Are dolls like family or like toys?

My crew are totally toys... Toys that I'm very attached to and value pretty highly, mind, but still much more playthings than little resin BFFS or substitute children or any of that. No matter how fond I am of them, they're still inanimate and that limits the connection I have to them.

 

Mine are toys. I'm not into the idea of "adopting" a doll. They aren't living beings that you adopt into your family.

 

I don't see mine as family or a toy, but an interest. I am new to the hobby, but am finding enjoyment in building a character around a doll, and looking forward to learning new skills as i make clothing. I think we each get different kinds of enjoyment out of our dolls. Personally i am a fan of fantasy, anything with dragons, elves etc. and i see my dolls as a potential art form, showing off a fabulous fantasy outfit that i taught myself how to make. Others see theirs differently but that is half the fun of a hobby, we all enjoy it for different reasons.

I wouldn't listen to anyone who disapproved of my hobby, it is not their business, they have their own hobbies and i don't judge them for theirs. Each to their own i say.

 

I sorta put them in the 'Toy Story' level of being alive. I am aware they are dolls, and they are too. But I like to think something is in there. It makes Abel happy to have a sister and hug her. It annoys him that I use his head for practice so he frequently gets disembodied.

That said, I also know where they are in the grand scheme, and I like to think they do too. Moving means they come out of boxes next to last, and fire means they get left behind.

 

I wouldn't say they are toys because they are not 'played with', but they are definitely not family. I see them more as a creative outlet for my own personality. I have attached a lot of meaning to my dolls so they are prioritized over other things I own, but I know that if I ever became really desperate for money I would be able to sell them off.

 

Reading this I realized that I don't consider them family family is not as important to me as it is to others I'm closer to my doll and first build a bear than I am to a lot of the humans in my life family can be a pain and I consider my mom my bear and my dolls to be a lot more important than a few of my family members they don't really care for me so I see no reason why I should care for them you get me

 

Wmm. It's kinda hard to answer about to me, but it's close to toy more. I love my dolls and also have kinda good concepts and characters, but it's just toy. when I need money in hurry, then I will sell them, and also when I change my type, then I will sell them. I don't know what is better, but some people are really focusing on doll as like a live person, so it could make hurts to other people. I saw the several cases already and I dont wanna get that case. So it's just the toy to me :P

 

Neither toys nor family. Too elaborate to be 'toys', yet I definitely do not have the mindset to consider them 'family'. They will be physical representations of characters. Their characters are what give them life. The doll itself is not alive.

 

I like to say they are like having a family of your owe, sounds funny I know, but for me, it is that. I really didn't have real family growing up, so these bjd's are they a substitute one. But that is just me.

 

I see my doll, the one coming and the ones planned for, not as toys, but more as a type of an object d'art, a part of a valuable colection. If they were lost or stolen, they might not be replaceable due to no longer being a available, but a similar doll just might do the trick. In the end, they are just stuff, as my sister, who has much in the material world, likes to say. After you experience the loss of family, something like leaving your home and possessions for something like a hurricane can be worrisome but it all is just stuff. Still, I would not wish to lose my possessions, especially my valuable ones.

I have a belief that the universe is a giant school room, we are to spend our lives to learn about ourselves, others and our relationships, responsibilities with everything. Our possessions are learning tools, and trophies of achievement.
You should enjoy your possessions while you are here, as you cannot take them with you.

I am curious about the college students that posted on this thread early on, are they out of school and working?
Do they still have dolls? What happened with the relationship with mother-in-law and the girl's dolls?

 

To me dolls, are not family, nor are they toys. They are what they are: precious sentiment that contains memories and a feeling of happiness. Obviously, a good future is more important to me than the dolls, but at the same time, I could not simply "throw them out" and forget like I could do with, say, a Barbie.

 

Dolls are like family to me because they need just as much attention as a person they need to be cleaned, they need clothes wigs eyes shoes socks underwear.

 

I can buy dolls, but I can't buy family- is my perspective on it. As nice as they are I can't see them on the same level as a living breathing "I changed your diapers and saw your umbilical cord" human being. I value them as my possessions and anyone trying to mess with them would get the 'ole what for, but they aren't my family in any sense of the word.

 

For me they are definitely not family. They are collectible items that I treasure sure, but I would have no trouble selling them if I really needed the money for something important.

I might be the odd man out with this particular thing, but I don't play with my dolls like I know many others do. The main reason why I got into this hobby in the first place was because I found them aesthetically pleasing and I wanted to create a physical version of my characters.

I don't understand it when people go completely oveboard with buying doll stuff, not leaving enough money for bills, food etc. Real life and taking care of yourself should always come first before any hobby.

 

It's both for me. I don't really see my doll as a toy though, but more of an inanimate object. He's someone I confide in when no one else is around, or I don't feel comfortable with sharing certain problems. I take care of him as I would another person, just less talking to him and such.

 

I joke and call them my sons but no, I don't think of my dolls as family. They are just beautiful pieces of a collection.

 

I definitely don't consider them family, but not toys either. More like an art piece or a sculpture that I love looking at and working on.

 

I only have one.. I love her!! I want to have many more bjds.
Honestly although i love her, i think of her more as artwork and i need make her clothes and work on her like especially her character

 

They're not alive so definitely not family but I also don't play with them as a child plays with a toy. I think of them more as beautiful pieces of art, a collaboration between my modifications, clothing, and faceups and the company that sculpted and cast them.

 

I think of my dolls kind of like fictional characters in books and such.