The Dolls are our talismans. Amulets which remind us of what we feel but not see, what it is, but not immediately perceive. The talismanic name of a doll is here to remind us to talk and look forward to ourselves.
(Estes, 2004.107)
Dolls and figures give toddlers a way to express the scenes they see every day in their lives. He can bathe the doll, to change it, to feed her and hug her to feed her, imitating the way you treat your child. He can build a house with his bricks and a city and lead the figures representing his parents, at work and safely explore feelings of separation. If he has a little sister, he may express real-life scenarios in his mind, working on co-op and sharing situations of his favorite games.
Exercises the child's empathy when caring for an injured or hungry animal figure.
Not surprisingly, pediatricians often use dolls when working with young children. Sit back and watch your child play in these ways and you will open a new window on how he feels and how his thinking develops. Psychology, dolls and figures allow your child to create the world he wants at that moment – no batteries required.
Young children love all kinds of dolls and figures. Some really enjoy those that are very lively and made of materials like rubber, while others love the lightest cloth dolls. Dolls that have a lot of hair or difficult clothing may be a little dysfunctional at a young age, but preschoolers and older love this kind of doll and related grooming activities.
Other dolls that give rise to new types of toys are tiny dolls and farm animal figures..
Dolls that teach self-help skills such as buttons, laces, Fasteners and zippers are also good choices.
Dolls teach self-care ways such as buttoning up a garment, to tie the shoelaces and close the zipper.
Storing dolls and figures is easy, but some kids love their dolls so much that they take her to bed.
Dolls and figures are suitable toys for boys as well.
Like girls, so boys should have access to dolls and figures to play with. Men nowadays are invited to participate in the upbringing of children. Playing with dolls and their figures gives them the opportunity to practice these skills, as in girls. Children also help, boys and girls to practice problem solving and acquire skills needed in real life, acquiring this ability while having fun.
Dolls and figures are the most suitable tool for therapeutic psychoanalysis in children.
Ο David Winnicott (English pediatrician and child psychologist) argues that play is what is universal and contributes positively to the child's development. Therefore in his health, which leads to group relationships and can be a way of communicating in psychotherapy.
Doll play involves many aspects, whose achievement acts directly, inside a shell. Even when the child is playing alone, or attends a puppet show, knows that everything that is happening at the moment is allegorical. If a child does not understand this process, then this shows deeper signs of depersonalization or other psychological disorders (Басташић, 1988: 9). It is the ability to symbolize which, according to Melanie Klein, is the confirmation that there are no serious disorders in the child (1983: 24). In this work, Bastašic discovered something magical in a doll, something animate, just like in early childhood, that objects have a soul and otherwise, what we seek for these objects. Discovering such a new puppetry adventure, Bastašic concludes by emphasizing, that a doll had helped him realize his own healing identity (1988: 9).
In psychotherapy with a doll, the elementary process consists of a place where the child plays with the dolls or chooses dolls to make a story. One reason for this is the fact, according to which the game means relief. Relaxing with the importance of free connection, means the patient on the couch or a child on the floor, surrounded by toys, he is free to project a frequency of ideas, thoughts, impulses, disjointed impressions, beyond any neurological or physiological way, which in essence is not tangible. This means: Where there is a purpose or concern or lack of confidence based on the need to defend, the psychoanalyst will be able to recognize and emphasize the relationship (or relationships) between various components that will make up the content of the free association (Winnicott, 2004: 76).
Bibliography:
- Learn the Things Kids Learn When They Play With Dolls and Figures – Stefanie Brown, 2018
- CHILD AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF A DOLL (Theoretical approach) by Jasna Gržinic, PhD – Department of Preschool and Primary Education – "Juraj Dobrila" University in Pula (Croatia), Saša Ilic, graduating student of preschool teaching – Department of Preschool and Primary Education – "Juraj Dobrila" University in Pula (Croatia) and Karmen Vidovic, graduating student of preschool teaching – Department of Preschool and Primary Education – "Juraj Dobrila" University in Pula (Croatia)
