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insegnante
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| Posted: Aug 30 2010 at 10:54pm | IP Logged
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She just turned 2 and she's our first daughter. She is very much into pretend play and having her dolls and stuffed animals talk to each other. In the absence of dolls and stuffed animals, she has her fingers talk to each other and walk.
So, I'm hesitant to name her dolls and stuffed animals for her. But I don't think she's ready to name her own dolls. She does know what it means when we ask what is her or someone else's name, so maybe she will be ready sooner than I think. But almost everything that wasn't already named by a sibling ends up having a generic descriptive name like Bear, Doll, Baby Doll, Dancer Doll...
So how do you feel about naming your kids' dolls? Is it really strange of me that I feel like she should be allowed to name the ones she receives as presents? I do not think I am unusually inclined to letting small children choose a lot of things for themselves.
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Theresa
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JodieLyn
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most any doll for littles is Dollie.. a lamb is Lamby etc.. when thery're big enough they'll handle the names and correct you 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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guitarnan
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My dd named and names everything...dolls, stuffies, etc. I always tried, when she was very small, to find out how she thought of each stuffed animal and doll and to use that name. (Yes, we had lots of Bears and dolls named for friends...)
I think if you reflect one or two of the names she's chosen (no matter how generic) back to her in routine conversation, she'll figure out how naming works...
...just in time for an imaginary friend!
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hylabrook1
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Many times people ask a little one, "What's your baby's (lamb's, bear's) name?" When children are younger, they may look oddly at the questioner or use a generic name or change the name each time the question is asked. That's what 2 year olds are like.  Some of my dds' dolls have had less than polite names - what comes to mind is a doll whose hair was a mess being named *Scatterbrain." 
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Nancy
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Mary K
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She'll name them when she's older. I wrote the names on the doll somewhere so others (mainly daddy) would know which doll she wanted.
May-NY
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SuzanneG
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JodieLyn wrote:
| most any doll for littles is Dollie.. a lamb is Lamby etc.. when thery're big enough they'll handle the names and correct you |
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This is what happens over here too. And, there is also always "Baby" or "Baby Lamby" etc.
I wouldn't dream of naming any of their dolls....just think of the FUN I'd be depriving them of!!!! Considering how much time I spend thinking of all those great girl names! It's great training for motherhood!
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insegnante
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SuzanneG wrote:
I wouldn't dream of naming any of their dolls....just think of the FUN I'd be depriving them of!!!! Considering how much time I spend thinking of all those great girl names! It's great training for motherhood! |
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That's how I was feeling too. I just wondered if it's odd to let them have such boring names for so long. I mean I refer to them as doll, baby doll, bear, etc. since we have to call them *something* but I don't want to "take that away" from her -- not that she has "named" them that on her own. I think she may have started calling what I've called "Dancer Doll" "Little Doll" on her own though because that is the thing that most obviously differentiates her to her from her other dolls.
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Theresa
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Mackfam
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I suppose I'm ditto-ing everyone else. The girls name their own dolls. The bigger the girl, the more sophisticated the name.
My 2 yo has a favorite-go-everywhere-night-night doll named, "doll-doll". My 13 yo has dolls named "Sophia Rose" and "Theresa Harrington".
I do good to remember the names of my children some days. 
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MaryM
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SuzanneG wrote:
| Considering how much time I spend thinking of all those great girl names! |
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But now you have to think of a BOY name...! Or have you had one saved up for a L O N G time?
With my boys I only remember the imaginary friends - which started getting named around 4 or 5. I only have one daughter who is now a teen, and I asked her if she could remember anything about naming her dolls anything more than dolly. She knew she did when she was about 5. I can't remember anything distinct before then. She did have an interesting observation though. She babysits for another homeschool family who have daughters 6, 4, 2, and baby. She has been watching them for 3 years and she said the oldest who is almost 7 didn't have any "real" names for dolls until she was over 5. Then the next girl (4), taking her cues from her older sister, started naming her dolls much earlier - around 3. Now the 2 year old names her dolls - whatever the 4 year old tells her to name them [LOL!
With language development children call things what we tell them to call them. That is how we learn to talk. There needs to be a higher level of understanding to grasp the idea that one can "name" something, so it is developmental. I see help toward this development coming through modeling, hence the reason younger siblings probably pick it up more quickly. You could also offer choices or point out "that girl is named ---", "that stuffed bear is named ---" "Does your doll have a name?"
I let them name their own - even if it was a simple descriptor more than a name.
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mathmama
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With our first dd we named most of her dolls and stuffed animals mostly to help us identify them. She liked the names and they stuck (the name was always descriptive in some way, Rosey for her doll with roses on her dress, Pinky for the pink teddy, BB for the bear that was dressed as a bunny, etc). When she got a little older she started naming her own things as she received them. With dd#2 we named the first doll that she got and by a little over 2 she started naming her own dolls and stuffed animals. So, I guess when it suits our needs we name them, otherwise we wait for them to name them.
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LucyP
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Our daughter named the doll I made her for Christmas last year when she was 2 3/4s, but her 3 other dolls are just called called Baby, Baby and, what was the other one? Oh yes, Baby. Our son who is now 6 named one dolly Baby George when he was 2 but it was a name he heard daily anyway, and other names came in time - when he was 4 or so, Mr Bill, and when he was 6 Baby Tom.
I think it lovely to respect your daughter's own choices and let her call her dollies whatever she wants, when she wants.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: silly question about naming dolls
