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Baby Doll Dress Up Games

Children---especially girls---begin playing mothering games with dolls starting at as early as 18 months old. Girls may continue to play dress up games with baby dolls up until their teenage years, depending on their maturity level or interest in the games. Since it's a child's instinct to mimic an adult, most games are based on routines the child experiences in her own life, like dressing for bed, dressing like "twins," dressing up for parties, or putting on play clothes.

Dressing Baby for Bed
- Putting the baby to bed is the most popular baby dress up game with preschoolers. The dress up is part of the whole bedtime routine. Your child can pick out the doll's pajamas, put them on the doll, then put on her own pajamas. She can wrap the baby in a baby blanket, and rock the baby in her arms or in a rocking chair. Sometimes the doll baby will need a bottle, or a song sung to her as she is tucked into bed.
Mother and Baby Twins
- Children like to dress their dolls like themselves. There are family catalogues that feature matching mother and daughter outfits, and there are doll catalogues (such as American Girl dolls) that feature doll and "mother" matching outfits as well. If your child is an ice skater, for example, there are ice skating doll clothes available for the child to dress the doll in, complete with tiny doll skates.
Dressing for Parties
- Having a tea party for your dolls is a game that's been around for generations. Girls enjoy dressing their baby dolls in the fanciest outfits they own---the frillier the better. Hats, tights and gloves are nice accessories, as are hair clips or bows. The child can dress up other stuffed animals to set up around the tea party table, and dress herself in her finest outfit and shiny shoes. Once the doll is set up on her own chair, with a napkin in her lap, your child will enjoy serving tea to the doll and all her other friends, while carrying on imaginary conversations.

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