It’s the merry time of year again when toy companies press the buttons of parents shopping in malls with children. While the rugrats might be keen on just about anything that sparkles and shines, this year is bound to see boxes under the Christmas trees filled with Barbie dolls galore thanks to the doll’s domination in all sorts of media.
But this does not just stop at the counter or in digital shopping carts. In a recent study, the Mattel team found that doll play could benefit children with varying social communication styles. Conducted by Cardiff University, the multi-year study explored the short and long-term developmental impacts of doll play. In the study’s third year, researchers found it also displayed benefits for children with neurodivergent traits commonly associated with autism.
“Our study shows that doll play can encourage social processing in children, regardless of their neurodevelopmental profile. The findings show that all children, even those who display neurodivergent traits commonly associated with autism, may use doll play as a tool for practicing social scenarios and developing social skills, such as empathy,” said lead researcher and neuroscientist Dr Sarah Gerson.
What makes the study particularly interesting is that 27 boys were studied and 22 girls in the four to eight year group. To better understand how playing with dolls benefits boys we spoke to Dr Jo-Marie Bothma, who believes the research from Cardiff University shows a number of benefits for all children.
“The brain is like a muscle and like all muscles if we practise it more it becomes stronger and more developed. And that will apply to cognitive and physical skills. But we can also apply it to social and emotional skills. If a child practises their social processing skills by practising what it looks like to have empathy for somebody or what it looks like to have conflict between two dolls, it will play a role in the child’s future skills in regard to empathy and how they will resolve conflict and how they communicate.”
When focusing on gender, Dr Bothma believes that when looking at the gender of children at play, boys are not allowed the opportunity to experience playing with dolls due to parents not buying them. Dr Bothma believes that parents end up missing out on the benefits that come with this opportunity.
“In therapeutic circles, we believe that play is a child’s language. We believe the toys that a child has access to are the children's words,” says Dr Bothma. “So when I pick the toys, I am actually picking my child’s vocabulary. You need to make sure that you pick a wide variety of toys because you end up offering your child a wide vocabulary that they can use to express themselves and to develop their skills.”
Dr Bothma stresses that this does not mean parents must invest in an assembly of toys but rather a variety that allows children to construct, paint or even use actual energy such as playing with balls and bicycles.
Dolls, action figures and play sets are vital in this case as Dr Bothma believes they can help children use their imagination effectively.
With children's communication weighing heavily on play, Dr Bothma also says parents who play with their children have the advantage of communicating with them effectively, the skills the child still needs to learn.
“When playing with a doll and if my child will have a fight between two dolls, then I can pick up that my child does not have the skills to apologise or listen to somebody else’s perspective. I will then role play that with her, and that way that area in the brain gets activated and we are modelling and wiring that area all the time.”
So before you ready yourselves for another festive season filled with shopping galore, perhaps consider what benefits Santa Claus has in store for your little one’s stocking this year.
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