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Are the BJDs rather for 'Old Children' (teenagers and adults) ???

Jan 15, 2006

    1. I personally would never give a little kid a 500 dollar doll...
       
    2. There are alot of good thoughts on this but,think about this,they should take away barbies,they have barbie pregnant with a baby! For me,I think that,is worse then the BJDs "detailed" body.
       
    3. I wouldn't have been worried about the dolls having genitals or more mature bodies. When I was young my parents were always open about the nude human body, it being a beautiful and wonderful creation. (although not all people are raised to believe this until they are older). I would be more worried that BJD's are too expensive for children, since they are wreckless and careless of toys, and would harm the doll, or draw on it's face/lose it/get it really dirty etc. I'm thinking that these dolls are for the age range of people who know who to be gentle and take care of them properly, which is, teens-adults.
      I could possibly see someone younger having maybe, a mini dollfie or something small, but could only play with it under supervision and strict rules. But how fun would that be? :(
       
    4. I've seen what happens to 99% of the toys little kids have to play with. Sorry, IMO, BJDs are "big kid" toys only, not just for the expense, but for the longevity of the doll!
       
    5. I agree with this...my daughter just turned 9 and used her birthday money to buy a BJD. We bought a inexpensive BJD but one she really liked - Bobobie Isabella. She has been extremely careful with it. All three of my girls have American Girl dolls. I have 6.5 year old twins as well as my 9 year old and they do take very good care of their American Girl dolls and understand that they are special and to take good care of them.
       
    6. I agree with some of the points you've brought up: obviously, if BJD's were meant for young children, they wouldn't cost so much and won't be so easily breakable (fingers, joints etc.). I wouldn't prohibit young children from touching them, but I probably wouldn't let a young child carry it around out of fear he might drop it. Young children's motoric skills aren't as developed as those of adults, and I can also see how a large BJD may be quite heavy on a young infant (in "young" I'm referring mostly to children aged 10 and down). Children older than that- I think they can, for the most part, handle BJD's well enough. The only problem is that if their parent's won't buy the doll for them, they probably won't be able to afford a BJD until they're old enough to work (or save allowance and holiday money for a loooong time...).

      As for the sexuality thing- I kind of disagree. I think that children know from a very young age what their private parts are and what they look like, and while some BJD bodies have very agaggerated features, when it comes to male genitals, for instance- nothing is too axaggerated. It's not porn. Everything there is portrayed in a realistic, proportional and normal scale. So I don't see why it should mess up with a child's sexuality. I don't think it presents an exaggerated or unrealistic picture of reality or anything like that like porn does, for instance. I actually think it may be quite educational- it shows a kid that the human body is nothing to be ashamed of.
       
    7. Well I suppose they're "for" whoever chooses to buy them and for whatever purpose. But, if a ridiculously expensive and easily broken "toy" with small parts (eyes, tiny joints, s-hooks) that can choke a child is designed FOR a child, then I'll stick with Babs for my baby cousin ;)
       
    8. This hobby requires a *lot* of responsibility. Our lovelies are not the cheapest things to begin with; why give it to a child who has (possibly) an exponentially larger chance of breaking it than we do? Would there be as much of a satisfaction with the toy in a younger child or would they quickly become bored with the doll? There are many things one needs to take into account...

      Pardon my rambling.
       
    9. Oh yes! And let's not forget that anything officially promoted as a small-child toy is subject to loads of additional composition and safety regulations. Even among cottage-industry crafters, there's a consensus to avoid the small-child-use label for even stuffed figures because of all the additional regulations, licensings, inspections and restrictions that would come into play!
       
    10. They are actually for anyone, my younger sister, who is like, five years old, she can maintain her already two year old DOD DOI Luke like he's brand new. So no, 'older children' are sometimes not the best. And she can sew clothes too.
       
    11. Wow, have DoIs been out for two years already? I thought they were only introduced a bit over a year ago. @_@

      I'm with the crowd that thinks BJDs are best for older children, although obviously people can buy their kids whatever they want. Personally I wouldn't buy my young child a $100+ very fragile toy -- it would just be upsetting for me and for them if it got broken. And I say this as someone who was an exceedingly careful child. One of the vinyl BJD-like dolls might, IMO, be a good compromise, though.
       
    12. Some children take really good care of their things... I did. My friends even used to make fun of me because I would rather stay in my room and play with my dolls - then go out and play.

      I have a niece who is 12 yrs old and she is just like I was when I was her age... she takes amazing care of her possessions and her dolls. So yes, in the future I would buy her a ABJD. Now my other niece, no I wouldn't! She's really bad at taking care of things and anything I have ever given to her, she either lost it, broke it or doesn't know where it is. So it depends on the child/adult... because I know some adults who don't take very good care of their things.

      And about the accurate bodies... kids should know their bodies, parents should teach them, and you learn at school too. It shouldn't be a big deal.
       
    13. My daughter loves my boy, would I give him to her? No. Currently she doesn't understand fragile... but she understands "This is Mommy's" so she's careful around him. She enjoys "helping" me take photo's of him and giving him her bears to hold.
      -
      Some kids have no clue when it comes to expensive or can't be replaced . But there are some kids out there that do understand and I could see a small BJD being a possibility for them. Over all I would really say it depends on the child, really. Heck, I know adults that are just as bad as the worst destructive child (I know several)... that have little or no respect for their things let alone others belongings. So it goes both ways. :XD:
       
    14. I'd say Ball jointed dolls can be for a range of ages.
      There's responsibilities between the adult-figure and the child[ren].
      Generally, due to Resin dust, and pieces of the doll,
      The person who is allowing a child to own a doll should take precautions first.
      Like washing the doll out, hot gluing the eyes in, sanding down bits, and so on.

      Majority of children are reckless, and not incredibly aware of things in general.

      Although there is probably a smaller portion of children that would do well with Ball jointed dolls, there would still be some precautions to take before giving the child the doll.
      A) Sand off the naughty bits.
      B) Go over rules.
      C) Give them a place to put the doll when their not using it.

      No naughty bits.
      Children have no business looking at reproductive organs, whether it be pictures, sculptures, or the real things.

      Rules like,
      Don't take it apart on your own, always ask for help from me, or a grown up.
      Don't let others play with it, its a very special present just for you.
      Don't throw it around, because it will break and not be pretty any more.
      If any thing goes wrong, find an adult or me right away and tell them what happened.

      Put your toys away when you are not playing with them!
      That would not just apply to the doll, but all the possessions the kid owns.
       
    15. I don't think there is any kind of unspoken rule that younger kids can't have BJDs. But they come with a lot of responsibility that many kids aren't ready for, and many kids just don't know about them because they can't be found on the shelf in the toy store. Most of the younger kids who happen to have BJDs it's because their parents have them as well, and educated them about how to take care of the dolls and how expensive and hard to replace they are.
      I know, for instance, the kids I babysit could not be trusted with BJDs. Not that they are bad kids, but they are often very rough with their toys, as many kids are, and have many that are broken or missing pieces. I think it's just on a case to case basis whether or not a younger child is ready for one of these dolls.
      I am now trying to remember if I would have been a good kid candidate for a doll. I know I've always been very responsible and pretty gentle with my toys (though I know I did break a few) but I hated dolls with I was a little girl (suuuch a tomboy) so I probably wouldn't have wanted one! xDD Funny how things can change! :sweat
       
    16. My daughter loves my dolls, and isn't quite three yet. She isn't really allowed to play with them, but she is allowed to help brush their wigs. She likes to talk to them and give them hugs and kisses, but I won't let her pick either of my dolls up. I'm hoping that by exposing her to expensive, delicate dolls now she'll be more responsible with her own dolls as she gets older. She may end up with her own BJD eventually, but I'm more likely to get her an American Girl doll first.
       


    17. Perhaps your children have no business looking at reproductive organs...but how little are we talking here? By the time I was at least 4 I knew boys had a penis and girls have a vagina. I would say that these aren't age appropriate for small children but hardly because they have a penis. I simply can't fathom giving something that costs over $300 easy to a child who isn't mature enough to understand that boys and girls might be a bit different. I also don't believe I'd ever tell my child that this toy is just yours and don't ever let anyone else touch it. That just invites 'neener neener look what I have and you can't touch' behavior.

      Honestly, I'd worry more in general about pinched fingers than anything else. I'd say start with a vinyl doll and work up from there. I can't even being to attach an age to any of this debate because some kids are just simply more mature than others.
       
    18. Considering the inhumane torture I put my barbies through when I was a kid, I'd say not. The younger children simply can't appreciate the difference in beauty from a BJD and a barbie, so why spend the extra $380 when they could be perfectly happy with another doll? Also, you couldn't really "play" with these like you can with children's dolls, like marker all over their faces, drag them around everywhere, have them go in the bath with you, strip them naked and tape then up and put a noose around their necks, and hang them on your doorknob so his poor little sister would scream when you saw them,(my brother wasn't very nice to me :'() etc.
      As the child understands more, I'd say give them a tiny, because they're not as large and easy to break when they fall over as some of the larger dolls.
       
    19. It's up to a parent to decide what kind of responsibility they think their child can handle. I was a very careful, quiet play kind of kid and I could have handled a small BJD. At the same time, I did drop and break a couple of my Breyer horses so no matter how careful the child accidents can happen.

      I'm glad these dolls are not marketed as children's toys though or we'd all be in regulatory hell right now. With the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act anything made for a child under 12 has to have each component tested for lead. I'm sure some companies could handle the cost of testing but certainly not all. As long as our dolls are marketed to adults we should be okay.

      I still always mention my warning that uncured polyurethane resin is toxic. No matter how cautious the child - nobody should be huffing the smell that comes off of a doll fresh from the box. Nor should they be anywhere around the smell of Mr. Superclear or other sealants. If you can smell the sealant in the air, it is doing damage to your lungs and theirs. Some owners have had to give up the BJD hobby after becoming allergic to the resin, so that has to be watched for as well.

      This extra caution isn't needed with true children's toys, so my first call is that they are not for children, but it's still up to parents to decide.
       
    20. I think it depends on the child, as others have said. I started collecting porcelian dolls when I was probably around 10 or so. We got a magazine with an Ashton Drake doll ad in it and I was in love. I got it and took it and kept it at my grandmothers, at my room there, where it would be safe from my siblings. While I was always very careful with my things, my siblings break and ruin everything. I would have taken care of a BJD at that age, my siblings would have had it drawn and quartered within a half hour.

      As for it being anatomically correct and 'awakening children's sexuality early'... please. It's that sort of sexually repressed thinking that has things so screwed up. If a child grows up thinking that there's nothing wrong with a human body, it's just natural, there wouldn't be the excitement and taboo of it. It just is what it is. If a girl sees a naked female doll... why is that anything to worry about? That's the same bits she would have. If she sees a naked male doll, then she'll know what a boy looks like. If it's hidden away then there is exciting mystery and confusion as to why it is wrong. I think that things like Bratz dolls are much worse, and those -are- marketed towards kids.