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If you walk down a toy store aisle today, you might be tempted to ask what year it is, because some stores still insist on labeling their aisles “boys’ toys” and “girls’ toys” (just like grandparents insist your daughter would really like a miniature vacuum cleaner for her birthday while your son needs a train set). But guess what: Kids don’t care about gender stereotypes! And if they do, it’s because they have learned to — from us or from someone around them. If a toy is fun, they play with it; if it’s not fun, they make it fun using their imagination. I mean, kids are the very best version of humans.

My son likes to play with robots, Legos, cuddly stuffies and dolls. We have a play kitchen and a train table, plus dolls galore. And guess what? When given the chance, most boys will play with dolls. In fact, not only do boys enjoy playing with them, they can reap huge emotional benefits from this type of play. Dr. Lindsay Henderson, a psychologist who treats patients virtually via tele-health app LiveHealth Online, says boys can actually improve their emotional literacy and practice real-life skills by picking up a doll.

“By playing with dolls, children are exploring and developing skills related to caretaking, nurturing and even parenthood,” she tells SheKnows. Boys may well be pretending to be a dad when they nurture a plastic baby doll, but even if their imagination games have little to do with parenting roles, the type of play associated with dolls is beneficial to all children’s growth and development. “The long-term benefits of playing with dolls are not restricted to future parenthood; empathy, responsiveness, love and caretaking can be applied to any relationship or interaction throughout life,” says Henderson.