William Wants a Doll

Vera Joffe, Ph.D.
(vjphdcr)
Copyright © 2001-present. All rights reserved.

“William wants a doll”

I visited a wonderful preschool a couple of summers ago. The children were in "camp", and they were going to various field trips, like "Sweet Tomatoes", "Publix", and the library.

I had the chance to observe and participate in a large classroom with a few children, a couple of teachers, and four teenagers (counselors in training)-- a very nice ratio of children to each adult.

The reason why I tell you this story is because I was very impressed with the two adolescent boys working in that camp for the summer. I watched how they interacted with the children, and I was pleasantly surprised. In them I saw nurturing teenagers who had their arms open to help and to guide the children in whatever activity they were completing. One of the teenagers told me that he wanted to pursue a career in child psychology, but that he still had another year of high school before going to college. I was surprised at his statement because nowadays very few teenagers know what they want to do later on in life.

I was also surprised with the way that other teenage boy asked the children if they wanted to play cards. There were about five children who said: "Yes!”. So, the young man said to them calmly, "O.K., we will do that, but first you all have to pick up the toys that you are playing with right now." There was no doubt: All the children picked up their toys and sat by a table and started playing cards with their counselor.

I started thinking: The two young men are not only training to work with children this summer, but they are practicing to be  good "daddies" (if they choose to do that in the future). I have the impression that most boys still don't  play with dolls when they are young, but these two teenagers are certainly  practicing working and relating to children. What a nice experience!

After I left the preschool, I recalled a book that my children read when they were young, William Wants a Doll. This book was about a boy who received all kinds of offers for a birthday present, but all he wanted was a doll. His parents did not want to give him a doll, but his grandmother finally gave him the present he wanted, and that made William very happy.

Make sure that you allow your children to play with all kinds of toys that are educational, independently of their gender! A girl can enjoy a tool box, and cars! A boy can make believe with dolls, and with cooking and cleaning! And your girls can pretend that they are presidents, police people, and fire-people! Your boys can make believe that they are caretakers also!

I really like the fact that in some schools in our county boys have to take ballet classes in elementary school, as well as cooking and home economics later in middle school. They learn to iron clothes, and how to use the washer and dryer. Girls and boys take shop class also, and this helps them develop some of the basic skills for daily use. Not only that, but  those experiences also provide all children with the chance to explore various career choices that they would never think about pursuing due to stereotypes associated with careers and gender.

I am really proud of the young men that I saw today; they were working as counselors in training in a wonderful preschool instead of hanging out in the mall doing nothing productive. These boys are learning a lot about life, children, and about caring for other people in a very positive, direct, and constructive way. Way to go, boys!  I hope all our readers tell their children, "You can be anyone you want, and you can do whatever you want for play, for school, and for a career, as long as it is constructive”.

[Return to List of Articles]