Dollhouse for 2 Yr Old Boy

Hi A.
My almost 4 year old son loves dollhouses. It is more the fascination with roll playing than anything else. I bought him a small wooden kitchen with wooden vegetables to cut and pots and pans first and more recently a wooden gnome house. My son saw one at a street fair about 6 months ago and since seeing it hasn't stopped playing with it. It was not very expensive - here is the website http://www.aewoodentoys.com/. I actually would have bought him one like you are talking about but he found this one. It came with 4 peg gnomes, a swing, a hammock, a log bed and a log couch - and that seems to be just enough.
The things that keep my son the happiest and are just now really building his imagination are his kitchen, and house. I say - go for it, but keep it simple!

L., mom to two amazing boys an almost 4 year old with an amazing imagination and full of joy and an extremely happy 7 week old.

Get the dollhouse! What's the big deal? Aren't all toys about playing pretend in one form or another? I see no harm in him pretending to go up and down stairs. People are so hung up on girl vs boy stuff. It's ridiculous. Let him enjoy being a kid.

It's almost 2010 and we are still stuck on gender-specific toys? It's not 1970, let him play with what he wants. My husband had a problem with my getting my son a toy stroller. I compromised only by getting him a blue one. Hubby is fine with it now, he got over it, and yours probably will too. I asked him whether it was too feminine for a man to push a real stroller and he said no. Kids like to play act. As the other commenters pointed out, your son lives in a house, not a barn or fire house. My son loves to pretend to cook - I'm thrilled, maybe he'll do some of the cooking when he gets bigger! He also loves cars, planes, trains etc.

Just get him the house. Toy manufacturers make so many great products now that are gender neutral as far as colors. I personally think ALL the big toys are expensive anyway, so just go for the wooden one you've seen. Shop around, look for coupons, go on ebay, but get it for him. My son is 2.5 and I don't feel they fully understand boy vs girl stuff yet, so just enrich his mind anyway its not going to change who he is and by being open minded and flexible you are creating a healthy environment for your son to grow. I would TOTALLY get one for my son and I would get the gender neutral one. (ps my son wears my jewelry, carry's my pocket book and likes to pretend he's mommy, I'm not worried! LOL! ) Its not a big deal! Tell your husband it gives your son the opportunity to be a "father" just like he is - it doesn't mean theres anything to be concerned with. As a society the thinking has got to change about some things! This one is not currently available but something like it is fine for a boy IMP. http://www.amazon.com/Small-World-Toys-###-###-####-Cute-...

By all means get him some kind of dollhouse (or farm or firehouse). My son is 3 and is pretty into cars, trucks and trains but he uses the toy children's hospital as a car hospital. But he does have a Curious George tea set he sometimes uses (mostly I bought it because my uncle was such a jerk about not getting toy dishes for his son when he was little). He likes to help me cook or play in the pretend kitchen at school.

I disagree with Diane. If your son liked trains buy him a train. Right now, he doesn't though. Go ahead & get a doll house for him. Even if you find one from garage sale / craigslist /freecycle. It gives him an expanded view of the world. My son loved to play with his kitchen for years. At first it was a "girls toy" according to my husband until my son was trying to be Bobby Flay & an Iron Chef. My Mother in Law got a tea set for the boys to play with - they were around 2. It's really no different than if you served coffee or something else. There is too much phobia. Why does a child have to be restricted from playing with certain toys? Playing house will allow the boy to repeat the daily routine and caring for a home. Something that men should learn to do. Playing with a doll teaches nurturing - to be a good parent. Having a girl play with fire trucks & trains teaches her she can drive what she'd like. Or giving her a tool set will give her more experience to build something on her own. Break the gender barriers! These are phases.

I personally don't think there's an issue with buying a dollhouse for a boy, but I can understand why your husband might. Men in general are much less flexible re. gender bias than women. I would try to convince him it's okay - perhaps have him play with your son and your dollhouse. If that doesn't work and you want to try to keep the peace, perhaps you can try to find a castle-like dollhouse??

I got for my son when he was 2 the Melissa & Doug wooden dollhouse. Fairly reasonable price - got it at AC Moore's craft store. Its perfectly healthy & natural for the children (male & female) to enjoy playing w/ the dolls & furniture- they're miniature versions of what they see w/ people in general and gives them control and mastery as they enact their world.

My son is 6 and all boy, karate, GIjoes, trucks sapots u name it but he has 2 sisters so dolls and dollhouses have always been in the house and he loves to play with them tho he hates to admit. When i asked my 2 yr old what she wanted for her birthday he would always tell me she wants a doll house even though she only wanted a nintendo DS. He wanted it for him I thinklol He parks his motorcylces out side and cars ouside the house and plays with his Gi joes in there. Im not worried at all.

Even if you get a firehouse he can still make the people go up and down stairs, put the to bed, and everything else that he'd beable to do with a doll house. Plus there's a firepole!!! I'm a huge advocate for gender apporiate toys, but that's just my opinion. Good luck in your decision.

Dear A.,
What are your husband (and you) worried about?
Playing with a dollhouse will not make your son less of a boy. Our job as mothers is to help our children discover who they are. If your son already knows that he prefers dollhouses, that is great for him. Encourage him to be himself and you will raise a healthy, happy human being.

I don't see where a dollhouse for a boy would be a problem. However, a girly pink one might raise a few brows.

I think teaching him to "play house" would be a great idea for him (and all boys) to act out their gender role in a family.

Have you tried a mom and pop toyshop? Or even get a kit to make it with him. Not sure of the prices for stuff like that.

You have a great idea. Don't let your husband and society stop you from teaching your son.

Ask your husband if he lives in a firehouse or barn.

"Santa" got my daughter a nice big pink doll house when she was 6 but it was my son (then 3) who really loved it. He loved the elevator (it just goes up and down), the multi levels, the different rooms, the stairs, the furnitures and basically everything even the pink color. I hear him begging his sister "can we play dollhouse?" many times and thought it was cute. A few times we stumbled on him playing with the barbies in it by himself and he gets all embarressed and pretended he was doing something else, so finally my husband gave him a G I Joe from his private collection. He's 6 now and he actually play with the doll house more than his sister who's "moved on". We are not worried about it, since he also enjoy train sets, race car sets, fire stations, etc. So what if he also enjoys stuffed animals and doll houses? I think it just goes to show that he has a good imagination, and honestly I think it's a lot healthier (mentally and physically) then watching too much TV. Your poor son doesn't have the excuse of a sister, and if you cannot justify the expense of an expensive set and want to maintain peace with your husband, why don't you look for a more gender neutral unfinished light wood or plastic set? If your husband feels strongly about the doll house, perhaps you can compromise and get him a standing kitchen instead. My experience is that both girls and both enjoy that. As a last resort you can always bring him to your friends who have the doll house for their daughters for play date.

I don't see anything wrong with it really. It's a good role playing age for him and you'll enjoy watching him if not playing with him as well. You'll learn from him and see what he's thinking and so forth. Also, I remember hearing when growing up that it's good for boys to play with dolls because they become good fathers when they grow up. all I know is that my boys, all three of them are 100% boys and th;ey play with dolls and stuff animals and other things and there is nothing wrong with that stuff. Of course, your husband will think of course all the people responded are or mostly women and they would think that. The suggestion someone gave, weeble, wobbles but they don't fall down. Someone gave my third son that and it's the new ones. It was the goldilocks and the three bears weebles and the house to go with them and some furniture. Watching my boys play with it is hilarious and you can read the story and use the dolls to show your son the play that is going on and understanding the sotry and watch it happen. Check into it and see. Your husband is not thinking from all perspectives just a man perspective and I understand but I don't agree. Talk with him how about the fact that he lives in a house and this is a good play time stage for your son and that it will help you two understand what he's thinking and also how he feels about the baby coming. I heard a story once about the family like that whereas the boy was not happy with the baby and couldn't express it and showed by making the baby doll fall off the roof. Now, at that point the teacher wanted to teach him to express it and what he was really feeling by telling him this feeling is called anger, or jealousy or whatever. It was good. Talk to your husband and hopefully he'll understand, be open and agree with you and perhaps pick some out with you....????

Since your husband is somewhat appalled by the idea of his son having a dollhouse and my guess is you would like to spend the rest of your life happily married to your husband defer to his wishes. Your son will only be with you a short 16 years or so more while your husband you may wish to keep for longer. It shouldn't be a big deal either way but keep the big man in your life happy.

Get chunky wooden furniture for your son and get him a two level barn or firehouse. I loved the suggestion of converting a bookshelf into a doll house. That is great. If you or your husband are handy or know a handy man, you can have a two level bookshelf made with a sliding door to it so one side can be open and the other closed. It gives you even more to work with besides sometimes these likes and dislikes come and go like the wind.

Hi A.,

Does your husband not remember the weebles?? They weeble, they wobble, but they won't fall down. I haven't seen them in a long time, but I remember.

I just bought my little girl her first doll house for her 3rd birthday. I got it from fisherprice.com.

I did just look to see what they may have for boys and I did find this; Little People® Learn About Town™. http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=lpproduct...

And there is a boy in the picture - if that helps your husband accept it! lol

Hi A.,
Our 2 & 1/2 year old son is getting the Fisher Price Little People house for Christmas this year. The side of the box explains all the things that they can learn by playing with it. It also helps build their imagination. Preschools have dollhouses that all the children play with. Go for it!! Good luck!

There are plenty of toys out there that have similar qualities as a dollhouse in that he cane make the people go up and down I personally wouldnt buy one for my son. He's only 2, if you buy him a train table im sure he'll love that too! Here is a nice fairly inexpensive one that will help form his imagination.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3140254

I would definitely get him the dollhouse! That, or buy the clunky furniture to use in yours until he loses interest (which happens with girls as well). I think kids that are expected to play only with their gender's toys lose out on a lot of fun. My daughter LOVES dinosaurs, firemen, bugs, etc. She also loves dolls, stuffed animals, has had various princess fazes, why do I want to limit her to only one set of experiences? The world is going to imprint all its gender biases on your son, there's no escaping it. The more supportive you are of your son and his wants and needs, the more confident he'll become.

Also, since you know he has a little brother coming, I would buy dolls to match your family. You can secretly watch his role playing as he both cares for (and then picks on) the little doll brother.

How crafty and handy are you? When I worked in a center, I used one of our toy shelves to make a "dollhouse" by decorating the back, floor, and sides with cut-outs to make doors, windows, wall art, rugs, etc. You could use a small, sturdy bookshelf and paint and decorate it and maybe put holes in it and create stairs. I have wanted to make on myself but my boys are more interested in dinosaurs and pulling our house apart than a dollhouse. This would also be something you could keep by making it a book or toy shelf again.