Magical world of dolls

Did you ever play with dolls in your childhood? I believe we all did. Dolls create a magical world in our childhood, and we carry fond memories of those throughout our lives.

Even though I had innumerable dolls in childhood, I remember making my own dolls and dresses for them. Many of you may have had the same fascinating experience.

Metaphorically speaking, life on earth begins with the birth of a doll. From the moment a child is born, we care for, talk to, and laugh with the baby just like we play with a doll.

Even before the baby is born, we start buying toys for the baby; a doll is always at the top of the list. Children love dolls. They play with and care for them as if they were their babies.

Dolls have been made since prehistoric times. Their earliest use was documented in Greece around 100 AD. Archaeologists have found the oldest dolls made of clay in Egyptian tombs dating from 2000 BC.

World Doll Day is observed every year on the second Saturday in June. This year it falls on 10 June. This day was invented by Mildred Seeley, a passionate doll collector, on 14 June 1986. She felt that dolls could be instrumental in understanding and promoting the universal message of love and happiness.

Dolls come in different shapes, sizes, materials and designs. For centuries dolls were made with cloth and thread, wood, stone or clay. These were made by artisans, as well as mothers and girls at home.

Since 1800 dolls have mostly been made from wood pulp or paper. At the beginning of the 19th century, porcelain became commercially popular with doll makers. Other materials like soapstone, bone, dried apples, corn husks, fur, clay, paper, cotton and stone were also used.

Stuffed toys like teddy bears are symbols of love and assurance for children as well as lovers. Fashion dolls like Barbie and action figures like Spiderman are adored by children.

Though playing with dolls may seem to be a fascinating way for children's pastime, various studies show that it helps immensely in their early development and growth.

"When children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls, they communicate at first out loud and then internalise the message about others' thoughts, emotions and feelings," said Dr Sarah Gerson, a neuroscientist and researcher at Cardiff University in a recent interview. "This can have long-lasting positive effects on children, such as driving higher rates of social and emotional processing and building social skills like empathy that can become internalised to build and form lifelong habits."

Playing with dolls aids the development of social skills in children's early years: they learn to communicate and cooperate with others. Taking care of a doll strengthens their nurturing and parenting skills; it helps them become more responsible and empathise with those around them. Taking care of stuffed animals helps them learn to care for pets and have tolerance for domestic and wild animals. Handling the dollhouse helps them learn to run their own households later in life.

Children mimic how their parents, teachers, or peers say and behave. They rehearse and recreate the same situation while playing with dolls. Taking the role of the parent with the doll helps a child understand different perspectives and apply them in real-life situations later in life.

Making up imaginary situations helps a child to become creative. As the children playing together are from different backgrounds and households, unique in their own ways, they learn diversity and skills to cope with the world, empathise and learn social skills. 

Studies suggest children who develop empathy and social skills early in life achieve better grades and make healthier choices in the long run. Empathetic children are more likely equipped to stand up against bullying and ready to resolve conflicts peacefully. As dolls carry a resemblance of their countries and ethnic groups, children may learn tolerance and rise above prejudice and racism. 

Not only do dolls play an important role in children's lives, but these small little inanimate objects can also play a vital role in many other fields for adults. Dolls from different eras introduce us to the cultures and traditions of other countries and places of those times and help us know about people who no longer exist. 

The Milwaukee Public Museum in the US exhibits collections of dolls in life-sized homes replicating each country. The Strong National Museum of Play in the US displays souvenir dolls in appropriate miniature settings of their own countries.

Nowadays, dolls are used on patients in therapy with Dementia and Alzheimer's; and used as a form of therapy to help abused children cope with trauma. In medicine, dolls are used as anatomical models to teach healthcare professionals.

'Matryoshka,' in Russia, is a set of seven wooden dolls of decreasing size where each doll fits inside the doll next in size. It's a traditional representation of each doll as a mother bearing a child within her, carrying on the family legacy through generations. It also symbolises Mother Russia.

These beautify our homes as decoration pieces too. Dolls also inspire musicians and artists. After visiting a doll museum, Picasso was so fascinated that he created 'Le Demoiselles de Avignon.' And who can forget the iconic song 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua? Or this evergreen hit from our very own  Kumar Biswajeet:

      'Tore putuler moto kore shajiye

       Ridoyer kothore rakhbo…'

Dolls also help in enhancing our fashion sense. Girls sometimes follow Barbie as their fashion idol. Did you know that Egyptian King Tutankhamun had his own mannequin so that his clothes could be tailored and modelled? 

People studying cloth and textiles experiment with different designs on dolls. Barbie's wardrobe displays fashion from 1959 to the present. The most popular Japanese dolls have beautifully designed silk kimonos and a folding fan (Ogi) in their hands. Most Asian dolls wear floral painted or hand-embroidered silk. One can learn different fashion statements of countries and their transformation and create new designs.

Simply put, the quality of our lives and the finer senses of our minds are enhanced because of the strong influence of dolls in our lives.

However, we must understand these can negatively impact our lives too. No wonder, with the mass production of fighter toys with guns and warfare games, played with dolls in our homes, children's minds are being invaded with the conception of heroic adventures where warfare or using guns is a form of play. The real-life killings on trains, schools and many other places reflect the vicious influence. 

Many other factors are also involved. But let us not forget the strong influence dolls have on the vulnerable minds of our children. So when we buy toys, we must consider how these might affect their impressionable mind.

As we grow up, we leave the fantasy world of dolls and move into real life. We select subjects that interest us and create a life of our own. It's important to understand that this life is sometimes a recreation of the life we had concocted in close interaction with dolls in childhood. 

Isn't it time we recognise the importance of dolls in our lives and create awareness among all by celebrating World Doll Day? Open your cupboard. Share your dolls or buy a doll for those who need it. Recreate the charm and magic of your childhood. Spread the message of love and harmony.

Tasneem Hossain is a multilingual poet, columnist, op-ed writer, translator and training consultant. She is the Director of Continuing Education Centre, Bangladesh.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.