The benefits of doll play according to neuroscience

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THE BENEFITS OF DOLL PLAY ACCORDING TO NEUROSCIENCE

Barbie® and neuroscientists from Cardiff University have collaborated on a multi-year study which for the first time uses neuroimaging as evidence to explore the effects of doll play.1 At Barbie, we’ve always known there are many benefits of playing with dolls and now there is scientific evidence that supports it.

HOW DOLL PLAY STIMULATES THE BRAIN

The study monitored the brain activity of children ages 4-8 as they played with a range of Barbie dolls and playsets. The key findings applies to all children, regardless of gender or ethnicity:

KEY FINDINGS

Doll play activates brain regions that allow children to develop social processing skills like empathy.
The brain activation that develops empathy is evidenced even when the child is playing with dolls by themselves.
When playing with dolls children use increased language about others’ thoughts and emotions. This allows them to practice social skills they can use when interacting with people in the real world.

LEARN MORE FROM DR. SARAH GERSON
ABOUT THE CONTEXT AND RELEVANCE OF THE FINDINGS

WHY EMPATHY IS IMPORTANT

When children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls like Barbie, it prompts them to talk about their thoughts about others’ emotions and feelings. This can have positive long-lasting effects on children, building social and emotional processing social skills like empathy.

Empathy is an important indicator of children’s future success. According to globally recognized educational psychologist Dr. Michele Borba, empathy allows children to:
  • Understand other points of view, helping them to be better collaborators, leaders, and parents.
  • Foster successful relationships and conflict resolution skills.
  • Build resilience which helps their ability to bounce back from adversity.

TEN TIPS FOR DEVELOPING EMPATHY

70% of parents are concerned with how social distancing might affect their children’s interactions with others.2 Encouraging empathy helps children develop the skills needed to navigate an ever-changing world with confidence and compassion.

Here are 10 tips from Dr. Michele Borba on how to teach empathy, by incorporating doll play as a useful tool.

1 

Encourage Free Play with Dolls and Listen In!

Doll play offers a unique window into our children’s lives. Tune in closer and you may discover your child’s interests, worries and dislikes. Children often talk while they free play and you can encourage that by offering a variety of dolls that your child chooses. Doll play is a bridge to discovering who our children are, but there is only one rule: We must let our kids lead us.

2

Talk Feelings!

Children must be able to ‘read’ emotions before they can empathize. Expand your child’s “feeling vocabulary” gradually so he understands an array of feeling terms. Name feelings: “Looks like you’re angry.” “You seem frustrated”. Ask feeling ques- tions: “Are you tense – worried - happy?”. Girls from a young age hear many more emotion words than boys do, so talk about emotions more with your sons and give them permission to show and convey their feelings.

3 

Broaden Horizons

Did you know that it’s easier to empathize with those “like us?” We should encourage our children to have contact with individuals of various races, cultures, ages, genders and abilities from an early age. One way to do this is by offering them a variety of dolls with different skin colors, genders or disabilities. And always help your children look for what they have in common with others, not how they differ. “There’s lots of ways you’re different from others, so let’s think how they’re like you. You both like soccer. What else?” Those simple chats are the perfect empathy lessons to help kids understand that differences shouldn’t divide us; after all, we are all “us.”

4

Make Feeling Flash Cards

Teaching children to read feelings is a key step toward cultivating empathy and kind- ness. Print the names of a few basic emotion words like happy, sad, afraid, excited and surprised on index cards. Then draw or glue pictures from magazines to depict each emotion onto the corresponding paper. This is also a great way to ask your child if they ever experienced the emotion. And turn the flash cards into a game: each family member pulls a card and acts it out using only his face and body to de- pict the feeling with no sounds or words allowed. The goal is to guess the person’s emotion, increase empathy and enjoy one another’s company.

5 

Use the Two Kind Rule

Try the Two Kind Rule: “We say or do at least two kind things to each day.” First, talk about what kindness looks like (such as saying hello, smiling, sharing a toy, or helping someone). Point out kind acts whenever someone displays them. Acknowledge your child’s kind act: “Holding your brother’s hand to help him down the stairs was kind.” Encourage the rule as your child plays with dolls: “Teach Max the Two Kind Rule.”
“Chelsea looks lonely: how can Kelly help?” The more kids practice kindness and we as parents acknowledge and celebrate it, the more their empathy will grow.

6 

Let Kids Care for Another

Children learn to empathize by taking care of another. So, look for opportunities that are age appropriate where your child can comfort and help like feeding the family pet, calling lonely Aunt Sally, or delivering cookies to an inbound neighbor. Young children can also act out caring with dolls. For instance: A nurse doll checks a doll patients’ vital signs. A park ranger doll protects animals. An animal rescuer doll feeds and provides shelter to help injured animals recover. The more they practice kind- ness during play, the likelier children will use kindness in real life.

7 

Praise with Nouns

If you’ve ever wondered whether your praise nurtures empathy, an experiment with three- to six-year-olds offers clues. Children were first encouraged to help as a verb (“Will you help?”). Another group was asked to help with nouns: (“Will you be a helper?”). Young children encouraged to be “helpers” (nouns) were far more likely to do so. If you want your child to see himself as a caring person, use nouns! “Thank you for being kind.” “I love when you are thoughtful.” And whenever possible, de- scribe the impact of the caring gesture to your child: “Grandma was so happy when you called to thank her,” “Did you see Sarah’s smile when you shared your toys?” “Kevin looked so pleased when you asked him to play.”

8 

Start a Kindness Box

An old shoebox with a slit cut in the top will do for this simple activity to increase kindness in your family. Just encourage your family to look for others doing kind acts at home or beyond. Whenever kindness is discovered, the “Kindness Finder” writes or draws the deed and the family member’s name and slips it in the Kindness Box. Reading those notes during your family meal or family gathering helps children look for the good in one another and kindness grows.

9 

Playout acts of kindness and empathy

Playing with dolls is not only fun but also a proven way young child can learn em- pathy. Asking the right questions helps you discover what’s going on in your child’s mind. “What’s happening?” “What makes her happy?” “What does he do if her friend is sad?” Encourage your child to practice kind, caring and helping acts as they play with gentle prompts. “Daisy can’t find her guitar. How can Barbie help?” “Ned looks lonely and left out. What would you want someone to say if you were lonely? What can Ted do?” Once kids realize how to comfort, help and care, the more likely they will be kind and empathetic.

10 

Use Dolls, Babies, and Puppies to Teach Empathy

Give children responsibilities to take care of others. Encourage your children to com- fort and soothe their dolls or stuffed animals while they play. You can also use actual babies, pets, or siblings to help your child learn kindness and practice prosocial skills. “Watch how the Mommy holds her baby. How can you hold Baby Doll so he feels loved?” “Fido looks frightened. How can you help your puppy feel safe?” Younger sibling: “Sister seems worried. How can you help?” The more children practice kind- ness, the more likely they will internalize the value.

DOWNLOAD HERE THE 10 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR CHILD’S EMPATHY

MEET OUR RESEARCH PARTNERS

Cardiff University in the United Kingdom is globally recognized as an authority in developmental neuroscience. The Cardiff University School of Psychology was ranked among the top 3 universities in the U.K. for research in psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience.

DR. SARAH GERSON
During her 18-year career, she has worked extensively in research and published papers on a wide range of child psychology topics.
DR. ROSS VANDERWERT
His primary research interests focus on how the role of early experiences promote healthy brain development.
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1 Study was commissioned by Barbie. Study was conducted with 42 children (20 boys and 22 girls) ages 4-8 years old with full data captured from 33 children.

2 Survey by OnePoll in July 2020 in 22 different countries questioning 15,000 parents of children ages 3-10 years old.
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