Buying gift for girly girl

amother

Aquamarine

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 11:15 am

I'm looking to buy my 4 year old daughter a present. I know that she would love some fake jewelry because she loves to dress up, play house, princess, wear heels, tiaras, play hairdresser, and wear poofy dresses/ skirts. Get the picture?
My husband is worried that she seems to only play these sort of games in her spare time, and doesn't want me to encourage her to play "getting dressed up fancy and pretty." I think he doesn't want to stress jewelry, and looking nice, and give her an image of what is/is not pretty. Or maybe he doesn't want her to become high maintenance? Not sure exactly what it is.
I think that the way she plays is normal for her age, but I do hear where he is coming from.

What do you think about it? Is it normal play for her age? Is there too much? Or do you have another idea of a gift that she would really like?
Thanks!

InnerMe

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 12:24 pm

amother wrote:

Perhaps clarify with your dh why his opinion is such.

IMO, this is perfectly normal for healthy little girls, and I can't see any harm in buying dressup type of gifts for a 4 year old girl.

Zehava

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 12:29 pm

Very very normal. Kids this age of both genders love to dress up. Boys sometimes do the more macho stuff like police firemen etc. there are plenty dress up sets out there and if you don’t want to spend just get her some cheap stuff from China and let her have fun!! Barbie dolls are great too AliExpress has a ton of cheap accessories for them.

seeker

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 12:40 pm

It is normal, but from the way you describe it it sounds like she already has what to dress up in. So maybe for a gift you can lean more toward something else, like doll/accessories, art stuff, a nice game... just to give her some variety.

Amarante

Mon, Apr 16 2018, 12:42 pm

Do both

At that age, my girls loved to play dress up so I had a "treasure chest" filled with scarves, colorful hoop petticoats. I found some wings that she loved. Crowns. If there is a Claires near you in a mall, they have a lot of cheap girly stuff.

But I would also get books that had heroines doing things that showed their strength and that they were more than just their looks. Or give her a toy that isn't overtly female - there are a lot of imaginative STEM toys for pre-schoolers that build skills and develop interests for things outside just makeup/clothing for girls.

I think there is even a STEM subscription box for children that you might want to check out. It's fun because a different box of stuff arrives every month.

amother

Maroon

Wed, Apr 18 2018, 5:13 pm

My daughter is very girly, there's nothing wrong with it intrinsically as long as you help them channel it properly as they get older.

If she likes to dress up, consider getting dress up things that aren't girly - a doctor's coat and kit, fire fighter hat and coat and accessories, etc. There are lots of dressing up ideas which aren't princesses and fluffy skirts and glittery scarves.