When I was pregnant with my second child we bought a baby doll for my first son, who was 2 1/2. The plan was to introduce a baby into his daily routine before the real thing arrived. We didn't know the baby's gender so we sought out a gender-neutral doll that would appeal to a toddler boy.
He promptly named the doll "Donarina." We will never know why.
Donarina went with us to the store, where she rode in the shopping cart in her toy infant seat. She went on walks with us and my son pushed her in a toy stroller I had scored at the consignment store for five bucks.
Donarina didn't make baby noises or baby smells, and she didn't take away my attention from my precious firstborn, but she was a good tool for us. It got him excited about having a little brother or sister. (In the end, he got a brother!)
The classic French doll company Corolle has some of the loveliest baby dolls around, so I've reviewed a pink doll, a blue doll and a plain white baby doll that would all be perfect for preparing a toddler for a new sibling.
Photo © Corolle
When you have a boy after a girl it’s so not an issue that they play with dolls. My son is about 18 months younger than his sister so of course he take her toys. I’m glad, because I probably never would have bought him one (just like I never bought my daughter a truck b/c it never occurred to me… now, thankfully, she has several of her brothers).
I will say, he plays with the baby dolls and dollhouse very differently than she does. He mostly drags them around the house and bangs things where at the same age (1 1/2) my daughter was feeding them and hugging them. The dollhouse — my son’s favorit piece is the BBQ with wheels, which he calls “car” and revs along the rug. His 2nd favorite, the dog, which he throws across the room as he yells “woof!”
My cousin’s son wanted a stoller when he was 2 and dad said no. I told my cousin, he just wants to be lie his father (since his father pushes his son all the time). So dad caved…but finding one that wasn’t pink was hard. Nice to see these dolls.
What a great way to prepare a child for the arrival of a younger sibling!