Did you play with dolls as a child?

There is a thread like this somewhere, but in answer to the question, I have had dolls as long as I can remember and still have my childhood dolls. When I was very small, I liked to pretend I was mommy, and later, I made up stories and acted them out with my dolls and stuffed animals. When I became an adult, I collected dolls because I like the way they look. BJD's are just the ultimate dolls to have in my opinion, because they can be customized.

 

I've never seen the other thread, but this sounds intriguing.

Quetz, I'm a little like you, I've never played with dolls when I was little. However that was because my mother never bought them. She didn't believe in the benefits of pretend tea parties or dolls and plushies for that matter. Sure I saw them in department stores but I hardly remember wishing I had one. I grew up on a diet of books, soldiers and tanks and other war games - they were really fun though.

Self-consciousness is probably one thing I noticed, not really knowing how to act or even what to do with my doll after he arrived, but thank goodness that feeling passed. He just needed getting used to.

 

I had baby dolls when I was little, then Barbies when I was older. I played with them every single day. I'm 50 years old, and I still have one of the baby dolls, my most favorite doll - Mrs. Beasley, along with my Barbies and clothes that my Mom made for them. I love to get them out and look at them and think about when I used to play with them. I also used to have a Crissy doll, who had hair you could make longer or shorter, but sadly I don't know where she disappeared to. Sometimes I look on ebay for them because I'd love to have another one!

 

Like you Quetz, I did not play with dolls as a child could not see the interest....but with BJD (and now being quite grown up lol) things have changed a lot.

 

I did OWN Barbies, but they were almost never played with, except to make very odd and not-Barbie-like stories. I never really enjoyed them. They're all still hanging in a case somewhere, I think.

I was very much a tomboy; still am. c:

 

I owned Barbies when I was little and played with them A LOT with my cousin x'D We would dress them or fill up grandma's bath with water and pretend they were at the sea or pool and we would change their hairstyles and she had a house and two...not Kens I think but anyway, male dolls and we would play with them too hahaha >U<;;; I loved playing with my Barbies when I was a little uvu I also had two W.I.T.C.H. dolls and some other ones I don't even recall their names anymore (I had seen them on a german channel and requested them from my daddy >U<;; ). Those two I don't remember the names of, I remember I really loved and liked them, because they were rather small and cute and had pretty pretty pretty hair and pretty clothes, but I really don't remember what happened to them >: Boo. My two WITCH dolls were given to my small cousin, because she really liked them, whereas I just put them away under my bed since I got them almost, I never played with those two >A<;;;
I guess that I did get interested in BJD because I did/do love dolls in general, but it wasn't...just that? >U<; BJDs are just SO beautiful and you can just make them however you want UvU~

 

I went through a Barbie phase... but they didn't pose like I preferred, so my interest in them dwindled. I went through a phase where I collected baby dolls, but I developed a fear of them as a kid... Collected Bratz dolls for a while...

But my interest in what could be referred to as "dolls" came and went quickly, so I can't say that a love of dolls helped get me into BJDs.

 

I started liking dolls (bratz) in 6th grade
as a really young child, I liked dinosaurs x)

 

Maybe - if you count "playing with dolls" as "strapping Barbies to firecrackers on the Fourth of July." XD

I was definitely the tomboy, and I HATED dolls. I much preferred plastic dinosaurs, action figures, and video games. Dolls scared me, and many of the dolls marketed as toys STILL creep me out.

Which is why, when I think about it, it's bewildering to me that I'm into this hobby now....but I guess BJDs cross over that line from "creepy" to "pretty things of art" for me personally. The option of fantasy parts really drew me, I think. I love my dolls now, and they are sitting on my bookshelf next to my favorite plastic dinosaurs. If someone would have asked me three years ago if I would ever play with dolls, I'd be like "aaaaaaah noooooo." But here I am, posting in a doll forum.

Go figure.

 

Did you play with dolls as a child? Why or why not?
When I was very young I preferred animals and dinosaurs--plastic ones, usually, and a few stuffed animals (or plushies as they call them nowadays-- okay, so I'm older, you know?). I wasn't exactly a tomboy, but I wasn't overly girly, either. Not into cooking sets or playing house or baby dolls AT ALL. In elementary school, my best friend and I liked talking about snakes and animals and Disney characters like Bambi and Thumper and we made "Creepy-crawlers" (that kit that makes rubbery bugs). OK... maybe we were a bit more tomboyish than anything else...

I did have a Skipper doll at one point. I never had a Barbie as a kid. (I had troll dolls.)

My friend had a GI Joe! (Heheh... she came out much, much later... it's kind of funny when I think about it.) I thought it was so cool that she had a GI Joe! The articulation was SO much better than any fashion doll! It was one of the classic 1/6 size ones with flocking for hair and had a scar!

When I got into middle school (we called it Junior High), I got a large doll from Italy and sewed a fantasy elf-like gown for her (I was into Lord of the Rings). After that I got more and more dolls, mostly because I like the costumes. I liked collecting dolls in folk costumes or historical costumes. And I was very interested in male dolls. They were so rare and it was hard to find decent-looking ones.

If yes, did your childhood love of dolls get you into BJDs or was it something else?
It was my more adult love of dolls that got me into BJDs. I liked dolls because I love characters, and clothes/costumes. BJDs were the ultimate in everything I liked: customization, outfits, males (and females), etc.

If no, how did your lack of childhood dolliness effect your BJD hobby (did it make you feel self-conscious/etc)?
No. (why self-conscious? doing something you thought you never liked???? hmm... I never worry about stuff like that)
I got into dolls as an older person... teen-age a bit, but mostly even older... and I didn't really PLAY with dolls, I just had them for the costumes and characters. When BJDs came along I was working, living on my own, etc. That meant that I had no problem at all with it. By that time I was definitely able to do whatever I wanted. ... and whatever I was doing as a child was WAY too long ago to worry about!!!!

 

Nope, unless it was to style their hair (I learned how to braid hair using Barbies, lol). As a kid, I was much more likely to reach for the building blocks and race cars.

I have a few collector dolls around somewhere, but I have no desire to display them or take them out.

I definitely think that the customization aspect of BJDs is what draws me to them so strongly - I love being able to switch up just about any part of my doll (including skintone). You just can't do that with most normal dolls, especially those aimed at younger children.

 

In the General Discussion archive -

Did you play with dolls as a child?

 

Yes and no. I developed pediophobia when I was two(Family wasn't paying attention to what I was watching when one of those d---- Chucky movies came on), and I stopped playing with a lot of my favourite dolls because I thought they were going to kill me in my sleep. I still have pediophobia, but it's not NEARLY as bad as it was when I was little. I eventually started collecting Barbies again, and had gotten quite a few Bratz through the years too, and I now LOVE porcelains. I still get relapses, but I love dolls and try not to let my silly phobia ruin it for me.

BJD's are one of the few dolls that don't give me nightmares, so naturally I'm attracted to them.

 

Yes, I had some Barbies, although I favored rag dolls and stuffed animals. My mom gave away most of them (without my permission!) when I was a teenager, although I managed to save some of the rag dolls. I've always admired porcelains, but only had one, which was never played with.

I didn't have or like baby dolls, though. My dolls and animals took care of themselves and had wonderful adventures! I was just there to facilitate.

Still have a few of them, mostly boxed up and stored in a closet.

 

Yep, I had Barbies. Still have some around here, collected some too. Those are still in their boxes. Most of the played with ones were given to younger cousins, so all gone. I played with baby dolls too, but I did like playing with She-Ra and He-Mans, playmobile stuff, legos, stuff like that. Had a fun childhood with those toys.

 

i totally collected Barbies when I was younger. I loved how fashionable they were and how pretty/perfect they always were. As a little girl, however, i wished barbies could be more customizable. thank goodness for bjds!