How does your family react to the hobby ?

My mom did something cute today with my little boy Riven. She walked up whilst I was typing on my computer in the living room and said: "Now you know not to touch my stone." She has a huge chunk of Amethyst and Riv' had tilted back by accident and I hadn't gotten around to moving him cause he looked cute cuddling the stone. "I know you like it but it centers the room." She then straightened him up and patted his little head. "There much better."

It was so cute. XD Riven has been my mom's favorite since I got him home.

 

Heh this is where my irony comes in.
My mom thinks they're a waste of money, she makes it a point to tell me so whenever she has the opportunity. She's also told me I need to "grow up and stop playing with dolls".
My dad, who was a bit of a monster when I was younger, likes them. He likes anything artistic I do.

 

My parents have also told me that "I need to grow up"....specially since I also "waste" time and money on videogames (and books ). And not behaving like a "lady" should...
I've never given them any sort of trouble, though....but still.
(the fact that my mom thinks my Leekeworld's Mikhaila is ugly doesn't help at all xD....and my father finds it disturbing that she is anatomically complete...)

 

My mum doesnt' like it when I get -more- dolls.. but after they're home, she likes them and is always looking for random items for them when she goes to craft shops and otherwise

 

My dad is still a little wary of me and my hobby, but after four years I think my mom's finally supportive of it. She's been helping me coordinate Taobao agents, PayPal payments, etc. for basically everything I've done for Lenny so far. She even points out which dolls she's seen that she thinks are cute!

 

It's encouraging to see that a lot of people have grown to like the dolls once they see them in person. I'm still looking for mine and have only told my old roomie and boyfriend about getting one really. They are both ok with it, which is good..and surprisingly the boyfriend said that rather than looking for the cheapest to just find one that I will really like...I'm not sure he knows how expensive they are! x3 That is one thing I am nervous about especially around my family. I don't want the "you spend HOW much on a doll?!" but I will probably stretch the truth and tell them only the price before faceup, shipping, ect.

 

Even though I'm saving and planning to buy my first BJD, my mom was like; "You need to grow up. That price is ridiculous." And then after looking them up herself she was like "Wow, I might buy one myself." Which made me look at her crazy. She's still not to keen on me spending money on dolls but I think she might grow use to it once I have one around. My sister takes it fairly well since she draws and loves to sew and make things. The rest of the family beyond that point think I'm weird.

 

Saying the word 'doll' around my mother is pretty much the biggest mistake ever.. but I guess I'm to blame for that. e.e

I have the tenancy to talk about a specific doll and how nice it looks and in her mind, at least... that means I'll be buying it. (...Yeah, it just happened twice. But... she doesn't really remember I bought them. When they show up I'm sure she'll have something to say.)

She tolerates them and gives them stupid nicknames but absolutely hates the price. She laughed at the fact I spent $9 dollars on some cheapy MSD shoes and said she wouldn't even spend that on shoes for her porcelain dolls. x.o

If anything, I'm glad she understands that bjds aren't toys.. but I just wish she'd stop balking at the price.

 

My mom once we started talking today about re-arranging my room after my B-day next week I took the plunge in mentioning my Yuz and the retailer I wanna get him from having Layaway...She said I could make a downpayment after taking care of something.

 

my sis is supportive since she's a doll owner too. but my other family members (mom and bro) think that i should quit buying and i need to save money lol. well, 4 dolls are enough for me i guess =p

 

My mom doesn't seem to mind. She thinks my boy is pretty, but she's not very interested. My stepdad, however, is all into helping me make things for Ivan He even taught me how to do beadwork so I can make jewelry and other things.

 

My family is tolerant of my hobby, but mostly they just don't get it. My mom still treats my dolls like they're toys, my dad still tells me I have too many, my sister thinks they're pretty but she doesn't really understand my obsession with them LOL They all still tease me about the dolls being my children, though, which really ticks me off, because I just don't see them that way.

 

I guess my parents are not really opinionated about my dolls. They tolerate them and see them as a hobby of mine. For sewing clothes etc. But when I brought over my first doll, my mom asked me if he was my new boyfriend My sister's supportive and she became a doll owner as well.

 

I think my sis doesn't even know about them. And if she knew, she wouldn't care ... she knows by now I do weird things. (Don't get me wrong, we're fond of each other, but we're just super different. I spend my money on dolls and LARP, she spends hers on label handbags and a matching pair of shoes for every outfit she owns ...)
Le Dad is sceptical, but he's sceptical about everything that costs money without appearing "useful" to him. He does tolerate them ... well, as I'm an adult and living on my own with my bf, my parents don't really have anything to do with what I do anymore. He might get the point after he actually sees all the things I make for the dolls; he's a very creative and crafty person himself (I had my own little corner in his basement workshop as a kid and was his faithful apprentice for ages ) and he might just realize they're a focus for my own creativity. (He was sceptical about LARP when I first started, too, but started giving me little useful things for my birthdays a few years later, so I'm not really sure yet how it will turn out with the dolls. I can almost see him going back to doll furniture making when he retires next year, he used to do that a lot for the dolls we had as kids.)
Mom asked about my doll once or twice when said doll was new. She's pretty supportive actually (though not very outspoken about it); she knows how happy the dolls make me, and that's "useful" enough to gain her approval. We went fabric shopping together and she asked me to bring my doll when we visited them for xmas so that she could see her in person. She used to sew for the dolls my sis and I had when we were little, so she knows why I'm having so much fun making clothes for BJDs.

 

my family is fine with it, they buy me toys for holidays (my 29th bday last year I got a monster high doll and some other toys haha) my fiance doesn't care, he thinks that some of the dolls are nice but not worth all this money, he still bought me one because he's cool like that. He might change his mind on the money part once my girl gets here, I was talking to him about getting her a boyfriend and even showed him which doll I wanted, he wasn't surprised or negative and he liked my choice

I'm really lucky to have people like them, my fiance bought me a lalaloopsy one year for our anniversary because her sew date was near the date of it. Some people think I need to grow up but I ask "why?" being an adult is stressful, it's nice having a moment where you can sit, play and forget that you're a grown up for a bit. My mom is really excited about my doll, I've been talking to her about my plans and she really loves it, she thinks it sounds like fun and even gives me ideas. I love it I honestly couldn't believe my fiance bought the doll, I figured he'd think I was crazy for wanting to buy a blank doll at that price.

 

i may not own a bjd yet but i will soon,BUT i do owns loads of anime figures. my mom has gotton better over the years but still tells me i waste my money on them when i could be saving that money. my dad enjoys looking at them and taking pictures^^ little sister likes to have a list of what she wants when i die !!! hahahah but i enjoy it^^

 

My mother doesn't interact with my dolls. She doesn't seem to have any negativity towards them, but she doesn't show an interest in them.
My grandmother likes dolls and I've shown her one or two of my BJDs before, she liked them but again didn't express interest after that.

Honestly, I just want someone in my family who'll sew stuff and do crafts with me and include my dolls in that as a way to bond, but no-one in my family is even vaguely that homely and whimsical.

Yes! This is exactly what I love about this hobby.

 

This is what I always say! I completely agree with you. I am pretty new to "adulthood" (I'm 19), but since starting college I have been unhealthily stressed, resulting in feeling exhausted all the time and catching nearly every illness that decides to visit the campus. I'm just waiting for my hair to start falling out. Dolls provide a temporary escape from everything and help me to focus on something other than grades and responsibility for a while.

My mom, who is supportive of everything I do, is supportive of my doll hobby. She and my grandmother both buy me clothes for some of my non-BJDs for holidays and whatnot, and actually think doll collecting is a cool hobby. I imagine that they'll do the same for my first BJD when she arrives. My mom does think the price point for BJDs is outrageous, but since it's my money and she knows how excited I am about receiving her she hasn't made a big deal out of it. She is the only one who knows how much the doll cost, and as far as I know the only one who knows I ordered her at all. She has agreed to tell no one how much I paid for her haha.

My teenage brother has mentioned he thinks my doll collecting is juvenile, but surprisingly doesn't talk to me about it often. Usually he likes to torture me about any oddities in my personality or lifestyle, but he rarely says anything about my collection. Maybe that means he's finally maturing?

Other than those 3, no one knows about my doll collection. If my dad knew, he'd probably blow a fuse. I live with my mom (they are divorced) so unless my brother runs his mouth my secret should be safe. My dad is very logical, to the point that I would consider it a fault, though I would never tell him that to his face. He is already upset that I am not pursuing a career as a doctor or lawyer, and would be horrified if he knew how much money I spent on my Iplehouse BID. If he knew I spent a large chunk of my Christmas money on a doll, I have a feeling I would see a significant decrease in the amount of money he gave me for holidays hahaha.

 

My mother doesn't "get" it, but she is 71. From the time I was older than 6 or 7, I would hear, "Put that doll down, you are too big to play with dolls!" It later changed to, "You will never amount to anything playing with a doll all the time!" I'm a self taught knitter & crocheter, naturally I dress my dolly loves in hand-mades. I am commissioned by Ashton-Drake Galleries to dress their baby lines that wear knitted & crocheted outfits... my mother had to eat her words after I was taken to IDEX all expenses paid as ADG's designer! She will now give her opinion on an outfit I'm making or the little one wearing it.

My hubby is indifferent but supportive. He would NEVER tell me no, because he too has a hobby he is very passionate about (DR Who collecting) which can cost as much as a BJD! We married between our JR & SR years of high school & 20 years later, are each others best friend. He will listen to me talk about dolls & pretend to enjoy the clothes I make I listen to him talk about the DR's and pretend to admire his new Sonic Screwdriver!

My 3 grown children know "mom likes dolls" & really don't care one way or the other. My daughter (19) isn't "into" them but likes looking at the pics on Tumbler & Flickr. She is borderline obsessed with the Korean culture and enjoys them for the Asian works of art they are. She is in the Army & said when she gets to Korea & Japan, that she'll take my wish list! LOL!

 

My parents are not really excited about the BJD hobby, mainly because of the money that goes into it to get things and how much a doll costs, something my dad is having trouble understanding, and me telling them about my how much my BJD cost didn't help either and they even made a new rule about me only getting one doll, but after a few days they are starting to get more comfortable and a little bit more understanding about the hobby, which is good. My friends are a bit more supportive about my hobby though, but overall, I am happy about everyones reactions because it could have been worse.