[The sex of the child, the sex of the doll].

We wanted to describe the playful behavior of young children of both sexes from two and a half to six years of age who have been given a set of toys evoking motherhood. A girl doll or a boy doll was among the toys. Analysis points up two factors that allow us to explain the relative differences in behavior as noted in girls and boys while playing: The first factor is what we'll call the positive experience of mothering (girls play more than boys, older children are more involved than younger ones); a second factor, called a distant, defensive attitude, probably more closely characterizes boys with a girl doll (distance, aggressivity). The most positive "mothering" (various activities and outward tenderness) in a sub-group of older girls playing with a boy-doll. The doll's sex appears to be a determining element in child behavior. More general remarks are brought up regarding the theoretical questions of how the child perceives the beginning of the parents' role and how a sexual identity in the largest sense of the word are inter-related. The problem of a child's wants are also considered, inasmuch as they might come up in the cultural, social and psychological dimensions of childhood.