Playing Mommy

"We say that a girl with her doll anticipates the mother. It is more true, perhaps, that most mothers are still but children with playthings." ~ F. H. Bradley

I've been having some fun this week looking through pictures of little girls and dolls. Now anyone who had known me well in the past would know that as a child, I loved playing with dolls and had the same experience with my two daughters. Not only did they enjoy their dolls, but I enjoyed their dolls almost as much as I had my own. It is a definite fact that our dollies were, in fact, members of the family. Actually, they still are.

Now, in looking through these various photos and paintings of girls and dolls, I've discovered something. To the child, a doll can fulfill several roles. It can provide companionship, be a little "me" who can wear the same outfits, be a student, be a patient, and who knows what else. But more often than not, with the heart of a little girl being what it so often is, you'll find that this little make believe person is someone whom the child can "mother." Somewhere in the interaction between the girl and the doll, you will see it come out. And sometimes the pretend child is almost as big, if not bigger, than the real one. How delightful it is to watch the child's imagination and play. And we all know how important this play is; in fact it has often been called the child's "work." But it is in many ways usually preparing them for adulthood.

Now you may be wondering why this sudden interest in dolls to the extent that I would be perusing photos of them. Well, the reason is our new board at Pinterest. Having recently pinned an absolutely gorgeous vintage photo of a young girl and her doll, this whole idea of "playing mommy" was so apparent, it inspired me to do a whole board dedicated to the concept. So, I've been looking for pictures to put on it, and you won't be surprised to find out there are many to choose from. There are so many pictures of girls and dolls, however, that I decided to be rather choosy about it. You'll see that the focus is not on the dolls themselves, but the children. It's what the child is doing with relation to the doll(s) that I've been trying to capture, or something in her demeanor that caused me to gravitate to a particular photo. Sometimes, it's the look on her face.

You can just imagine how much fun this has been! And you'll even see a few pictures with a little girl and a real live younger person who's being mothered! Remember, we're focusing on the maternal instinct which comes out at a very early age. The board is here and the photo above is typical of what you'll find there: Budding mommies "playing," but in reality, preparing for the future.