This is me admitting I was wrong.

[ghoti_mhic_uait]

I've said a lot of things in the past about how I didn't see how it would ever make sense to buy a four year old an American Girl doll. They're really expensive items, that need to be cared for properly, not just played with roughly. However, obviously we have some around. They live on top of the bookshelf, out of Judith's reach. Sometimes, she asks to get one down. I was utterly shocked when I saw Colin had taken Kirsten down for her, but I didn't say anything, just watched. She was so gentle, just hugged her, stroked her hair, and held her hand. Since then she's had Kirsten a couple of times, and also Kit. Each time, she's asked specifically (and she can say Kirsten and Kit now*). She plays for a while, then when she's finished, she asks me to put her back.

She still needs supervision, but she's two. If she can be gentle like that now, I can see she might be trusted to be gentle (enough to have Kit in her room, say) in a couple of years. If J can, so can other children.



*Judith shows Kit to Colin.

Me: "Can you tell Daddy her name?"
J: "Daddy"