Did you play with dolls as a child?

I loved my dolls!
When I went to high school I kept my toys in boxes but eventually I got rid of them cause I was scared to be laughed at xD I secretly kept one Barbie but never played with her or so s when I was 14 I also got rid of her. I've never trow away one of my teddy bears haha.
Yet I was a very mature girl. I sneaked in parties at 13 ect. (In my country you're allowed to drink at 16 so not that big of a deal :p), I had many boyfriends, I was always onthe streets with my girls ect.
Being an adultknow made me realise I just loved dolls for being dolls. xD Their so pretty! I like to dress up like lolita ect.
When I found out adult people collected dolls who where not antique I was like HELL YEAH! I'M IN xD

 

I only played with barbies at friends' houses, as part of big elaborate pretend games (and as an RPer, I never grew out of that >.>), but I was equally happy playing with beanie babies or littlest pet shops (this was before they were bobbleheads). In fact, I was a little more predisposed toward animal toys as a kid! My mom wasn't a big fan of dolls, so I didn't have more than one or two, but I had lots of beautifully molded toy horses and tons of littlest pet shops.

That said, though I like to think of myself as an ~adult~, there are a lot of "childish" things I never grew out of (toys, playing pretend, video games), so it's not that big of a jump to decide to play with dolls as a "grown-up."

For BJDs specifically, I was attracted by their engineering--what frustrated me about fashion dolls as a kid was that barbies weren't articulated! And I loved the rare barbie that had bendable knees and/or elbows (I think I had a rollerblading one that was like that?). So BJDs are fully articulated dolls that I can play pretend with, make things for, as well as being gorgeous art objects. What's not to love?

I suspect I'll feel a little self consciousness when my first one arrives, though. Hopefully it wears off!

 

I had barbies and American Girl dolls as well as porcelain dolls. I also regularly admired the Genes and Tonners at FAO Shwarzt. By the time I was 10, I was designing and sewing for my barbies (although I sewed the gowns right onto the barbies...but thinking back, I think I was pretty creative) By the time I was 15,I was drafting patterns for my American Girl (Samantha).
I'm hoping I can bring back some of the creativity I had as a young child and when I first got into these dolls soon.

 

When I was little I played with Barbie's and my brother's G.I Joe's and Cabbage Patch and some other baby dolls. I played with them on occasion as I had other toys I liked to play with more, like My Little Ponies and Littlest Pet Shop. As a teen I collected porcelain dolls. That didn't really last long as I wanted to pose them but they didn't pose to well

 

When I was a kid I played with Barbies (and Skippers and Stacies), Cabbage Patch and Hugga Bunch and a bunch of other toys and stuffed animals that were popular during the 80s and early 90s. When I was a little older, about fourth or fifth grade, I got into American Girls. The older I got the less I played with the dolls I had, but I didn't want to let go of them so I just had them sit out on display.

 

when i was little... i was a chewer.... id chew barbies legs.... and bite them and pull them and melt them (by accident since i left it on the lamp.... and left the lamp on and it melted onto the lamp....) i hated them since i was a tomboy myself but as i grew i kinda liked toys and cute things more and eventually got into anime then bjds (since i only just found out about this hobby im still learning )

 

No I really did not play with dolls when I was a kid. As I am not in my 50's the they really didn't have lot of dolls out here that I liked, and wanted. I really hated barbies doll but now I have over 500 of them. I still don't like them. But I love their cloths.

 

I had a lot of Barbies when I was a kid. When I started middle school, I got rid of all my dolls and hated them up until high school.

Then I found out about BJDs... And now I love all kinds of dolls.

 

I had them growing up, but I preferred my brothers Ninja Turtles and GI Joes. I was like you, as in I was mostly a tomboy as a kiddo. My grandmother collected dolls which I never understood, until I was about 25 years old. I regret that I don't have any of her hand-crocheted barbie dresses. :c

I remember the first time I saw a BJD was at Fanime '07- There was a Junkyspot booth. I thought they were lovely, until I saw the price tags. I then proceeded to scoff and move along. Its kind of funny how things turn out.

 

Well, I preferred horses and ponies when I was a child but I did play Barbies with my sister. I also had a couple of baby dolls that were special to me as a child.

 

I was obsessed (obsessed!) with My Little Ponies as a child. I would play with baby dolls the odd time but I really had no interest in them. I preferred my stuffed animals. I would play Barbies with friends sometimes, but wasn't as inclined to play with them on my own. As a pre-teen I fell in love with collecting porcelain dolls, which I used as inspiration for several stories. When I found out about BJDs as an adult, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would get one. So no, I didn't really play with dolls as a child but dolls became a significant part of my life during my late childhood/early adolescence.

 

I played with barbies quite a lot as a child. I had a pair of very articulated horses, and those were my favorite toys. My poor sister had to suffer playing 'talking horses' most days of the week. I do recall having a few porcelain dolls, and my mom would keep them packed away in the closet, and got mad when I wanted to play with them. I sewed clothing for my Star Trek action figures and made sock monkeys for friends. I collected DBZ action figures, and my best friend in High School made a playset - two sixteen year old girls playing with action figures with all the interest of eight year old boys. ^^; (Mind you, we both had boyfriends and extracurricular activities and such- we were 'normal' teens.)

I don't have any of those toys now (except the DBZ action figures), but I don't think I ever stopped thinking toys were fun and fascinating.

 

when i was younger i loved dolls of all sorts
id have one huge doll house with all of them there
barbie was my thing when i was little ^.^

 

When I was a kid, I didn't really play with dolls. I was given my share of them, but the bulk of them either creeped me out or couldn't sufficiently hold my interest. Now, My Little Ponies and plush animals, on the other hand, received ample doting upon. But, I never did really get too much into the idea of playing house and playing mommy.

To this day, I'm still not a fan of baby/child dolls and actually twitch at little children and infants. I could never actually have younglings of my own; I am not a kid-person at all, and the closest I've got to maternal instinct is how I feel about my dolls and my pets. >.>;

BJDs don't manage to creep me out, and they never really have. They're the exception to that "uncanny valley" effect I get with the western styled dolls. I suppose that it helps that when you order in a certain size, you tend to get a more mature-looking sculpt.

So, really, my aversion to the more "traditional dolls" of the western world only really affects me when I'm shopping for dolls/doll supplies and happen across listings for something like Reborns. But, I just kind of inwardly twitch and move along like a responsible adult. After all, some people are bound to find my BJDs creepy, so who am I to cast the first stone?

So, yeah, I can't say it's particularly impacted my hobby at all.

 

I had a few Barbies, but to me Barbie was never a doll, she was Barbie. I don't really remember having any other types of dolls.. but I did have a lot of TMNT, stuffed animals, Polly Pockets and stuff like that.

The doll thing is very recent for me thanks to Monster High. Then I moved onto Pullips and now I'm at bjds. I've been admiring them from afar for a few years but never though I'd own one for myself given the price. A lot of them are just so beautifully sculpted you can't help but fall in love (and splurge).

 

When I was younger, I collected Barbies and had so much fun with playing with them - but it was something that I put away when I got older.

I think after a time, it was the customizable nature of BJDs that drew them to me ; w ; I'm so glad I have my own now, lol XD

 

I was really not much interested in dolls as a child. I had Barbies, but they remained mostly unplayed with. I still have them, in nearly pristine condition. It wasn't until my own daughter was old enough to play with Barbies that my mom and I started collecting dolls, first Barbies, then porcelains, finally antiques. I loved the French Fashion dolls, but they were SO expensive, and really with an antique you can't really play, only display. So when Gene came out, and Tonner's Tyler, I jumped on board. The clothing was beautiful and so well made. But the dolls themselves were still so limited. I was excited when they first started adding joints to the knees so you could post them a bit more. When I first saw a picture of BJDs though, they took my breath away. The doll had evolved from a lifeless shelf sitter to a real individual. The epitome of dolls. Of course that was back when all the BJDs were cute girl faced boys or girls. Now you can have cute, dark, fantasy, whatever you want. They are amazing. I am well and truly hooked. Who thought the little girl who didn't much care for dolls, who would rather collect toy dinosaurs or play with snakes and frogs out in the yard, would end up a diehard doll fanatic, flattening her wallet with dolls and their wardrobes?

 

Not so much when I was a child, however on a few occasions I remember playing with them...I was the type that like to draw and read rather than playing with dolls, I was a Barbie collector like collecting the Disney princess doll still in its box

 

Actually, I used to hate dolls o.O I used to chop up barbies...But I always loved Pokemon figurines.

 

I have to say that I had about a dozen or so Barbies and every single Jem doll (dating myself there...) ever made. Then there were the MLP's (the originals, gang), and these other horse things that were supposed to be like horse fashion models or something. I don't think I ever grew out of it, I just got to the point where I couldn't really keep them without being made fun of anymore. Like someone else on this thread said... when I found out adults could collect dolls that weren't antiques, I was ALL IN.