question for parents

iluvcats

how long did your child still play with dolls or believe in Old St. Nick?
just curious. My friend always puts things on her FB about her child's American girl dolls and the cabinet that her dad just made for them. I can't remember when I stopped playing with dolls.

Pjdreamer

My daughter will be 10 and still loves dolls and stuffed animals. She still believes in st nick but I think she always will in some way she has an amazing positive spirit. All of her friends don't believe any more but she still does. There is still a tooth ferry as well:) there is defiantly something positive that comes from believing it does something special for them.

iluvcats

I still have stuffed animals. Our kitten climbed somehow to the top of our guest rm closet and pulled down my stuffed tiger that my sister gave me years ago. It became his girlfriend.

I think my friend's daughter might be 11.

donnaruhl

Those American Girl Doll's come with Names and Story Books.
They are quite expensive from what I hear. They're Collectibles.
They sell out quickly. I guess it's like Baseball Card's or Comic Book's for Boy's.
It never get's old.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

we were in that American girl store when we went to see Ed in Minneapolis. It's insane. It was like being in the Simpsons episode about Malibu Stacey. I couldn't believe how expensive that shit is. And how detailed all the crap you can buy.

I think most girls give up playing with dolls for "pretending" purposes as a tween, but may still enjoy dressing them up and doing their hair into their early teen years.

St Nick: it all depends when they find out he's not "real". But my plan when my daughters hit that age, is to treat it kind of like a spiritual thing: Santa Claus is a part of us all, the Christmas/Holiday spirit lives in each one of us. I am an extension of SC, so is my wife, etc, etc.

shetellsherself

My oldest (13) just officially gave up playing American girl dolls with her sister (8) about 6 months ago. However I'd say for the 6 months prior to that she only played with them because her sister drove her nuts begging her to do so. Now poor little sister has no one to play dolls with so I get to pretend dolls again. she does still play pretend with other toys with her little brother but he's not interested in the dolls. Can't help on st nick as we don't celebrate that one. Playing pretend gradually loses its appeal between the ages of 10 and 13 in my experience. Now 13 is another story.... :roll:

donnaruhl

My kids are 19 and older,so their way past that.But I have saved their Beanie Babies,their Baseball cards,their Pog's, their Poky Man cards... I even have my own collection of Bubble Gum Buddies Oh! and it broke my heart when I found a Santa Suit in the Closet as a 4yr. old.

Who Princess

There's a teenage girl who lives next door to me. I've watched her grow up. When she was 12, she informed me that American Girl dolls are for "big girls." Although I doubt she played with hers much longer after that.

Those American Girl dolls and all their accessories, clothes, furniture, seem pretty pricey to me but I don't have kids so I don't know how the cost compares to other toys. With all those extras, I can see why they'd be fun for a kid. I wasn't very interested in dolls when I was a kid but I have a feeling those dolls could bring out a kid's imagination.

dankind

My daughter is 3. So far, she doesn't know these things exist. I mean, she has dolls and shit -- just not wicked expensive collectible dolls.

I'd like to try to keep it that way.

Of course, I wanted to try to keep her away from all the princess shit as well, and I did. Still, one day she said those four words that every father fears hearing from his little girl: "Daddy, I'm a princess!" It must be in their DN-fucking-A or something.

Oh, and a week or so ago, she started singing, "We are never ever getting back together." Where the samhell did she hear that???

I'm moving the whole family to a secret bunker on the coast of Maine. Shit's outta control.

JK_Livin

My daughter is about to turn 9. She is over Barbies. She has some stuffed animals and has an American Girl doll. Target sells some knock off American Girl Doll clothes. She still believes in St. Nick.
My son is 11 and I believe is questioning St. Nick. He was asking us if he's real and we told him It's what you believe. I would like to stop lying to him about that, the tooth fairy, Easter Bunny and all that stuff. The problem is his friends that have older siblings that start talking.

PJ_Soul

In don't have kids, but I was a kid once. I never went for doll such as a kid - I was kind of a tom boy - but i remember playing with them with a friend in grade 5 for sure. And played with a lot of other toys until I was 12... i wouldn't have turned down a good teddy bear at that age. I think stuffed animals usually last a lot longer, even into high school, although then it's just the snuggle factor, not actually playing with them.

I realized the idea of Santa actually being real made zero sense by the time I was 3 (i don't think my folks tried overly hard to maintain the delusion), so really never believed in him. My family just pretended he was real, and honestly, that was just as fun of not more so, since I've always detected a slight hint of fear in a lot of kids who really believe in him (and we'd be kind of silly about pretending, so it was extra fun - we had a good time with it), plus my parents didn't have to lie to me. I'm pretty sure I would have resented that a bit (or a lot, if I truly believed in Santa). And really, any kid who doesn't start thinking there is something awfully strange and questionable about that story by the age of 6 or 7 may be too naive for their own good. Because that story has a LOT of holes!

I read someone has an 11 year old still believing? The choice is of course yours, but I think by that age believing in Santa could actually make the kid open to ridicule by a lot of his peers... seems a little old. And much too old to be believing in the tooth fairy and the easter bunny (has he never heard you with the basket, the gifts, putting money under his pillow? Are you sure he's not just pretending to believe at this point?). But that's just IMHO.

MaxGoldenrod

dankind wrote:

My daughter is 3. So far, she doesn't know these things exist. I mean, she has dolls and shit -- just not wicked expensive collectible dolls.

I'd like to try to keep it that way.

Of course, I wanted to try to keep her away from all the princess shit as well, and I did. Still, one day she said those four words that every father fears hearing from his little girl: "Daddy, I'm a princess!" It must be in their DN-fucking-A or something.

Oh, and a week or so ago, she started singing, "We are never ever getting back together." Where the samhell did she hear that???

I'm moving the whole family to a secret bunker on the coast of Maine. Shit's outta control.

Mine are two and I have to agree with all of this.

I think it's more of a war of wills between mom and dad more than the DNA though. I've found that I just have to stay a step ahead of mom and I can turn some of the tables in my favor.

comebackgirl

We're supposed to stop playing with dolls? :think: :?
I think I stopped actually playing with them when I was about 10 or 11...but I loved playing with their hair and clothes until about 12-13. I was never into stuffed animals. I remember someone saying stuffed animals carried a lot of germs and that pretty much did me in :roll: :oops:

81

comebackgirl wrote:

We're supposed to stop playing with dolls? :think: :?
I think I stopped actually playing with them when I was about 10 or 11...but I loved playing with their hair and clothes until about 12-13. I was never into stuffed animals. I remember someone saying stuffed animals carried a lot of germs and that pretty much did me in :roll: :oops:

have you seen the germ count in shoes? :shock:

Hugh Freaking Dillon

dankind wrote:

My daughter is 3. So far, she doesn't know these things exist. I mean, she has dolls and shit -- just not wicked expensive collectible dolls.

I'd like to try to keep it that way.

Of course, I wanted to try to keep her away from all the princess shit as well, and I did. Still, one day she said those four words that every father fears hearing from his little girl: "Daddy, I'm a princess!" It must be in their DN-fucking-A or something.

Oh, and a week or so ago, she started singing, "We are never ever getting back together." Where the samhell did she hear that???

I'm moving the whole family to a secret bunker on the coast of Maine. Shit's outta control.

I'm a father of two girls, turning 4 and 7, and they are both princesses by choice. I encourage whatever makes them happy. My youngest also loves playing with cars and is obsessed with Spiderman. Which is great. Whatever you're into.

My sister's husband, on the other hand, YELLS at his 4 year old son if he even fucking looks at a doll or anything with a pinkish hue. What a douche. I played with barbie dolls with my sister and her friends all the fucking time. My dad never said boo about it. I don't know why people get all hung up on gender roles with kids. I mean, as adults we don't put limits on genders anymore, so why do we do it with our children?

I don't think it's in their DNA to love dolls. I mean, it's natural for them to love babies and stuff, but every time they turn on the tv or go to a store, all they see with dolls and babies is other little girls, so it's ingrained in them.

MayDay10

my son is 2 months old and doesnt do either

Hugh Freaking Dillon

MayDay10 wrote:

my son is 2 months old and doesnt do either

Hugh Freaking Dillon

dankind wrote:

My daughter is 3. So far, she doesn't know these things exist. I mean, she has dolls and shit -- just not wicked expensive collectible dolls.

I'd like to try to keep it that way.

the age before marketing and peer pressure take hold are wonderful. they are just happy to have a toy. the name on it is meaningless to them.

comebackgirl

81 wrote:

comebackgirl wrote:

We're supposed to stop playing with dolls? :think: :?
I think I stopped actually playing with them when I was about 10 or 11...but I loved playing with their hair and clothes until about 12-13. I was never into stuffed animals. I remember someone saying stuffed animals carried a lot of germs and that pretty much did me in :roll: :oops:

have you seen the germ count in shoes? :shock:

STOP!!! :nono:

Black Diamond

comebackgirl wrote:

81 wrote:

comebackgirl wrote:

We're supposed to stop playing with dolls? :think: :?
I think I stopped actually playing with them when I was about 10 or 11...but I loved playing with their hair and clothes until about 12-13. I was never into stuffed animals. I remember someone saying stuffed animals carried a lot of germs and that pretty much did me in :roll: :oops:

have you seen the germ count in shoes? :shock:

STOP!!! :nono:

And handbags... Germ catchers they are...

I should have taken this tact with the Mrs years ago

comebackgirl

Black Diamond wrote:

comebackgirl wrote:

81 wrote:

have you seen the germ count in shoes? :shock:

STOP!!! :nono:

And handbags... Germ catchers they are...

I should have taken this tact with the Mrs years ago

*sticks fingers in ears* I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!! :nono:

iluvcats

PJ_Soul wrote:

In don't have kids, but I was a kid once. I never went for doll such as a kid - I was kind of a tom boy - but i remember playing with them with a friend in grade 5 for sure. And played with a lot of other toys until I was 12... i wouldn't have turned down a good teddy bear at that age. I think stuffed animals usually last a lot longer, even into high school, although then it's just the snuggle factor, not actually playing with them.

I realized the idea of Santa actually being real made zero sense by the time I was 3 (i don't think my folks tried overly hard to maintain the delusion), so really never believed in him. My family just pretended he was real, and honestly, that was just as fun of not more so, since I've always detected a slight hint of fear in a lot of kids who really believe in him (and we'd be kind of silly about pretending, so it was extra fun - we had a good time with it), plus my parents didn't have to lie to me. I'm pretty sure I would have resented that a bit (or a lot, if I truly believed in Santa). And really, any kid who doesn't start thinking there is something awfully strange and questionable about that story by the age of 6 or 7 may be too naive for their own good. Because that story has a LOT of holes!

I read someone has an 11 year old still believing? The choice is of course yours, but I think by that age believing in Santa could actually make the kid open to ridicule by a lot of his peers... seems a little old. And much too old to be believing in the tooth fairy and the easter bunny (has he never heard you with the basket, the gifts, putting money under his pillow? Are you sure he's not just pretending to believe at this point?). But that's just IMHO.

Yes, my friend's daughter is possibly nearly 11 (I don't know her age, due to distance, etc. I have not seen her daughter since she was a baby at my Christmas party in 2002.) But all the American girl pics (along with the cabinet that dad built) show up in the newsfeed on facebook. I don't have children, so I didn't realize American girl dolls were a collector's item. I just thought her mom was having fun herself with them Maybe I gave up dolls sooner than the average girl since I played football with my step brother and I had an older sister. She was mean and we shared a bedroom. She probably hid my stuff in the attic. I was into sports and bike riding and dancing when I was 11. Plus, I was madly in love with David Cassidy (the Partridge family, lol!)