Small play figures are great for encouraging pretend play for both girls and boys. Rather than hard plastic, immobile figures with which we often played, why not buy your little one a soft and flexible doll family from Plan Toys?

Made from recycled rubber wood with vegetable dyes and coated with a non-toxic finish these dolls are safe for children ages three and up. We have a number of these dolls at our house and are a favorite present we give to both girls and boys.

One thing I like about them is because they are small they work well with fire trucks, dump trucks and all of the other large vehicles boys tend to have around and also are the perfect size for most dollhouses. Because they bend they can easily slip into a driver’s seat, rest in a chair and pull right up to the doll sized table.

Children can also dress and undress them or re-dress them in scraps of fabric and felt. My son has been known to add a sword crafted from a small stick and attached with a pipe cleaner.

In our increasingly multi-cultural country, it’s great that you can get doll families from a variety of cultures too!