To buy 9yo dd a dolls pram?

[scousema34]

Dd is 9 and is diagnosed with autism and is also thought to have some learning difficulties but that's proving harder to get to the bottom off.

She mixes really well with her peers and is really popular but I always worry about the fact she's quite far behind them in school work and the older she gets the more this might be obvious in other areas.

She's loving the my generation dolls from Smyths at the moment and had built up a good collection now, tonight she's asked me if she can have a pram to push them around in. She's quite tall for age so we'd have to buy her a cheap stroller for a real child rather than a child's dolls pram (they are pretty cheap so that's not a problem)

I'm worrying though that if any of her school friends see her they may laugh at her, I can't see any of them still playing with dolls at this age.

Does anyone else have similar age dd's that can tell me what they think? I don't want to say to dd that she can have one but only use it in the house incase she thinks she can't play with her dolls but also don't want her being picked on for something I've bought her

I have a DD10 no additional needs and she often takes her reborn doll out in the pram. She also sleeps in a Moses basket in her room. Long may it continue.

I think that’s actually really sweet. She will have plenty of time to be a grown up; childhood innocence is over so fast. If you’re worried about her being teased maybe you could try to explain that it’s ok for people to enjoy different things; but it sounds like she’s got a nice group of friends anyway?

My DD is 9 and still loves her Our Generation and Barbie dolls at home so I'm guessing more than you think will still be playing with them. I'd have the same concern as you about the pram though, it's sad to think she could be picked on but some kids can be horrible.

Loads of nt kids play with dolls up to 12 or 13
She will have decades to be grown up

My 10 year old DD loves her generation dolls. She also has some baby dolls although doesn’t play as much with them. Only a few of her friends still have dolls that they play with. However they without fail play with them here on play dates and have a great time. My DD enjoys them and can shrug off any comments.

It really depends how well she would deal with any comments. DD will ask why someone is being mean to her rather than defend her toy choice - call out the behaviour don’t respond to the comment was a good approach. I had to talk her through it after a few mean comments. Nothing is really said now though. You are the best judge but I understand completely your concern. It’s hard to watch them navigate social situations!

My 7&8yos live their dolls. I think it's the perfect age for them- and they get more out of them than younger children.

I played with dolls up to 10/ 11 but tbh if she has some learning difficulties she might be cognitively younger than her actual age ( only saying this as my son has severe autism and learning disabilities and much younger cognitively) and enjoy playing with dolls.

I was still playing with dolls until I was 12 and I’m NT.

I find it really sad that children are expected to be too old for dolls at 9. It seems a perfectly normal age for a pram. I got a silver cross one when I was 8.

Please get her one and don’t give into the pressure to grow up too fast.

My just turned 9yr old ordered an our generation doll with her birthday money and the £50 expensive cot to go with it. I just say embrace what makes them happy

Theres a young lady that lives near me, she must be in her early 20s now. Ive never seen her out without her pram and dolls. I smile everytime I see her.

DS1 was still playing with his doll and pram at 9. Although I don't think he took it out very often. the dolly is now in a drawer in his bedroom

Dd ( NT, almost9 ) Loves her DesignAFriend dolls. I've never even thought of it as an issue other than the expense of accessories

9 is the right age for dolls right? I've never heard of them being to young for toys at that age :)

My DD 10 has a buggy and a baby doll, she absolutely loves it, she has one with unicorns on it’s a kids version of an adult one can’t think of the brand. In her play house she has a double quinny and a couple others, various dolls, babies and toddler sized. Sometimes she will trade the doll for a build a bear. She spends hours playing with it, dressing them, she has bath, high chair, little Ikea wooden bed, we have wooden food etc I encourage imagination play. Why not? When her friends come over they play with playmobil together and the prams

If it's what she likes then why not? My dd8 still plays with dolls and I want to encourage any type of pretend play for as long as possible!

I was in the same position as you OP except my DD is NT. I got her the pram and I’m so glad, because she’s now 11 and she still loves dolls. She plays with the generation dolls mainly and gets really crafty making items for them like chest of drawers, bathroom etc from recycling. Several of her friends still play dolls too and I’ve come to appreciate her being a little on the young side in this regard - plenty of time to be a sophisticated teen later. Your DD is still very young, she’ll probably enjoy that pram for a long time yet.

Thank you everyone! You've no idea how much you've made me feel better.
I'm in no rush at all to make her grow up and I love seeing her playing with her dolls but I keep imagining her face proudly pushing her pram down the street then someone saying something to her that crushes her.

Because she is on a different learning curve to her peers it's hard to know if I'm setting her up for being bullied or not. It does not help when some of her friends seem so grown up to what I remember 9 year old girls being like 🙈

My 9 year old loves playing with her my generation dolls and her Barbies. She also has a silver cross dolls pram that her grandparents got her for a 5th birthday and she still plays with that. She loves nothing more than spending hours role playing, talking, dressing them up etc. Whenever we go anywhere she still asks to take a doll or barbie with her. It makes me sad that so many children nowadays grow up way too quickly. One of my daughters best friends is way older than her years and spends all her spare time on TikTok or posing taking pictures of herself. On dress down day at school she came in wearing a crop top and knee high boots. I kid you not. Thankfully my daughter doesn’t seem to be influenced just yet and I hope, like your daughter, she keeps on enjoying playing with them for a while yet.

My daughter loved dolls at age 9.
Also at ages 10, 11 and 12! By 13 she was coming (reluctantly on her part) away from it but still had childlike times and loved her dolls.
This has ebbed away...
Now 18 and off to.uni and very well adjusted.

Lots of friends throughout

I wish someone had told me to not panic and it was fine. It was fine.
In contrast a lot of my friends buy no toys and some get rid of toys after age 8/9! Seems so.young to me in retrospect.

One of my twins is autistic and just turned 9 - she has a pram for her doll. It's a silver cross one (twin one) that will last her well into her early teens if she still wants to use it. I've given up worrying what people think as as long as our children happy who cares. My dd walks her doll a lot and we've not had any untoward comments. I have had someone accusing me of leaving a baby in the car though (we left the carry cot on the front seat - with seatbelt on) whilst we went shopping - pre covid

Kids will always find something about a person to make fun of. Don’t let her miss out for the sake of that.

At their Grandparents house, my DDs have access to a fancy Silver Cross dolls pram (which apparently cost a few hundred new! It was given to PILs by a neighbour and is in a 'pool' of toys shared by a few friends for their grandchildren of varying ages). It's a bit in the big side for my 7yo... It is designed for 7-12 year olds. Not little kids.

Is this a thing?! My dd is 9 and has autism (just turned 9) she still plays with dolls, prams, barbie. Can’t even anyone laughing.

Honestly, I wouldn't take any notice of what anyone else thinks. If she enjoys them, then why not? It sounds like it would make her happy. I also have a little girl who is Autistic

Imagine* not even

Buy the pram OP. My daughter wanted more Playmobil for her 10th birthday, my husband questioned if it was a good idea as he thought she wouldn't get much use out of it. She got the Playmobil. I would rather them still play with dolls or toys than electronics.

My daughter is year 12 and still played with the odd toy up until year 8 with old friends though not new friends from senior school.