When do girls stop playing with toys? And then what?

[Anonymous]

Dad here who was an only child so I have no insight into what's "normal" for young girls. Today, I realized it's been a while since I've seen my 9 y.o. DD play with her dolls or any other toys. Is this the age where they typically age out of that?

She's mostly into drawing, crafts, and of course her iPad, but with school out today, me having to work, but trying to still limit screen time, she complained about being bored. Her little brother was happy to play with his toys but I'm unsure what is the stage for DD.

[Anonymous]

Totally normal, stick with the crafts, drawing, board and card games then they move into chatting or playing games with friends on iPads and trying out skin care.

[Anonymous]

I’ve noticed a fade too. My 9 year old now like to dance around her room to Taylor Swift songs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally normal, stick with the crafts, drawing, board and card games then they move into chatting or playing games with friends on iPads and trying out skin care.

+1. I’ve spent 10 days discussing over and over and over what outfit my almost 12 year old girl should wear to the 6th grade dance. We have also debated 10 different lip glosses (none of which show up much at all). She still does some arts and crafts, but it changes FAST.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s normal for some kids to stop by 9ish, but also normal to play with dolls well into middle school, every kid is different. Sometimes kids will also complain about being bored when there is not an easy activity available, but if allowed to be bored will figure it out and go back into imaginative, explorative or creative play.

[Anonymous]

Some girls consistently like books and will also read on the iPad.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the kid and if they have siblings. My 11 year old still plays with her younger sister A LOT. She has told me that her friends think dolls are for babies, but we've decided that she should do whatever she enjoys and she enjoys playing barbies/legos/pretend with her sister.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the kid and if they have siblings. My 11 year old still plays with her younger sister A LOT. She has told me that her friends think dolls are for babies, but we've decided that she should do whatever she enjoys and she enjoys playing barbies/legos/pretend with her sister.

+1 My older two DDs were regularly playing with toys like Legos and calico critters in the 6th grade, but they had younger siblings to play with. My youngest is now in the 6th grade and she hasn't played with toys in about two years.

[Anonymous]

It's hard to believe it's happening so soon. My 8 year old lost her screen time privileges this week so she was playing with an old Lincoln logs set in the basement.

[Anonymous]

For my now-teen daughters.

Under 8: Toys
9-10: Mix of toys and crafts
11 and older: Mix of crafts and sports

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve noticed a fade too. My 9 year old now like to dance around her room to Taylor Swift songs.

Yes, PP here and forgot this one. My 12-year-old got a record player and Taylor Swift albums for Christmas and she is always up there dancing around. She also likes to organize her things.

[Anonymous]

My DD switched from toys to listening to records and learning to play instruments. She’s also into role-playing games with her friends.

[Anonymous]

It’s a normal thing. My youngest is 9 and will still play with some toys like Lego and Playmobil, but would rather “arrange” the dollhouse (used for playmobil people) than play with them. Her older sister was similar at 9 but still would more actively play with toys with her younger sister. My son was 9 at the start of covid and went back to playing with toys for hours at a time.

My problem now is my youngest does not want to get rid of anything she’s finished with like the doll accessories, magnatiles and some dolls, she hasn’t touched in a long time. But, if I mention giving them to a younger cousin or donating she gets upset and plays with them for like 15 minutes. It’s a delicate balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve noticed a fade too. My 9 year old now like to dance around her room to Taylor Swift songs.

Yes, PP here and forgot this one. My 12-year-old got a record player and Taylor Swift albums for Christmas and she is always up there dancing around. She also likes to organize her things.

My 10-year old DD likes to organize and arrange her various hings too! She has bulletin boards in her room that she is always adding stuff to (collage-style). Occasionally she will do a lego set, but she really doesn't play with dolls, toys anymore. She still likes drawing, crafty stuff, and sometimes board games. She likes to read and write stories. She likes to cook and bake. She and her friends make up dances and like to record silly videos. They like messing around with skincare stuff (face masks, lotions). They like bike riding, roller blading, practicing their sports.

[Anonymous]

Totally normal. It depends on personality more than anything else.