A play dollhouse is a toy every girl dreams of. If earlier children built them from everything that came to hand, now in stores you can find a huge selection. How not to be mistaken when choosing such a toy for your princess will be discussed in this article.
Benefits
In preschool age, play is the leading activity. At primary school age, playful activities are replaced by educational ones, but play still plays an important role in a child's life. Among all the games a child plays, family play occupies a large place. An important attribute of playing with a family with dolls is a play dollhouse.
Playing with the family, girls perceive the game as a reality. Dolls live in a house, go to work, visit, for birthdays, holidays, they communicate with each other. This develops the child's communication skills, speech, contributes to the child's intellectual development, the development of logic. During the game, the dolls put things in order, cook, repair. In this way, girls learn to housekeeping through play.
By playing with dolls, girls learn to follow a daily routine. They put the dolls to bed at night, wake them up in the morning, take them to work, to kindergarten and school, and feed them. The dolls take baths, take care of their wardrobe and change their outfits, which helps the girl to get used to cleanliness, neatness, and teaches her to maintain personal hygiene.
The presence of a large number of small parts in a dollhouse is invaluable in the development of fine motor skills, which are so important for a child's development. The development of fine motor skills contributes to the general development of the child, his intellectual abilities, the development of speech, his physical and mental development.
Such games for girls belong to the category of calm, help to relax, and if you help the child in the game with the whole family, then your family will not only rally, having a great time together, but will also help direct the girl's thoughts and development in the right direction.
At what age to start playing?
There are play doll houses on sale that are suitable for girls of completely different age categories.
- For girls under 3 years old, you need to choose the safest toy possible. It should not contain tiny parts that can enter the child's respiratory tract. At this age, a girl will not yet appreciate the high purchase price, so do not try to buy the most expensive one. The most important criterion should be quality and safety. Large houses are not at all suitable for such babies. Better to choose a compact model of medium or small size.
- For a girl from 3 to 7 years old the brightness of the play dollhouse and its functionality will be important. It should have a lot of different interesting little things, light and sound effects are only welcome. At the age of 3-7, girls will be interested in ready-made play sets with furniture and accessories, houses for animals. It should be borne in mind that at this age girls are still small, and the toy is likely to face many different tests. They will repeatedly try to collect and disassemble it, it will fall, so give preference to a solid, stable house.
- Girls aged 5 to 12 attracted by games with Barbie dolls, modern Monster High, Steffi, Winx, Bratz. Therefore, the toy should not be intended only for mini-dolls. The play model in this age period should be suitable for playing with dolls with a height of 30 cm.
- For teenage girls and adults there are collectible doll houses for sale that will become an original design element, a bright decoration of the interior of a room.
Dimensions
The range of such toys is very large. You can meet both small and medium-sized and large houses.
Small
Most often, small doll houses are made of wood, but there are also plastic ones. Together with him, it is better to immediately purchase mini-dolls of suitable size, so that in the future you do not have to look for dolls of a suitable size on sale. Accessories required to play are also sold separately. Plastic houses are sold in ready-made sets, have light and sound effects.
Average
Medium-sized models are most often designed for playing with Barbie dolls. They are made entirely of plastic or plastic with cardboard ceilings, there are also wooden houses. They differ from small ones in that they have at least two floors.
They have excellent functionality, detailing, exterior and interior finishes, and a large selection of accessories that are often included in the package. The average size of the house allows several girls to play at once.
Large, taller than a child
Large doll houses can be made of wood and plastic. They can be installed not only indoors, but also outdoors. They can be of various forms: two-storey, in the form of a multi-storey cottage, castle, fortress. They are most often intended for playing with Barbie dolls, but there are also three-storey houses for dolls whose height is 40-46 cm.It is worth thinking about such an acquisition, from which your girl will be delighted for many years, if you have a spacious nursery, where is it you can put.
In addition to the fact that these houses are a wonderful, albeit expensive toy, they will also serve as a storage place for all the girl's dolls. Furniture for such a house is sold as a set. Large doll houses are very sturdy and durable. In the course of the game, such a house will be able to accommodate not only all the dolls that the hostess has, but also herself. You can often find play models of large sizes, which are equipped with a slide, swing or gym equipment.
Open and closed models
Play dollhouses can be:
- open;
- closed.
When choosing, be sure to consider this factor.
If the room where the house will be located is not too large, then a closed version will do. The facade can always be closed, which will save space in the nursery. They have one play area at the front of the house. Open playhouses on a platform with wheels are also suitable for small rooms.
Open houses differ from closed ones in the number of play areas. On open models, the play areas are arranged in a circular pattern. This will allow several girls to play at once, which is very convenient.
The platform house can be easily placed against the wall and the play areas can be turned towards you using the wheels. However, if the open model is installed permanently, then it is more suitable for spacious rooms, where it will be approached from all sides.
Equipment
Playhouses for dolls can be equipped in different ways. It might just be an empty house. Furniture may be included in the package. And also it can be a whole game set.
The blank model is good for girls who already have a lot of dolls and accessories for them. There she herself will be able to place everything to her liking, and simply buy the missing elements.
Play doll houses, which come with furniture, almost always have everything you need to play. They will only need to be populated with their own residents.
Furniture
Furniture for a dollhouse will depend on the type of dollhouse.
There are 3 groups of furniture in total:
- Furniture designed for mini dolls. Such furniture is usually made of wood, suitable for dolls up to 15 cm in size and designed for players up to 5 years old.
- Furniture for Barbie. Can be made of plastic or wood. Suitable for dolls, the size of which is 25-30 cm. On sale it is much smaller than furniture for mini-dolls, because houses for Barbie most often have everything you need.
- Collectible furniture. These are truly unique specimens made of wood. Designed for collectible dollhouses and has a very high cost. Such furniture is very elegant and realistic in its execution.
The most common on sale are furniture sets for mini-dolls. These kits are affordable and come in many different options that you can tailor to suit your daughter's interests.
- The doll's living room contains all the necessary pieces of furniture for relaxing, playing, reading books and watching TV. It can include sofas, armchairs, coffee tables, cabinets, lamps, fireplaces, vases, cabinets.
- The dolls kitchen includes all the necessary cupboards, countertop, table, sink.
- The doll's bedroom can contain beds, wardrobes, dressing tables, bedside tables, dressers.
- The sets of puppet children's rooms include cradles, cribs for babies, tables and high chairs, rocking toys, dressers.
Technics
Play doll houses can be equipped with various equipment that is found in real life. These can be refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, televisions, computers and laptops, microwave ovens, electric kettles and irons. You can find a wide variety of such equipment on sale.
Plumbing
A doll's bathroom is one of the most important accessories. It includes all the necessary plumbing: a sink, a bath, a shower, a toilet, as well as tables for storing hygiene items and sanitary ware.
Wallpaper
Dollhouses can have different interior walls. It can be just a plain covering made of the material from which the toy is made. There may also be wallpapers that have already been pasted without the possibility of replacement, and houses, which come with several types of wallpaper. Such kits even offer various options for photo wallpaper.
Curtains
The curtains in the package may or may not be present. If necessary, you can easily make them yourself.
Backlit models
Play doll houses equipped with lighting are more realistic. In them, the light can even be switched on separately in each room. Table lamps and bedside lamps can be switched on separately. A fireplace, creating the appearance of a blazing flame, an oven, a refrigerator can be equipped with lighting effects.
Cartoon character houses
Dollhouses can be made in the style of a particular cartoon character.
For barbie
Dollhouses for Barbie are usually presented in pink colors. They can contain bright accents. All accessories are suitable for princesses.
For Winx
For the Winx fairies, you can find a house in the form of Alfea. This is a two-story house in which each fairy has its own room. It also has a library, bathroom, kitchen and some other facilities.
For Monster High
Such models often have an asymmetrical shape and are distinguished by their contrasting colors. The rooms are designed in dark colors. Dollhouses for Monster High have clear detailing of elements, bright interior.
Almost all houses, the name of which indicates that they are for Barbies, are suitable for playing with all modern dolls, whose height is 25-30 cm.
For Peppa Pig
Play dollhouses for Peppa Pig include the house itself, which can be two-story, or a forest model in the shape of a fungus, as well as the characters of the game - Mom, Dad, Peppy and George, and the necessary set of furniture.
Various accessories can be purchased for such models. On sale there are boats, a tree house, a Ferris wheel, a yacht and many other accessories with which you can come up with your own life stories of Peppa Pig.
For Hello Kitty
The selection of houses for Hello Kitty is great. Most often these are small models. The package includes a house, figures for the game, and many different accessories.
Materials
For manufacturing, materials such as wood, plastic and plastic are used, combined with cardboard.
Made of plastic
Houses made of plastic are distinguished by their colorfulness, brightness of performance. They are very lightweight, easy to assemble, such models may contain cardboard floors. Houses with cardboard slabs tend to be cheaper than all-plastic ones. However, plastic is fragile, so these toys are more suitable for older girls.
Made of wood
Wooden playhouses are the most reliable option. They are durable, suitable for playing even very little princesses. Such models are absolutely safe for children, because wood is an environmentally friendly material. Wooden houses are quite heavy construction and are much more expensive than plastic ones.
Considering all of the above factors, it will not be difficult to choose a play dollhouse that is right for your daughter.
Choose it based on:
- your financial possibilities,
- the age of the girl,
- the size of the dolls the girl plays,
- the space you can allocate for the toy,
- complete set,
- preferred material.
Popular materials for making a house with your own hands
Not every family can afford to spend a lot of money to buy a play dollhouse. You can please the girl by building it yourself, besides, such a toy will be no worse than a purchased one.
You can build such a house taking into account all your daughter's wishes, and it will be truly unique, unparalleled. For construction, they use a wide variety of materials available to everyone. The most popular are plywood, drywall, felt and cardboard.
Plywood or drywall
Plywood is the most durable material for making a house. Such toys are suitable even for babies' games; it will be very difficult to break parts. It is an environmentally friendly, safe material if you choose it correctly. The safety class of plywood must be E0, it contains a small amount of formaldehyde, which are part of the impregnating adhesive.
Almost every man has tools for processing plywood, whose help you will most likely need to build such a house. Plywood walls can not be decorated with anything else, such a house will look great without it.
Drywall is a more modern material for manufacturing. It is much easier to damage a drywall house than a plywood house. Plasterboard parts are glued with PVA glue.
From felt
Felt is an excellent material for making a house with your own hands. The edges of the felt do not crumble, it is very easy to sew from it. You can always take such a toy with you. The house is compact enough, and all the accessories necessary for the game are stored inside, which is very convenient. In addition to being very beautiful, it is also practical and easy to care for.
With a gentle wash, the felt will not shed, wrinkle and retain its shape. In filling such a house, you can include various interesting tricks, such as locks, buttons, buttons, lacing, Velcro, that the girl will be not only interesting, but will also help develop fine motor skills.
Made of cardboard and paper
This manufacturing option is the simplest and most popular. It can be made from cardboard boxes. Some schemes don't even involve gluing. However, cardboard dollhouses are suitable for older girls to play. cardboard is a material that tears easily.
For an example of a dollhouse game, see the following video.
