Why Boys Should Have Dolls

In The Next Family’s newest video, Brandy and Susan discuss why boys should have dolls.

Brandy and Susan recently heard about Wonder Crew, a company that creates dolls inspired by boys. The woman who started the company did so because her son told her, “Boys don’t cry.” She wanted her son and other boys to know it’s okay to have emotions, so she started her own company of dolls for boys that are part doll, part action figure.

So why should boys have dolls? As Brandy said, “Toys are really, and playing, are really a way in which children can learn.”

“Dolls…build and teach children empathy.”

Just watch as Brandy and Susan’s son, Penn, plays with his first Wonder Crew doll. He talks excitedly to the doll, hugs it, cleans its face, finds it a truck to play with, and even says, “I’m his daddy.”

Brandy shares some harrowing statistics at the beginning of the video that explains why it’s so important for boys to be encouraged to play with toys that build empathy:

“80% of men feel uncomfortable sharing their feelings,” and adds, “By the age of 10, boys learn to suppress their own emotions and when something is upsetting them or bothering them to just say, ‘I got it, I got it.’”

Furthermore, boys aren’t “encouraged to be caretakers.”

Like Susan says, “It’s rare that you talk to boys…about being a daddy,” even though  many parents reinforce the role of motherhood with their daughters each day as they observe their play with dolls.

And isn’t it interesting how quickly Penn takes on the father figure to the doll in this video? Imagine a world in which boys play with toys, like dolls, that foster empathy? Will it foster new involved roles by fathers, a more equal share of care-taking by both parents, or make for more emotionally healthy men?

You bet it will.

Check out the video below: