The Ability to Consider Others' Feelings Developed Through Playing with Dolls: A World of Play That Should Also Be Open to Boys

What are they showing before saying, "You can choose your favorite toy"?

At the toy store, a parent tells their child, "You can choose whatever you like." As a parent, they intend to respect the child's feelings.

However, before the child finds "what they like," they encounter advertisements, product packaging, friends' belongings, and casual words from adults.

Playing with dolls and playing house is for girls. Enjoying dinosaurs and experimental toys is for boys. If a child repeatedly sees such scenes, they might perceive, "This is something I can play with," and "That is something unrelated to me."

An article published on October 12, 2026, by the German news site "Kreiszeitung" addressed this issue, starting with criticism of a toy catalog.

The question is not about which is a better toy, dolls or dinosaurs. It's about whether choices are being divided by gender before the child even shows interest.

Criticism of the German catalog—Parental confusion on social media

According to the original article, the target of criticism was the catalog of the major toy retailer Smyths Toys. It was said that girls were mainly depicted with makeup products, dolls, and toys related to household chores, while boys appeared with dinosaurs and telescopes.

The article also introduced comments from a mother on Instagram.

The mother was puzzled that her daughters were strongly drawn to such images, even though she hadn't specified what they should play with. She felt that certain values were being conveyed to young children from advertisements and their surroundings, as her daughters showed no interest in their brother's dinosaur toys.

This reaction highlights the parental dilemma of whether letting children choose freely is enough. Even if there are no restrictions at home, parents cannot choose the messages that come from outside the home.

However, this is the experience of one parent covered in the original article and not a survey representing the opinions of all social media users. Moreover, it has not been confirmed that the daughters' preferences were solely born from advertisements.

The company had not responded to the editorial inquiry by the afternoon of October 12, the time of the original article's publication.

Advertisements convey not only "what you like" but also "what you are allowed to do"

Marlene Kollmayer, an educational psychologist from the University of Vienna featured in the original article, points out that strong gender stereotypes still persist in the toy industry.

For girls, it's about caregiving, household chores, and physical beauty. For boys, it's about making things, experiments, and competition. If these portrayals continue, the roles expected of each gender may also be conveyed, which is a concern.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with household toys or dolls. Caring for others and cooking are important activities for living. The joy of assembling and experimenting should be open to all, regardless of gender.

What is concerning is that associating a certain play with one gender might make the other child feel, "This doesn't suit me."

Kollmayer herself explains that it's difficult to isolate the influence of advertisements in research. Many factors influence children's preferences and behaviors. Nonetheless, the suggestion that advertisements can convey and repeatedly reinforce stereotypes is worth considering.

What skills are being used in doll play?

"This doll is hungry."
"This one doesn't want to go home yet."
"Let's go pick up the crying one."

In doll play accompanied by such dialogues, children give feelings and desires to the characters and imagine each perspective. It can serve as practice for standing in someone else's shoes.

This aspect was investigated by a research team from Cardiff University and others.

In a study published in 2022, the speech and brain activity of 33 children aged 4 to 8 were examined while playing with dolls and tablets. When playing with dolls, there were more words related to others' emotions and thoughts than when playing with tablets, especially when playing alone.

The "words about mental states" in the study do not involve complex explanations. They are words that express someone's inner state, such as "sad," "want," or "thinking this."

However, this result cannot be interpreted as "buying dolls will definitely enhance empathy." The observations were about speech and brain activity in specific play situations and do not guarantee future personality or overall school life.

In 2026, improvements in tasks understanding others' misconceptions

In March 2026, the research team published a randomized controlled trial examining the effects of doll play.

Children aged 4 to 8 were divided into groups playing with dolls and those playing creative tablet games, with an approximately six-week intervention. Seventy-three children completed the pre-and post-intervention surveys. In the doll group, there was greater improvement in tasks understanding others' false beliefs compared to the tablet group.

For example, the ability to think that even if you know where an object has moved, someone who hasn't seen it will look in the original place. It relates to the ability to distinguish between what you know and what the other person knows.

This is an intriguing result, but it is not a study measuring reading comprehension or math scores. It also does not demonstrate that dolls are superior compared to all other types of play.

Notably, this research was funded by the toy manufacturer Mattel. The paper explains that while the company was involved in initial discussions about the research design, it did not directly participate in the final design decisions, data collection and analysis, interpretation of results, or writing of the paper.

Saying "Children who play with dolls are superior" misinterprets the discussion

The headline of the original article gives the impression that children who play with dolls have some advantage over their peers.

However, concluding from this that "children who don't play with dolls are behind" or "girls are suited for language and boys for math" is inappropriate.

The original article mentions Kollmayer's comments on the verbal exchanges accompanying doll play and the relationship between building, experimenting, and school-used abilities. However, it is not an article that demonstrates academic differences solely due to toy differences.

As a parent, it's more about increasing the entry points for experiences than turning play into an assignment for improving grades.

Creating stories. Combining shapes. Testing mechanisms. Caring for someone. There's no need to experience everything through one type of play, and the entry points that captivate children vary.

In Japanese households, it's more about increasing choices than changing "likes"

Bringing this discussion to Japanese households, the first thing to review is the words adults use when presenting options.

"Because you're a boy, you'll like this."
"That's a girl's toy."

Instead of these words, try asking, "What do you think you can play with?" or "Which one would you like to try?" Start by not excluding what the child shows interest in based on gender.

At the same time, it's important not to deny the child's current preferences just to avoid stereotypes. There's no need to push dinosaurs on a girl who likes dolls or to mandate doll play for a boy who likes vehicles.

One practical approach is to add different elements to the play they like.

For example, building a house with blocks for dolls. Creating a story about a dinosaur family searching for a lost child. Using toy trains to transport passengers in need to their destinations.

These combinations do not guarantee specific effects. However, they can propose new ways of playing based on existing "likes." If the child isn't interested, there's no need to force it.

In kindergartens and schools, slightly change "who to ask"

Kollmayer also focuses on the wording used in educational settings. The original article cited an example of asking for "strong boys" to help carry boxes.

Is it necessary to make gender a condition when asking for help? Asking, "Is there anyone who can help carry this?" can also achieve the purpose.

Similarly, it's possible to reflect on whether caregiving roles, assembly roles, presentation roles, and cleanup roles are always tied to the same attributes of children.

At home, showing adults taking on various roles can be an opportunity to convey that "anyone can do this."

There's no need to make playing with dolls a special educational method. Dinosaurs, playing house, and crafts should be accessible when children show interest. Ensuring this freedom is not narrowed by adult preconceptions seems to be the starting point for choosing toys.

Sources and References

1. Kreiszeitung: Criticism of Smyths Toys' catalog, Kollmayer's explanation, Instagram parent comments, and company inquiry status. The SNS reactions are summaries of the content published in the same article.
   https://www.kreiszeitung.de/deutschland/bildungspsychologin-kinder-die-mit-puppen-spielen-haben-gleichaltrigen-etwas-voraus-zr-94537856.html

2. Hashmi et al. (2022): A study examining speech and brain activity related to others' minds during doll play among 33 children aged 4 to 8.
   https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13163orca.cardiff.ac.uk

3. Gerson et al. (2026), PLOS One: A randomized controlled trial comparing doll play and tablet play, examining changes in the ability to understand others' false beliefs. Details on study scale, methods, and funding are confirmed.
   https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0343698