Do you Talk to your Dolls or Do you not Talk to your dolls?

Why not talk to them if you like? I talk to my cats too! Of course, I'm just a crazy old cat lady!

 

I am sorry to hear that you had such a negative experience growing up!

I grew up in a home where imagination and play were always encouraged and where creativity was never a bad thing. As a young child, I talked to my toys all the time, and I liked to pretend that they "talked" back to me while I was playing, too. I went through a period in my teen years where I wouldn't have been caught dead talking to anything other than a living, breathing creature, but that was mostly because I was worried (as many teens are) that I would not appear "cool" if I did. I never gave up my imagination or creativity, though. I still had some of my favourite toys and dolls through my teen years, and my parents never discouraged me from keeping them around. When I grew up a bit more and stopped caring so much about other people's opinions of me, I got into doll collecting as a serious hobby instead of just as play. Now, as a middle-aged person, I do catch mysefl talking to my dolls sometimes. I don't have pretend conversations with them like I used to do when I was a child, but I will make comments to them. I talk to my dog that way too. Dolls and pets are great listeners!

I think it's very healthy to have a good imagination and to know how to play, even in adulthood. I think it's a great way to relieve stress and to me, it's a way to escape for a little while from the pressures and responsiblities of real life. As long as a person knows the difference between play and real life, and knows which behaviours are appropriate in particular situations, I don't see anything wrong with talking to dolls (or pets, for that matter).

Just as a side note, my 69 year old father talks to his dog, and I've even heard him talking to his car. lol

 

I agree! Just because you are older doesn't mean you can't play like a child! In your case, you are old enough to do as you will, and because you had such a restricted childhood, why not have fun now? I'm 66 and just getting into collecting BJDs, and I don't think you're ever too old to nurture the child within, and if that means talking to your dolls, go for it!

 

Growing older is required, growing up is not. In my home I was very lucky to have my mother who was the "I am a responsible adult, and I will act like one. Here is how to be one yourself" roll, and my father who was the "Lets play create, and imagine" person. (It was odd to say "My dad made my barbie clothes" when i was a kid)

So yeah, I talk to my cat, I talk to my computer, I'll talk to my doll, heck I'll talk to anything! *pencil falls on the floor* "No! Pencil! Come back! I love you!" True story.

Sure I get some strange looks, but A friend of mine basically told my recently, if doing something a little out of the norm makes you happier then you have been, who really cares? Granted she was talking about wearing wigs, ears, and tails...but I digress. The point is, There is nothing to be ashamed of if you are happy!

 

I talk to inanimate objects, my computer, dolls, teddybears, and animate objects, plants (they grow for me) so of course I talk to my dolls and some of my children think that it is totally creepy. If something isn't working, I talk to it and then it works.
Talking to creates a bond and I think that it is visible in the doll photos which owners have a close 'relationship' with their doll.

 

I don't talk to anything inanimate, there is no purpose.

 

I talk to pretty much everything whether it can talk back or not (my cats definitely can, even though they don't speak Human), so yeah, that includes dolls People might consider me a freak for that (if they do, they don't know me - or they'd KNOW I'm a freak for the rest of the things I do ), but a) I couldn't care less about what people think, and b) I'm having fun being a freak

Bottom line: If it makes you happy, go right ahead. It's not harming anyone, is it? Also Selenah_Arwin, it sounds to me like your inner child has some serious catching up to do, so go crazy and have fun! You're absolutely allowed to, you are your own person and you've got every right to be happy. If your parents think you're mental for that, IMHO it's them who should be in the loony bin.

 

Yeah, I talk to my dolls.

I do it less when there are people around me (the whole self-conscious thing), and I know that they won't talk back.

I'll tell them how good they look and make sarcastic remarks to them when they won't cooperate. And, of course, I apologize to them if I accidentally bump them into things, or hold them in an awkward position.

I don't think there's anything wrong with this, and sometimes just talking to them makes me feel less lonely. Kind of like the way I used to talk to my teedy bear. I trto remind myself that it's not anyone's place to judge me, and that if they are judging me and putting me down, then maybe I shouldn't associate myself with them.

I hope that helped. : D

 

I talk to my dolls. But then I talk to a LOT of inanimate objects. I always have.

 

I talk to my dolls and I talk to the cats.

I know the dolls don't talk back but it's all in good fun. It's probably a good thing they don't...

 

That's sad; so much creativity lost.

 

I talk to my dolls, when I am sewing them clothes or take pictures, It seems to me, more fun to play while waiting for returns, which in the verbal sense will not .My daughter also speaks with their toys, but I will never scold her for that, even when she will grow. And still I talk to a cat and flowers

 

Like many other people who have already posted in this thread, I also talk to inanimate objects quite frequently. So logically, I talk to my dolls. I pretty much only do this when I'm home alone...and of course, I never expect them to reply.

 

My parents let me grow up at my own pace; they never took my toys off me at a certain age, or told me to growup or anthing like that. I do talk to my dolls sometimes; I have people and pets to talk to too, but sometimes it's nice to have a natter with something that can't intterupt with words or trying to jump off your shoulder onto the floor (yay bearded dragons). Plus I have those amusing little 'JUST LET ME PUT YOUR DAMN PANTS ON!' moments when dressing them is going wrong

 

I sure do! I talk to my dolls when I'm putting on their clothes and fixing their hair.

 

My parents were from the "Act your age!"-school of thought, too... though it sounds like they weren't quite as shrill about it as your parents were, OP.

'Thing is, that never stopped me from talking to things. I'm one of those people who's always talked to EVERYTHING... pets, plants, the coffee pot, my car, the computer, you name it. Nothing is, or ever has been, immune to my chatter no matter how silly my father found it or how often he said so. (I suspect he'd get along pretty well with Nefla, actually. )

Even as a kid I knew, of course, that inanimate objects couldn't hear me... But that's not really the point, I suspect. What we're doing isn't really talking to the object when you get right down to it. What we're doing is talking to ourselves. We're thinking out loud and just addressing those thoughts in a conversational way because that's what humans *do*. We're hard-wired to communicate, and I firmly believe that the instinct is strong enough in some of us that the lack of an animate audience simply doesn't matter.

 

I like to be creative in productive and entertaining ways such as writing stories, sculpting, or painting pictures. I see no reason, benefit, or even creativity in sitting there talking to an object.

 

Of course, there are people who say that because you have dolls there is no benefit to that, either.

I don’t have conversations with my dolls, other than the occasional “hello” when I wake up in the morning or after I come home, but it’s just superfluous fun; I know they don’t talk back to me :p

However, I can see where others would have a spark of creativity talking to inanimate objects. It’s just another form of play. Well, I guess some people might not be able to separate a fantasy from reality.