News result doll play
Bringing a Forgotten Doll Back Into Play
A doll goes out of favour long before a child is finished with dolls, and it is usually fixable. This guide covers cleaning her up before anything else, why one new outfit does more than a new doll, giving her an event to attend, letting the child do the choosing, moving her back into view, and knowing when the interest has genuinely finished.
Doll Clothes for Sensory-Sensitive Children: What to Look For
The child handles a doll outfit far more than the doll ever does, which makes texture the deciding factor. This guide covers choosing fabric for the hands that hold it, avoiding sequins and stiff trims, why tulle and net cause the most trouble, the noise a velcro closure makes, pull-on shapes that reduce frustration, and using the doll to rehearse the child's own dressing.
One Doll, Two Children: Sharing Without Tears
One doll and two children who both want her is a daily negotiation. This guide covers why timers work better than fairness arguments, giving each child something of their own within the play, protecting the wardrobe from tug-of-war, and how to tell when the household actually needs a second doll.
Dolly Goes to the Doctor: Doll Play Before a Hospital Visit
A doll lets a child rehearse something frightening at a safe distance. This guide covers running the appointment on the doll first, letting the child hold the equipment, keeping the language plain, packing the doll for an actual stay, and why the hospital's play team is the best resource you have.
Rainy Day Doll Play: Indoor Ideas for the School Holidays
Wet school holiday days need something more than another screen. This guide covers six indoor doll activities that stretch a whole afternoon — a fashion show, a proper laundry day, a photo shoot, a cardboard room build, a hair salon and doll school — all using things you already have.
Using Doll Play to Prepare a Child for a New Baby
A doll can be a gentle way to introduce a child to what a new baby will actually be like. This guide covers starting well before the due date, practising real routines like nappy changes and gentle handling, letting a child rehearse the tricky feelings, and keeping the whole thing play rather than a lesson.
Boy Dolls: Why Every Family Should Consider One
This blog explores why dolls are a valuable and beneficial toy choice for boys, challenging the idea that doll play is only for girls. Drawing on research, customer experiences, and decades of helping families choose dolls, it explains how doll play supports empathy, communication, creativity, fine motor skills, and emotional development in all children. The article highlights growing acceptance of boy dolls, offers guidance on choosing the right doll, and shares practical tips for introducing dolls naturally and confidently. The key message is that dolls are not defined by gender — they are tools for imagination, nurturing, storytelling, and building important life skills.
Blog posts
A Day at the Beach With Dolly: Sand, Salt and Sun
A doll at the beach comes home with sand in her hair and salt in her clothes, and neither has to be a problem. This guide covers choosing a doll that can take the day, dressing her in swimwear rather than an outfit, rinsing sand off before it dries, keeping vinyl off hot sand and out of parked cars, why a doll hat does two jobs, and packing a bag for the wet things.
Bringing a Forgotten Doll Back Into Play
A doll goes out of favour long before a child is finished with dolls, and it is usually fixable. This guide covers cleaning her up before anything else, why one new outfit does more than a new doll, giving her an event to attend, letting the child do the choosing, moving her back into view, and knowing when the interest has genuinely finished.
Outgrown Doll Clothes: What to Keep, Pass On or Sell
Doll clothes accumulate long after the doll has stopped being played with. This guide covers sorting into three piles in one sitting, keeping one keepsake rather than twenty, what actually sells second-hand and what does not, washing and photographing before listing, passing pieces on within the family, and the pieces worth simply throwing away.
Moving House With a Doll: Keeping the Familiar Thing Findable
A move is the most common way a comfort doll goes missing, and the fix is deciding early that she never goes in a box. This guide covers keeping her with the child rather than in the truck, packing one clearly marked bag of her things, keeping sleepwear out on the first night, using the doll to walk the new room, unpacking her corner before anything else, and expecting a few unsettled nights either way.