Χά�ων Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Fascinating article and I thought I would share here. :) http://m.theage.com.au/national/boys-are-born-to-prefer-dolls-over-masculine-toys-like-cars-20140104-30aq0.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowing Brook Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Are they sure it is a preference and not a sensory thing? I mean what baby would not prefer something soft over something hard. They were talking about male babies up to five months. I am not trying to make you feel bad I just don't know what this article is trying to prove? Babies don't have a lot of ability to reason and think. There is a difference between boys and girls and how they think dispite some people wanting to think otherwise. It is only natural that these differences would become more apparent as the child grows and matures. (not directed at op) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 My thought is that the dolls held their attention for the simple reason that they looked like human faces. I don't think a study like that is at all meaningful. Does anyone really believe that baby boys are born liking toy cars? I know it's supposed to be about gender differences, but I don't think this particular study offers much evidence of anything. The test subjects were aged UP TO 5 MONTHS. Those are tiny babies! Of course they would spend more time looking at a familiar object like a human face, than at a car which would mean absolutely nothing to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 3.5 months to 5 months isn't what I'd think of as a "young boy", though. My babies liked looking at themselves in the mirror, and they liked staring at other people and playing with their faces. Maybe the dolls are similar for them? I don't know. My youngest still likes playing with dolls. He's asking for a new one for his birthday. *shrug* I don't overthink it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Didn't even bother reading it. After raising sons and being around friends with many sons, I don't think it really makes a difference when you see them tackle each other for no apparent reason, or whack each other with sticks. Sure there are some boys that prefer to shake their heads and watch, but realistically the majority of them turn out to be wild beasts, until they grow up - maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Didn't even bother reading it. After raising sons and being around friends with many sons, I don't think "studies" really make a difference when you see them tackle each other for no apparent reason, or whack each other with sticks. Sure there are some boys that prefer to shake their heads and watch, but realistically the majority of them turn out to be wild beasts, until they grow up - maybe. So you're saying that maybe those baby boys were staring at those dolls because they were plotting their untimely demise? ;) Maybe they were planning to run them over with the toy cars. The plot thickens. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 They're also born with adorable, kissable feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hmm, my four boys wanted nothing to do with boys though I tried. My little girl seems a tad more interested but not much. I wasn't much into dolls or "girly" things as a kid either, so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 babies like soft things and babies like things that look like people. That is going to make babies, regardless of gender, attracted to stuffies and dollies. My oldest never really wanted to play with dollies and that's fine. My youngest boy still loves them and is begging for a third 'child' so that his two boys have a sister. He says it's not right for them to grow up without a female 'influence' in their life. I told him I wasn't buying another doll right now as it wasn't his birthday and his dolls had me and 'Auntie' (his sister) as their female influence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Yeah, I have to wonder about the credibility of any writer who thinks this "news" is worth reporting. 3.5 to 5 months? Well, did they also check to see if girls that age really prefer nail polish over squirt guns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Preference for looking at something is not the same as preference for playing with it. Babies that age don't actually play with either dolls or trucks KWIM? So as others suggested, I think babies simply prefer faces. It's important that they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I gave my son dolls from an early age. Despite my efforts, he wasn't particularly interested until around age 2. A friend was telling me about how her almost-3-year-old daughter was given a toy plane by her dad after he returned from a trip. She loved it--she wrapped it in a blanket and cuddled it like a baby. That very morning my son had been pushing one of his Bitty Twins in a stroller. He was ramming it into the wall, saying, "Ouch! Ouch" repeatedly on behalf of the baby. I found this pretty hilarious. He suddently was very interested around 3.5 when I explained about his new sister on the way. Now at almost 5 he plays with his Bitty Twins quite often, and his interactions are (mostly) non-violent, though the boy doll is fond of jumping off things and doing flips. He doesn't see them as girl toys at all yet. DD is newly 1. She has been obsessed with baby dolls from the time she was just a few months old. She "begged" for her first doll at the store when she was 4.5 months old. When we walk down the doll aisle (just as we did with my son), she squeals and grins and reaches and clamors for the dolls. DS never acted like that. She already hugs them to her neck if I make crying noises on behalf of the doll. I did the same with DS at that age and he ignored me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I've provided dolls for both of my sons. They haven't been major hits. My oldest son was not allowed to have toy weapons. He enlisted in the National Guard the minute he was old enough and volunteered to go to Afghanistan, where he would have died still be if his unit hadn't been pulled at the last minute. He's now waitlisted for the Highway Patrol Academy so..... I do respect the wishes of first time boy moms and put the weapons away before play dates if asked, but my house definitely looks like a toy prepper bunker if not a toy terra wrist cell. It's not so much that I think getting rid of the "forbidden fruit" aspect of toy weapons is going to turn ds2 into a pacifist as it is that I'm just tired and restricting access to toys didn't work anyway so why bother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Only one of my girls ever liked dolls. (Unless stuffed polar bears count as dolls.) Whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hmmm... Ahhhh! She's so cute! But we're gonna need a double blind study with eye tracking video in order to confirm that she truly DOES like that airplane. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Ahhhh! She's so cute! But we're gonna need a double blind study with eye tracking video in order to confirm that she truly DOES like that airplane. :lol: Good point. Who am I to comment on a "scientific study"? How ignorant of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Good point. Who am I to comment on a "scientific study"? How ignorant of me. And it is obvs a "doll plane" because it has a face...be sure to factor in that variable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 And it is obvs a "doll plane" because it has a face...be sure to factor in that variable. I did notice that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 My sons prefer stuffed animals. One of my sons is, incidentally, a cat. Erm, that's what he tells me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 What a useless conclusion! We've never really had many baby dolls in our house. My younger boys enjoy a lot of "girly" toys. I could claim to be a parent bucking stereotypes, or I could admit that I find it stupid to buy more toys when they can play with their sisters' hand me downs. Not sure it matters to them one way or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 My 4 yo boy loves playing Bitty Baby with DD, and has been asking for a set of Bitty Twins of his own for Christmas. He has several stuffed animals and dolls of his own, but he likes Bitty. He also loves trucks, dirt, and is very rough and tumble. My oldest son, now 10, never really took to dolls despite being provided with them. I did sew him a very, very simple small waldorf bunting style doll when he was 2 and he liked sleeping with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 So you're saying that maybe those baby boys were staring at those dolls because they were plotting their untimely demise? ;) Maybe they were planning to run them over with the toy cars. The plot thickens. :D That's what my oldest son did. We had a doll for him when was young and he like to run it over with his toy dump truck. Or let if fall off a cliff (the edge of the bed). He is not a psychotic maniac. That's just how he felt dolls should be played with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 My youngest had a baby when he was a baby. But honestly, I think it was the tag on it's butt that he would rub between his fingers that was the real draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 That's what my oldest son did. We had a doll for him when was young and he like to run it over with his toy dump truck. Or let if fall off a cliff (the edge of the bed). He is not a psychotic maniac. That's just how he felt dolls should be played with. I would tell people that my son liked Barbies...he thought they made good hammers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 My brothers used to pretend my dolls were sassing them and then beat them up. I would have been happier if boys didn't like playing with dolls. Poor Drowsy would have lasted longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 That's a ridiculous study, because babies don't really know much about anything at under five months. I mean, they don't know what a doll is and don't know what a truck is. They're not logically thinking, "That's what I choose to play with." They're reacting to a sensory reaction, which is most likely the face because it resembles a human. I'm not saying that boys wouldn't play with dolls if given a chance, especially if they didn't have any societal norms influencing them. I'm mostly saying the study doesn't prove anything at all, really. Societal norms are subtle though, and they sneak in whether you think they are or not. We happened to have a lot of the same toys because for five children, well, it was just cheaper and then they could all play together. We had five children in 6.5 years, so they were into a lot of the same things at the same time. My son loved stuffed animals, and we had little plastic people that he played with all the time (with his sisters). He did not like his doll though (which was a boy doll) or his Aladdin barbie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 It is not at all shocking to me that young babies prefer looking at human faces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 that is not a study of anything beyond what the authors wanted to find. Babies that young aren't playing. They will 'play' with anything that gets put in their hands. Both my boys enjoyed playing with dolls and stuffed animals as soon as they could make their preferences known. I know for a fact that my 14 year old has the doll I made for him hidden at the foot of his bed. He thinks we don't know. My younger boy is the type who sleeps surrounded by his 'friends' every night. I am pretty sure he talks to them for a while before he falls asleep. When he was younger he took his baby with him everywhere. They also love legos and cars and swords. My niece doesn't really like playing with dolls or legos or cars. She prefers to draw and craft and likes playing with small plastic animals. She is likely to have a small plastic cow in her pocket, lol. Different kids like different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Gotta love these studies that don't prove anything that a mom didn't know already even if the researchers come to wrong conclusions as to why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I don't think anyone (or most of us?) are saying that they aren't thinking or that they aren't attracted to dolls. It's the 'why' that we're arguing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hmmm... Totally adorable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Hmmm... Is that one of your dds in the photo, SKL? She's absolutely adorable!!! :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Umm...what needs to be said about the article has really already been said. My 5 have always had dolls. I have 2 children who showed an extremely keen interest in playing with dolls (both girls), from a very young age, and 3 who did not. My older boy (once he hit toddler-hood) was all about cars and dinosaurs. My younger boy loved stuffed animals and dinosaurs. My oldest daughter still loves her dolls (she's nearly 13). My middle daughter tolerates dolls and really likes Barbies (which my older daughter never really cared for). My youngest daughter plays with all of the toys, but strongly prefers her baby doll....which actually belonged to middle sister, but she claimed as soon as she was walking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Is that one of your dds in the photo, SKL? She's absolutely adorable!!! :001_wub: Yes, that is my eldest daughter on her 1st birthday. She is the one who has never been a doll person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Why is there an incessant need to prove that typical gender behavior is not typical? What's wrong with being typical? There will always be a large group of any behavior in any given area, and then there will be the smaller percentages and outliers of other behaviors. I think it's just the nature of genetics and the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 DD hated dolls. DS always was the more nurturing of the two. Didn't really prove anything to me one way or the other. Just a difference in personalities. But we ALL loved the big plastic dump truck. That sucker could haul tons of toys. We could even sit in it. Gosh I miss that dump truck.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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