Vocation play for girls

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I got my son a Mass Kit because he has a lot of interest in the priesthood and likes to “play Mass”. My daughter is a little jealous because she wants one, too. I don’t want to exclude her but I also don’t want her to think she can be a priest just because she wants to. (It doesn’t help that her Episcopalian grandmother keeps telling her to switch churches adn then she can be a priest).

I am wondering if anyone has any sugegstion of something I could get her that would encourage vocations but not be a priest set. Do they make nun play sets?

Thank you for your help.
 
Could you make one for her?

Maybe find a kids nun costume online and get a bible, rosary beads and maybe a nurses play set or teachers play set to go along with it?

You could even figure out a way to make a nun costume designed after Mother’s Theresa’s order…with the simple blue and white sari. It’s recognizable.

Put it all together in a nice brief case or a homemade costume box.
 
In addition.

You’re probably going to have to really explain to her why women can’t be priests. Try and find a way to explain it on her level. This might be a good question to ask around here.

Once she does understand it and accept it…then she can tell her Grandmother why women can’t be priests.
 
I know this is the third post…but I have so many ideas.

Make her a female saints costume kit…if you’re really creative and teach her about all the wonderful female saints.

You could do a Joan of Ark costume, a St. Mary costume, a Kateri Tekakwitha and get a Native American costume.
 
I wouldn’t have a problem with a small girl playing Mass. We did it all the time as kids (I have several sisters), and used Oyster crackers and Hawaiian Punch as communion. This did not confuse us as we got older. Obviously at Mass we saw that only males were priests.

I’m not a huge fan of providing literal items for pretend play, but a big proponent of letting kids use materials from around the house and yard to facilitate their imaginations. We would swipes sheets for robes, plastic margarita glasses for chalices, towels for veils, etc.
 
Agreeed, during halloween time there was a little girls nun outfit at walmart. Im aure you could order one. And yes explain in simple terms why women cant be priests. Or if she isnt interested at all in nuns maybe the teaching set (like someone said above-or you could pair that with the nun things) or a nurse set (alsi could be paired with the nun set) good luck!! And if it were me i would try to politely tell the girls grandmother to stop telling her to switch churches
 
Kelfa28 said:
In addition.

You’re probably going to have to really explain to her why women can’t be priests. Try and find a way to explain it on her level. This might be a good question to ask around here.

Once she does understand it and accept it…then she can tell her Grandmother why women can’t be priests.
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👍
 
I agree with what JackieMom said for the most part. I think it’s fine if she gathers things around the house herself and “plays Mass,” but to give her a playset meant for that purpose would be sending a mixed message.

I think Kelfa28 has good ideas, too.

Y’all are making me wonder if I could start creating Catholic play sets and selling them… assuming I’d have the time! 😃
 
Do you know any nuns you could introduce her to? Perhaps spending time with some amazing, prayerful, holy nuns would be a great thing for both the girl and the nuns!
 
Maybe she can “play” at tending to the needy? We’ve been discussing this in another thread, where I’m insisting that women do have a role to play in the Church, believe it or not. A Nun carrying for those in need is a good option. 🙂
 
This reminds me of the show ‘Super Nanny’ where a man was upset because he had a bunch of dresses for his girls to play with and his son started to wear them. The nanny explained at that age it is just play and not an indication of gender identity.

I would teach my son to share and let my daughter use it. Just my 2 cents
 
Anglewannabe said:
This reminds me of the show ‘Super Nanny’ where a man was upset because he had a bunch of dresses for his girls to play with and his son started to wear them. The nanny explained at that age it is just play and not an indication of gender identity.

I would teach my son to share and let my daughter use it. Just my 2 cents
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I don’t disagree, in one sense.

In another sense, again, women have important roles, too, so why not expose her to that?
 
We have a Mass playkit, as well. DD pretends to be an EMHC whenever it is out. (neither DS nor DD plays at reciting the prayers, yet)
 
I have explained why women can’t be priest in a good way many times. We had a Little Flowers group for years where we discussed how Mary was the first tabernacle and in that sense women are gifted to carry creation which no man ever can, also priest are married to the Church (female) but nuns are married to Christ and how special that is to be wedded to Christ. We discussed it in several different ways.

I understand that children role play and that it is usually innocent. I have found my son in dresses because they were playing “little house on the prairie” and there are no brothers. But, he understands that pretending is okay sometimes but it is not okay for him to dress like a girl–but he is only 4.

My daughter is almost 9 though, so I think it is a bit differnent. She is getting older and I don’t want it to become a power struggle later.

We have tried to talk to my mother-in-law but she is insistent that women should be priest–she also supports gay priests and the like so it is definitly a hot button topic all around.

Thank you for your suggestions, any others that you have, I will be happy to hear. I do encourage the kids to play together and for my son to allow my daughter to “help” like an altar server or eucharistic minister. I don’t really support girl altar servers and I prefer to receive communion from a priest, but I think that having them connect with the Mass is important, as is learning to share.

Thanks, again.
 
I played “Priest and Mass” a lot as a child. My parents let me do it while gently reminding me it was just pretend and that girls couldn’t be priests but rather nuns.

Interestingly enough to this day out of my parents’ 5 kids I’m the only devout Catholic. Two of my siblings (who teased me for the game) are Cafeteria Catholics and two more have left the Church completely.

I don’t have a problem with girls playing Priest as I think it can help them develop their relationship with God, but they need to be reminded it is just play. Maybe make her a nun costume? That would be fun, and now I think I should make one for my daughter!

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We have two boys, and when we got our Mass set, I made it clear that it was under my jurisdiction, and not theirs, because although a Mass set is not a sacramental, it is also not just some plaything among playthings. They were not to use those things that were in any way irreverent or jealous or mean with each other, and if they did, they weren’t going to be allowed to play with the set. OP, you may want to make that clarification: you bought the set for your son to play with, but it is yours. When you’re a grandma, after all, don’t you still intend to have it in good condition for the grandchildren?

If you son wants to be a priest, he had better learn how to deal with female parishioners, because a lot of his sacristans will be women. He needs to share the family Mass set with his sister, and let her help him set up and be his parishioner. I would also encourage you to consider training the sister to be his altar server. There is a lot to do in that role! Since she can’t be the priest, he’s not going to able to be the altar server, not unless they can scare up another boy to play with. She can also be the choir and every other role that the laity can take on. She’s going to be one busy girl. They ought to both take care of the set, however, because priests have to be ready to be their own sacristan.

A friend of mine has a son who is an excellent altar server. She had not intended to allow his younger sister to be an altar server, but then she rethought this after considering that a seminarian who cannot work with women is not ever going to be ordained in our diocese. They don’t ordain guys who think being a priest is about being better than the laity. For that reason if no other, the rule in our parish is that we do have female altar servers and do not allow boys to serve who refuse serve with girls or to have a female as the lead server. Since any bishop can come along and decide that his priests will accept female altar servers, it will do your son well to be obedient when the command from above is that female servers are to be allowed.

You and your daughter can also go on the internet and see if there is a congregation of sisters who have a habit that she’d like to be able to have for pretend. If you have any ability with a sewing machine, most will be easy to make. (I would hope for your sake, however, that your son never gets it in his head that he wants to be a member of the Swiss Guard! 😉 :D)
 
Thanks, again for the comments. The set that we have is not the very expensive brass set. It is a nice set that I found on etsy that has a plastic chalice and paten and the rest is made of fabric. I have made it clear that the items must be used properly and that they are only for playing Mass or other church related activities. However, as lovely as the set is, I do not know that it will last until I have grandchildren.

My son really wants the other set but it is way out of price range (the $50 for the other set was a stretch) and he is not gentle enough to have something that precious yet.

I think that they are working it out and I discussed with my daughter how nuns have many roles. There are cloistered nuns, teachers, nurses, missionaries, and many nuns who serve the church by takign care of the sacramentals, garments, and Mass kits of the priests. She seemed to be itnerested in that and then we all had a talk about the sacristy and why it is so special and how the priests in our church treat their chalice, paten etc. very carefully and reverently.

I am looking at nun habits and white “albs” for the both kids. I am also trying to read up on the different roles of women in the church so that I can stear her to other ideas than being a priest.

Thanks, again.
 
Get her dvd my brother Francis. They are so well done movie and my Catholic family. It isn’t a play set but she will love those show. My daughter love them.

I bought her rosaries, image, nice picture for her room. You can put all of this in a basket and give it to her.

How old is she?

Blessings!
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
I don’t disagree, in one sense.

In another sense, again, women have important roles, too, so why not expose her to that?
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Sure but it is OK to expose them to both. The reality is, there really is no equivalent for a priest in a woman’s role. There are times when we can’t make everything equal (for lack of a better word)
 
Another though just occurred to me. Why not expose your son to the roles woman play in the church. Boys also need to see woman have an important role
 
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