Baby Doll Play for Toddlers: Incredible Benefits and Ideas
Key Points
- Definition: Baby doll play is a type of dramatic play where kids care for and roleplay with dolls.
- Benefits: Baby doll play helps toddlers develop empathy, communication, and social-emotional skills through fun and imaginative pretend play.
In my work with toddlers in classrooms and through early intervention, I love using baby doll play because of how adaptable this type of play is.
Baby doll play is a type of dramatic play where kids care for and roleplay with dolls.
As children move through stages of play, baby doll activities become more elaborate. While babies and toddlers may hug dolls or pretend to feed them, older toddlers and preschoolers can create detailed play scenarios using dolls and accessories.
Baby Doll Activities
Favorite Activities
Indoor Activities (Classroom & At-Home)
Outdoor Activities
Baby Doll Play Materials
Baby doll play can include store-bought accessories, loose parts, or real infant supplies.
- Doll Accessories and Furniture
- Loose Parts: empty bottles, sponges, fabric pieces, cardboard boxes, empty soap bottles
- Real Baby Supplies: diapers, wipes, baby spoons, bibs, washcloths
- Blocks
Benefits of Baby Doll Play
Playing with baby dolls promotes social-emotional skills and creativity through dramatic play.
It is good for toddlers to play with baby dolls because it helps them build empathy, practice personal care skills, develop basic pretend play, practice communication, and work on social-emotional skills.
Roleplaying for New Siblings
Playing with baby dolls can be a great way to help young children prepare for a new baby in the home. Kids can practice being gentle, and parents can model what care babies need (diapering, feeding, rocking, etc.).
How to Model Language with Dolls
Baby doll play is a perfect opportunity to model simple, relevant language for toddlers. These activities introduce vocabulary like milk, blanket, more, all done, names of toys, and simple environmental sounds (wahh, shh, achoo).
Examples
Here are simple phrases to use with toddlers during doll play:
- “Baby is feeling cold. Brr! Let’s find her blankie and her socks. Here is the blankie. Here is one sock. Here are two socks.”
- “Oh no! Baby lost her pacifier. Let’s help her find it. Pacifier…where did you go?”
- “He loves peek-a-boo. Where is baby? Peek-a-boo! There you are.”
- “The bottle is all done.” *sign all done* “Do you think baby wants more milk?” *sign more**sign milk*
Baby doll play is a simple yet powerful way for toddlers to learn and grow. Whether at home, in the backyard, or in the classroom, these activities support social-emotional skills, fine motor development, and imaginative play. With everyday materials and a little creativity, you can create meaningful play experiences that encourage learning and connection.
Want to learn more about how play supports child development? Check out our Types of Play post for a complete guide to play-based learning!
