'Cabinet Babies' or Playthings?

I have a lot of toys from when I was younger, some are dirty, and some could pass for new. I loved all of them, but some aged more gracefully than others. None of them are falling apart though, except for one plastic horse that broke a leg, and I was, and still am, fairly careful with my things.
I can definitely understand that people like to carry their 'toys' around with them, I did that with my gameboy (that I've had since I was 5 and it still works) and with one of my favorite beanie babies. They're bound to get scratched up and dirtied no matter how careful you are.
Anyways, to stay on topic, I personally do a little of both things; my dolls generally stay on my bookshelf, but sometimes they'll sit with me on my bed or I'll fiddle with them or I'll take them outside for photos. There's nothing wrong with leaving them on the shelf, but I prefer being able to 'play' with them or even just sit around with them in my lap, as long as I have magic erasers and such handy

Just because someone likes to keep their things well-kept doesn't make them stuffy :/

 

I love this! It's exactly how I feel about my boys ^^

But on another note- I just felt like Kim was saying that if you didn't treat your special things like they were made of glass then you didn't love them- that's just not how I feel, but I wasn't trying to be rude- only remind her that some of us may do different things, but we still feel the same way- and that's what it's really about. On another note, I'm in no position to judge her on what she does with her things- it's just not my way. Me and Yurii have bonded great based on me handling him every which way, taping his wig back on a zillion different times, and kissing his little face and apologizing when he accidentally faceplants into my laptop >.<;

That's just how I am with him- if I wasn't I don't think I could bear keeping him when I think about how I could have donated that money to charity. If I play with him, at least I feel as though he's enriching my life in an active way, rather then me paying all that money for just a pretty bauble.

That's my two cents- and I do apologize again if I've offended anyone- there was no malice meant.

 

I think toys are meant to be played with. They just are. Broken toys that are still played with are really well loved. Just because they got broken doesn't mean they're trash. My favorite toys are to this day the most ragged things I have but that doesn't mean I didn't love them. I loved them to death. Squeaky Baby has no arms, nor legs anymore and Bear-Bear is a 22 year old punching bag of a teddy bear that I still hit whenever I pick him up XD (And the only thing missing from him is his bow tie x3)

I wouldn't necessarily do that with my resin boys, because I'd drop some bricks if I got any kind of chips or scratches on them. I almost cried when I saw a cut in my boy's face that I couldn't figure out the origin of.

To me the dolls are toys, or at least a type of toy. They're meant to be messed with, but not quite meant to be manhandled like children's toys, otherwise they wouldn't be so easily breakable, hard to make, and expensive. I play with my dolls, because they're fun to play with, I take them out and dress them up to look cool, because they represent my characters and to me it's fun showing my characters to the world.

 

I'm kind of in the middle. XD;; My favorite toys as a child, the ones I was emotionally attached to and loved to tears, where the ones I took everywhere with me! School, church, grocery store; you name it. I always did my best to keep them clean, but... when you're playing in the dirt, you can only do so much XD My toys had a few stains here or there, but nothing awful. If something happened, it happened and I got over it. A scuff or stain won't make my toy any less fun!
I'm the same way with my boy. I take him around with me, cuddle him when I take naps, and take him outside. If something happens to him, I can fix it (or at least try) If not, it's not a huge deal. I'm careful with him, so if something does happen to him, it probably wouldn't have been easily preventable anyway XD I'd much rather have the joy of him being around me even if I feel pouty if his face-up gets chipped/finger breaks, than to never feel that joy at all and keep him in pristine condition
I keep him in his cabinet when I have a lot of homework, and I always feel bummed when I come back into my room and see him sitting all by his lonesome behind the glass ;o;

 

I feel like spending that much money on a doll to just keep it locked up in a cabinet is a waste of money. I mean, you can "just look" at pictures of dolls on the internet. If you actually want the physical object yourself, its silly to do with it what you could do vicariously through doll photographers.

Not to say they would hang out on my floor (well, they might..) but if I had a doll, I wouldn't be shy about playing with them...

 

Mine are both. With how busy I am with work and school, mine do sit safely and neatly on a shelf most of the time. However, I love to take them down, hold them, take pictures, and take them to meets when I have time. I do tend to play carefully with them and treat them with the same respect I would an antique or collectable. That does not mean I do not enjoy them to their fullest. Heck, I grew up in a house where my mom would lovingly display her antique dishes on shelves then take them down and use them for dinner lol. I guess what I am trying to say, is they can be cabinet babies and playthings at the same time ^_^

 

Deleted due to magical double postage O_o"

 

I play with my dolls but I also stow them away when I'm not playing or just leave them on display so I can admire them every time I'm around. I've taken them out for meets, shot photostories, fooled around with one-legged standing poses or piggyback rides, modded one of them, sanded the seams, restrung all of them, painted their face-ups, painted tattoos, hot glue sueded, etc. But I'm also pretty careful with them when they're outside, keep them mostly away from the sunlight, keep them away from anything that might stain and have them in a safe place when they're not out and about. So I suppose I'm a little bit of both worlds.

I was mostly vehement earlier because it seems to me that unless dolls or toys are played till they're completely worn, people will assume that they aren't loved or that they are a waste of money. As long as the person gets satisfaction out of their dolls or toys, I don't see how it's a waste of money even if all the owner does is admire the doll up on a shelf.

 

I just couldn`t sit Josh in a cabinet all day.
I carry him around with me all the time. He`s sitting next to me right now.
I hug him, Mum hugs him.. Even my cat hugs him. XD
Although if I`m going out for awhile, I`ll put him in his box or leave him sitting on a chair.

 

The problem with comparing these dolls to kid's toys (and thus, that we should all treat them like kid's toys) is that they're not. They're more expensive and more fragile than the average child's toy, so I don't think it's right to say that everyone should treat them like a plastic doll or stuffed bear or whatever.

I definitely take mine out to photograph, and damn, MSDs are the cuddliest things ever. But I don't haul them around town on a regular basis, and I put them somewhere safe when I'm not messing with them so that they don't yellow or collect dust. I was careful with my toys as a kid, but even so, I don't treat my expensive collectibles like I did my toys.

 

I think there are both in the doll hobby, I know for sure I will have at least 8 or so Dolls in the future that I will not take out of their glass cases, mostly because their outfits and hair and accessories will be too detailed and crazy to play with [[they are my gods in my stories and have massive details in outfits and stuff]] so I would keep them in a glass box. But then I have my other character dolls, I seriously drag those guys anywhere and everywhere I go, I payed for them, I customized them, and I can do what I want with them. I have one girl that I had since may of last year, she is still the reason I am in this hobby, I noticed the other day that she has so many nicks and scratches in her resin and there was a chip in her faceup but that made me realize that I had indeed been playing with her the most even though she was supposed to be the last doll I was going to buy XD

In other words there can be both in the dolly world and Just because you keeps yours in a box or play with them til youre purple its fine as long as you love em. And yes you can still show love by keeping them in a box...how else would you love your fish in their aquarium XDD

 

oh I love to play with my dolls! but when I'm not playing with them I have 'rooms' set up in cabinets and on shelves so that I can see them in various vignettes. that way they are safe and also look cute when not in 'use'

 

You could love them outside of the aquarium, they might not appreciate that, but you could still love them outside of it

But seriously, I agree. Even if love is in a box down in Uncle Jon's basement, that's still how you show love to your doll, and that's all that really matters

 

Mine aren't cabinet babies..well except for Beryl she is in my China cabinet because she is my showpiece.
mine are out on shelves mostly in my bedroom, some out in the living room...I don't take mine anywhere..only because when I go out to shop I want to have my hands free to look and buy.
and there aren't any doll people that I know of, in my immediate area so no meets..I did take my Seola7 Wisilla, with me to visit my mom once so I could show her off and the dress I made, and then ended up taking her into a hospital where my aunt was so she could see her too.. but that's about it.

 

Like nearly every thread in this 'debate' section, I say "who cares"? If you want to keep them stuffed away in a dark cabinet forever, be my guest. If you want to tote them around, get them dirty, let them do snow angels in the driveway, etc., go for it. You spent good money on them, so do whatever fits your fancy. Appreciate them however you want.

Personally, I do both. I started out with my first in a china cabinet. After a while, I got bored with that, and I took her out and posed her all over the place. 2 more BJD's later, they go all over the place. They move from different rooms in my apartment, they get taken to restaurants and bookstores, meetups, etc., they get exposed to sunlight occasionally, they get posed for photos in nature and get dirty, and so on.

My own philosophy is that, if I don't enjoy and make the most of them, there's no point in me owning them. At the end of the day, however, people are going to do whatever they please with their own possessions, and I'm fine with that.

 

I think one of the difficult things about this subject is that people may mean different things when they say "play" or "cabinet baby." I don't consider my dolls cabinet babies because I take them down a lot and do things with them. I definitely don't consider them to be for display only--however, when I'm not handling them they do have a nice safe set of shelves to sit on where I know they won't get damaged. So despite what I said in my first post in this topic maybe I am somewhere in between? I have a feeling that a lot of people probably are. They do play with their dolls, but also treat them with more care that an actual 'toy' would probably get. It's probably mostly a matter of definition.

 

Actually, they aren't "more fragile" than a other toys. In fact, some of my toys as a child were way more fragile than a BJDs are. As for more expensive, that maybe so *but* Car's are more expensive and how many people treat their Cars with the same care they do their BJDs? So cost doesn't = value.

 

To cast agreement, this is a hobby of collectibles that invites you to "play". The nature of these dolls is to move them, pose them, dress them, etc. But they are not in any way a "toy" in the usual sense. I tend to shake my head at those who take their BJD's everywhere to do everything with them. It's a personal thing, and I am in no position to tell anyone what to do with their possessions, but these are collectibles and not Cabbage Patch Kids that can withstand the rigors of play.

When he's not being enjoyed - which usually is just sitting posed nearby, posing for a photoshoot, and/or being taken to another location for all of the above, I keep my Ty in his box. This way he does not get dusty, prolongs the color of his resin, and is out of harm's way. I would never dream of just taking him everywhere - grocery shopping, theme parks, the mall, etc etc. I'm also in my mid-twenties; doing so would raise a lot of eyebrows unless I had a purpose specifically for the doll. I took my dolls in strollers to public places as a child. I'm an adult kid now - there's a time and a place, and the knowledge of just how much money I'm holding in my hands.

 

I wouldn't say that someone who takes their bjds around with them a lot is treating them like a cabbage patch kid, though. It's possible to carry them around and do all sorts of things with them and still do it with care. They aren't terribly fragile and can hold up to a lot of handling, provided that the owner uses some common sense--don't drop them, don't leave them where they're likely to get knocked over, keep an eye on them out in public (that goes for any personal possession, really), don't leave them in a hot car, etc.

It's not whether you take them places or how much you handle them, it's how you do it that makes all the difference in the world. It's also what can be a difference between a lot of little kids playing with their kid friendly dolls and adult hobbyists playing with abjds--the abjd may go out to lunch with his owner, but he isn't getting dragged around by the arm or leg, or getting flung this way and that, or being dropped on the ground. His owner is most likely taking a little extra care to keep him clean and make sure he's not going to accidentally hit the floor. I've taken a lot of dolls to meetups in public places and have never felt that they weren't safe. That isn't to say that you should take them out and about with you if you aren't comfortable doing so, but the fact that people do doesn't necessarily show a lack of judgment on their part nor is it mystifying in any way. As you said yourself, these dolls do invite play so don't be surprised when their adult owners actually play with them

 

I bought my dolls with the intention of playing with them and them being seen by others. I couldn't shove them in a cabinet or closet and just stare at them, let alone keep them in the box all the time. Not once since I bought my dolls have they ever been boxed up. I don't man-handle them and I treat them very carefully but if all I ever did was look at them and not interact with them I would be better off selling them and getting my money back. These dolls are an inspiration for my hobbies: drawing, sewing, photography, story writing, etc. and if I just kept them in a glass case then they wouldn't be an inspiration for me anymore.