To think it's fine for my son to have a doll?

[SouthernandCross]

My 3 yo DS has finally given up his Thomas obsession and replaced it with one of his sisters' dolls. He calls it 'My baby' and he takes it everywhere, to the park, on the school run, to the shops and to nursery.
We get a lot of looks and have had a few total strangers laughing and commenting. One old lady told him he should be playing with cars, not dolls which left him very cross.
And then at nursery one of the new ladies was going on about how unusual it was for a boy to like dolls. Is it really that unusual? I think it's sweet.
DS has three older sisters who went through doll stages and I assume he'll replace the doll with something more 'masculine' eventually.
The only thing that worries me is the poor doll is naked. AIBU to go out and buy it some new clothes????

I remember looking after a friend's DS when he and dd were around 3. The DS was having a fab time pushing dd's baby doll around in a pink buggy, and dd was following him around pushing a toy shopping trolley. Both as happy as larry! However, when the DS's father arrived to pick him up, he went ballistic about the baby and the pink buggy. He clearly thought I had been utterly negligent.

They never asked us to look after DS again!

I bought DS a dolly when I was pregnant with his Sister because a) he saw it and wanted one and b) I wanted him to have a baby for when DD was born. MIL bought him a little blue buggy to go with it. He loved both but they've really come into their own since DD has got big enough to have her own dolly and pushchair too as they love tramping round the house together pushing them :)

She also loves his cars and is currently playing with his Pirate ship. They're just toys.

DH has 2 babies and regularly pushes a buggy - why shouldn't DS?

its interesting that the comments on this thread are actually quite different to the one about the boy and his toy buggy, i think its the age? as for a 7yr old boy to want a doll/buggy was seen as 'odd' and quite a few posters said they would 'encourage' a child that age to not have one, yet at 2-4yrs of age its seen as ok? so playing with the 'wrong' gender toys is ok in toddler years but not ok when they are older :( very sad.

i have four boys and right from when the first was little be just bought whatever eh seemed interested in, or what we thought would be good for imgaginary play etc, so have always had a toy pushchair, tea set, cooker, cleaning stuff, all four of my boys have played with these along side the more typical 'boy' toys of legos, cars and trains. my ds3 who is 6 (almost 7) has of his own accord enjoyed the 'girl' toys a lot and loves pink, purple, fairies etc yet the general consensus on the other thread seemed to be that at his age i should be 'encouraging' him to play with more age/sex appropriate toys. whereas i just let him get on with what he enjoys, which as well as 'boy' stuff also happens to be fancy dress and fairies and playing with dolls, i dont see it as an issue, even when he wears a pink silk party dress or tinkerbell outfit to school, yet many other posters said that was NOT ok, it was a 'step too far' or even said i was lying as a boy WOULDNT want to do that! his bday is dec and he is having a build a bear party (at home with kits) and his present list is pretty much tinkerbell toys with some hot wheels. yet as he is going to be 7 i should 'encourage' him away from these toys.... i think not!

anyway just musing i think its odd/funny how the replies to this thread are so different, purely it seems because of the age of the boy involved!

I didn't see that one, 4madboys.

I wouldn't have a problem with that either, tbh. In fact, they did have prams and dolls and kitchen stuff at that age too.

And my youngest loves to wear make-up. He's 11. I don't have a problem with that either.

He did have a frilly purple party dress that he used to love to wear and dance around in. He outgrew it. I didn't care about that either.

He's very dramatic, very flamboyant. Loves performing (loves applause )I can quite see a career in the theatre for him!

My older son, otoh, would rather die than do anything un-boylike

They both had the same range of toys, we had the same "whatever toys and games you want are ok" attitude. Different people.

My older son, otoh, would rather die than do anything un-boylike

these days, I mean. He's 12 now. When he was younger he dressed up, played with the full range, had a doll he loved as much as his box full of cars, etc.

oh - the dress - I mean he physically outgrew it. He'd still wear it if it fit!

Of course it's fine!