Is BJD really just for adults? And adults, what do you think of kids who like them?

I am doing the same, however, since kids are kids and can be clumsy sometimes - I'm actually getting her an obitsu, so if she does accidentally drop it, it will survive
I totaly trust this kid, which is why I am going to be buying her one.
As for teenagers: I see no harm, I'm sure they have seen a nude body before after-all
Of course, I am not speaking for all teen-agers!
Besides, kids have grown up with Barbie, and more recently Bratz, they have boobies too!

 

I was insulted by that and I'm classified as an adult. I'm 19. I don't think that it's just for "adults" and adult can be misleading too. I know a lot of Adults that arn't mature and plenty of people younger than 18 that are very mature. It kinda peeves me though that kids without any kind of income (like your etsy shop Lexeh) have dolls from their parents. You just better be THE BEST BEHAVED KID EVER. And really love your doll

 

Im 15, and i do my dolls own faceups,sewing and photoshots. i dont think im younge for this hobby at all.i dont think 13 is younge for this either just as long as your mature. i know a younger girl who has a pocket fairy (tiny) and she takes good care of it. shes about 13.

 

I started likeing bjds when i was 13 it just took me a few years to raise to money at 13 i didnt really try but then i started babysitting and mowing lawns haha,i think its fine for any one atleast middle school age to like bjds.aslong as there pretty mature whith them and understand there value. sorrry im posting right after i just did i didnt get out all i wanted to say XD

 

When I was 14, I was taking adult-level painting and drawing classes (my mom rules for shoehorning me in!), and out-performing the adults around me in every way. The experience raised my confidence and self-worth, which needed it badly as I was a very shy and passive kid, and I was thrilled to find that I got along very well with people who were older than me. I was also ended up attending university as a full-time student at the age of 17...and yes, participating fully, including drawing from nude models in 3-hour studio classes, still out-performing the older students surrounding me (I was labeled a prodigy, yes vxv)

So yeah - totally depends on the individual. And people who judge and measure other people based on criteria like age, ethnic extraction, or gender? Need a serious attitude adjustment and reality check.

 

Neiko, I agree.
My mum and I split the price (she's so amazing. I love her to death) with my money from various jobs I've done, and you know...her money.
And ever since I've gotten her I've treated her like the prized, amazing, beautiful doll she is.
If a child gets a doll as a pure GIFT from a loving mum or dad, PLEASE be on your best behavior! Always!
Otherwise, save up doing whatever you can (I only just became legal to get a real, steady job~Guess what I'm going to be doing this next week? Looking for a job.).

 

What an interesting topic, haha.

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When i got introduced to the topic, i never really expected such an age vary in the hobby. I'm 13 right now, I got my first doll when I was 12 and now I'm going to be ording another doll near the end of September/early November.

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Of course, age was never stopped me from doing what I liked (excluding things that you have to be like 18+ for). I actually, have problems with people who are always "You're how old!?" and of course, I get that more then you can imagen! I tend to ignore it now.

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Though, im getting alittle off-topic, so back to the dolls. I dont think there is really much of an age restriction to them. As long as you love them and take good care of them, age doesnt matter, does it? I do my doll's face-ups, and make him clothing, even though I'm planning to send him away for a prof. face-up.
To the post above, my doll was a gift, and the one im getting is also a gift, both from my parents. They are really amazing, im not a true suck to my parent but i'd say i'm far from a bad child, i love both my parents alot. (that sounds so weird, haha.)

 

I'm 14, but I don't own one....yet~

I'm planning on buying one in a week, so I can concentrate on school for a while, but yes I'm kind of alone when it comes to this obsession; most kids in my school would give the light of day for the dolls, they are like '$300 for a doll?! You're crazy'

 

It’s been awhile since I have read or posted to this thread, and those who remember me at all (hopefully not many), are probably afraid that I am going to start the argument (whatever it was) all over. On the contrary, I am going to say my apologies and leave this thread.
I never had any intention of upsetting anyone with my first post, believe it or not. I didn’t think that anyone else had mentioned what everyone knew, that where children are present, censorship soon follows. To inject a little humor into the post, I made a suggestion – to not allow children to have BJDs—that was so absurd that I never expected that anyone would take it seriously. Some did. Ugly as they are, smilies do have their purpose.
When I made my post, I was thinking of censorship in terms of anatomically correct dolls, and didn’t that I was saying anything controversial in implying that the Europeans, on average, were more comfortable with nudity than Americans, and that the gulf is widening all the time. This observation was not necessary, and I pushed so many hot buttons that virtually no response had anything to do with my main point. I should have known better than to get into a debate on irrelevant side issues, but I was so surprised by being attacked from all sides that I responded without thinking, and soon became as impassioned as my attackers. I even got to point of going to french toy stores to inspect doll crotches!
In case there is any confusion over where I stand, I think it is great that the doll world is one of the only places where adults and children can safely enjoy a common interest without being glued to a television screen or computer monitor. Censorship of some sort is essential under the circumstances, and the owners of DofA have made it clear why the 13+ is necessary and going to stay. Many of us don’t like it, but it protects us adults too. I have an adult niece who was raped repeatedly at the age of five by an 11-year-old boy, and it would break my heart if she were to come across the rape and child molestation material that was just banned from DofA.
If I had to choose between the two, I would much rather have DofA be family-friendly than rape-friendly.
I am sorry for offending so many people and wasting so much of your time.

Osatta

 

I have fun with that "300 for a doll?! you're crazy!" arguement at school all the time. One word. Rednecks.

 

Hicktown is the word I usually prefer XDD
I get struck by that conversation way too often, even though I don't even go to my old hicktown school anymore >.> (I attend an Arts Magnet in Dallas ww)

 

Well, I was about 13 when my sister got her first BJD and 14 when I got my first. My sister found out about them 8 years ago, when she was in her early teens.

I don't get the 'you're HOW OLD?' question that often(I look my age), but I've been told since I was 8 or so that I'm very mature for my age. Or even more mature than many adults.

My parents bought my first doll for me but I first showed them how serious I was about them. They didn't want to spend 175$ or so on something I wouldn't like after a year and niether did I. I also said that she would be my only present for the whole year. They still got me some badly needed things, but Fleur was the only 'real' present.

Before I went to one of the local doll meets, I talked to one of the organizers. I told them I was pretty young for the hobby and that I wanted my mum to come with me to see what it was. The woman I was talking with guessed after I said that that I was 16. I was 14.

On the whole, I think I'm careful when exposing people, in particular kids younger or the same age as me, to my dolls, espcially if they seem very interested. I try to explain what the hobby is like, not just the cost, so they know.

I have a friend who is two years younger than me who I got interested in BJDs. She was looking forward to having one. When it later became apparent that she had dropped that plan, I asked her why. She said she really did like them and loves my two ones, but that she felt that she would just keep them in a case and look at them and that didn't sound like the hobby I had described.

I don't have a probelm with kids having BJDs, what I have a problem with is people acting very immature(on any forum) and not thinking through getting a BJD first.

 

Getting the money is sometimes harder when you're younger since it's harder to get a job, but I don't think anyone should go "nuuuuu! you must be 18 or older!" to an interested kid.

>_> Seeing how much I complain about people being morons about my doll hobby, any new member to the hobby is a good thing, IMO. Feels silly to try to exclude people for a superficial reason.

and I'm an immature adult so it's not like turning 18 makes anyone magically more mature or dedicated or something

 

I'm all for it because I have been around collecters all of my life and I find it a natural thing when a kid takes intrest in being apart of that world. If a kid is proven to be responible and caring toward anothers collection, and understands what kind of money goes into a "hobby" like ours, why not let that kid have a doll.

 

I don't think it's an age thing. Granted I just bought my BJD, but I didn't know about BJD's until about a year ago. Had I known about them as a kid/teen, I'm sure I would have wanted one and prbly had one prior to my current age, 24. But, this is coming from a girl who was brought up by a doll collector...

The thing holding the younger crowd back is the price, but with less expensive dolls like March and Isabella coming out, I think that might change.

My belief? Doll collectors can be any age they want as long as they have a passion for dolls!!!

 

hey, I'm 15 and i love BJDs and Blythes. I've always been a bit precocious though......

 

Doll people are doll people no matter what their age. My little cousin is desperate to get his hands on my 1/6 customs, so I'm giving him paper doll versions he can't accidently break or stain he's good with paper dolls, and an older lady I know picked up on Xavier being alive the moment she met him.

Younger kids want dolls that can cuddle and be squished, not something a resin can do, so if they want one of your dolls make a rag doll version. When they take more care of their fashion dolls then they might be ready for a real dolfie.

 

The only reasons I could think of that BJDs are classed as an "adult" hobby:

1. The price.
2. Nudity.
3. The ease with which one could fall in love with doing stuff with thier dolls and forget the existence of a reality. Which would be a major problem in kids still in school.
4. This is not true with most dolls, but sometimes if you stare at a very realistic doll (esp. the glassy-eyed variety) for a very long time, it starts to freak you out. The line between reality and fantasy is very thin with anatomically correct BJDs and imaginative children.

But of course, children should be allowed to play with BJDs if they're mature enough and they can afford it financially. They've played with Barbies and Kens since the dawn of time, so why not BJDs?

 

I think what makes it more of an "adult" hobby is just the amount of money involved.

My parents would never have bought or helped me buy a doll when I was fourteen and was first introduced to the hobby, and I didn't have an allowance or a job or anything like that growing up.

Now I'm 19, in college, and I can buy whatever I like with my paycheck. So it seems that there are more people who are financially secure that buy and own dolls, at least as far as I can tell, and those people tend to be adults. :P