Welcome to this very special episode of the Motherkind Podcast created in partnership with our lovely friends at Barbie.
Do you remember last year when we had Dr. Michele Borba on the show talking about this amazing new research that Barbie had done with Cardiff University about doll play and empathy?
Well, that study for the first time ever, through neuroimaging, showed that doll play activates the part of the brain that allows children to develop empathy and social processing skills.
So many of you loved that episode. I think for lots of us it was a real aha moment that doll play even when played alone, can help develop those empathy skills that we want our children to have.
I think that was especially important and interesting given the backdrop of the pandemic when those social interactions had been so limited.
This episode is like the next installment to that conversation. Lots of you got in touch and asked about how to help your children play with dolls.
So we have an amazing play expert on, Emma from the Playful Den. What Emma doesn’t know about play isn’t worth knowing. She is incredible.
What I really took from this episode is that I am becoming increasingly fascinated with doll play and, secondly, just how amazing doll play is for helping our children understand the world around them. And don’t we need that for them right now.
It is created in partnership with Barbie - I hope you love it.
We chat about:

What’s really going on when children play

How to use doll play to help our children develop empathy

How to process different social situations


I think it is a real shame that doll play is associated as a girl’s activity.- Emma, The Playful Den
As always, we continue the conversation over on Instagram, so come and join us there.
Resources mentioned in this episode:

The benefits of doll play according to neuroscience LINK


A doll can help change the world - Video


The Playful Den


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About Emma Worrollo
Emma is the founder of The Playful Den where she translates her experience of looking at the world with childlike wonder and curiosity. The Playful Den has grown to be a place for courses, coaching, live events and content creation for people who want to play more.
Thank you Barbie for sponsoring this episode