby. I loved how he pushed the baby in the little stroller and then tenderly tucked it into it's crib to go 'night night'. So when my mom asked me what he would like for Hanukkah, I told her about the dollhouse. Granted, we searched high and low for one that wasn't girly. In fact, the one we found is actually called, "Ryan's House" (found it in a teaching supply magazine) and the main character is a little boy. 

A playing with "Ryan's House"

A has a tender heart. He's not what you would call a rough and tough kid. Don't get me wrong he is ALL boy....energetic, inquisitive, into EVERYTHING. But he also loves babies and animals. He's gentle...he is almost 3 and I don't think I've ever once seen him get violent with another child. 


I once read an article that said little boys who play with baby dolls grow up to be good fathers. The article could have been total BS, but I decided to try it anyway. The next time there was a consignment sale, I went and bought him a little (anatomically correct!!) boy baby doll. He doesn't play with it often, but I noticed that he seems to have an affinity to real babies now. In my mommy workout group, he is the one who likes to sit with and entertain the babies. Yesterday, at a playdate, my friend put her 5 month old little girl on the floor to play. Next thing we knew, A was laying right next to the baby saying, "I love you baby. I love you." My eyes welled up with tears because it was the sweetest thing! Maybe this baby doll is having a positive influence on him! 

A and his boy baby doll

 

A is also into trains and boats. Last year for Hanukkah, he got an awesome train table. To this day, he still loves pushing the trains around the track. This year, he also got a Noah's Ark boat. A has always loved animals. He knows the names of over 100 animals and loves to line them up in different formations around our living room. Now that he has the boat, he puts the animals inside, outside, and on top of the boat.


For Christmas (we celebrate Christmas AND Hanukkah) the only thing he asked me for was a zebra pillow pet. Of course, when I went to the store to get it, I noticed that the bottom of the pillow pet was all hot pink. GRRRRR! WTF??? Since when are zebras pink??? Someone suggested I get him a different animal because the zebra had pink on it. After some consideration, I decided to get the damn zebra pillow pet. After all, that's the only thing he asked for. He doesn't care what color it is. In fact, he sleeps with it every night. 

The pink pillow pet! GRR

Am I screwing up my son by letting him play with dollhouses, baby dolls, and pink zebra pillow pets? Possibly. I can just imagine the conversations he'll be having with his therapist one day. HA! But I'd like to think I am also helping my son become a loving, caring, and compassionate person. Maybe his future wife will thank me someday.


Go ahead and judge me. You know you want to! In my defense, one of the first things my son did when he got his dollhouse was put the little boy on the toilet. He told me the boy was pooping and proceeded to make loud grunting sound effects. See? All boy.