Is it "wrong" to let younger kids have BJDs?

I feel the need to add an alternative viewpoint from a teenager, apart from KiyoshiSenshi's post. While I understand that personal experience can colour your view of children, simply blanketing them as unfit owners is excessive. Mature debate consists of being able to see outside a limited, day-to-day experience and be aware that that may not be the norm, and thus avoid sweeping generalisations. Kudos on being able to save on your own!

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I got into BJDs at 15, and have both dolls which I saved for myself (pocket money, though... still technically parents' money) and paid for by my parents (yes, I am one of those "Daddy I want a dolly!" kids). I see nothing wrong with parents buying their children expensive luxury objects, especially in the more affluent society of today. Whether the child learns to appreciate such objects depends entirely on its nature and upbringing. I have had people online telling me I sound beyond my years, so it really boils down to an individual.

Myself -- I've been one of the luckier people to be born in a relatively plentiful country, with parents who don't mind forking out for luxury goods. I've also had branded goods from young, and won't deny that most things I own are on the expensive side, including dolls. Yet I am careful with my dolls/branded bags/electronics, and they're in excellent condition. There will be some people who argue that spoiling a child with unnecessary lavishness is uncalled for, but I see no harm if said child is well-educated and self-aware.

While I certainly can think of other teenage collectors who are like that, this is too much of a general assumption with which to paint everyone in. Ultimately, the parents know their children well enough to make a decision to buy them luxury items; and as they say, maturity and age may not correlate. I feel that perhaps, having a child earn these privileges (e.g. showing they know how to handle and look after a doll) will help in making sure they actually appreciate it. Being aware of how incredibly lucky we all are to be able to afford luxury goods also goes a long way. My own parents justify these dolls as rewards for me - I am in a highly competitive education system, just aced the A Levels, and am among top 10% of students set to enter a prestigious university. I am not saying that I am wholly entitled to have large expensive chunks of resin; instead, I'm grateful that my parents also appreciate and reciprocate my efforts to do them proud and love me enough to want to give me something that they know I enjoy.

Of course monetary rewards are just one such incentive to encouraging a child to do well, and other parents would surely have their own respective reasons for indulging their children. It might even help the parent-child bonding process by being able to share a common interest, as well as teaching the child responsibility (much like having a pet). My dad is not one for dolls, but he helps me make furniture and teaches me photography for doll pictures.

 

I think it depends on the child. Some might not be mature enough but others very well may be. I think it
just depends.

 

Yeah, depends on the kid. But I would never risk it. I've seen adult owners flop dolls around and it makes me cringe. I can only imagine how a smaller child might behave with one. I would never hand my own personal doll to a kid, unless it was my kid and I thought her how to handle it (and only in my sight).

 

My son is three and he plays with my dolls all the time. I have a tiny Hujoo Suve that he's allowed to play with anyway he likes and a few more main stream dolls he's given a full pass to as well. He loves my resins, but he's not allowed to handle them without supervision. Mostly he brushes Aisling's hair and poses them on the couch (he has an amazing eye for detail) or helps me dress them or chase the cats out of photo-shoots. If he was rough with them then I wouldn't let him handle them like that, but considering he's gentler with them than I am I'm not that concerned.

I think if you're comfortable with it, go for it.

 

I have two girls, ages 8 and 11. Honestly, a kid's main function is to learn, through play, school, reading, etc., etc. So, if a child admires special objects like bjds, I think s/he will focus and learn how to handle them. My girls are extremely careful with our bjds and I really appreciate that they help me keep the West Texas dust away by fluffing and brushing them. They know these dolls are treated a special way; the difference between the fine china at holidays and the plastic cups for the backyard. Granted, I would not let some of their friends handle my dolls; I would not let some of MY friends handle my dolls. But, I would not enjoy my bjds so much if my girls could not interact with them; it is an expensive and time consuming hobby...with so many good applications for children, especially sewing and art techniques. When my girls are grown up, I will still have our dolls to play with; and the dolls will have soaked up beautiful childhood energy & memories. That will be good medicine for old age!

 

I agree it depends on the child. I have a friend who has two girls an 11 year old and a 9 year old. They both have dolls and take really good care of their dolls. My friend usually has talks with the girls to make sure they are taking care of them right and they don't go to their dads. house. Before she baught the girls their dolls, she made sure it was age appropriate and baught them less expensive 30 dollar small baby bjd's first in order to test them out if they would take care of the dolls properly. I see nothing wrong with giving a child a bjd however, I know I wouldnt give a child one until they were about 9 or 10.

 

I know that almost everyone has been saying this, but it totally depends on who that child is. Of course at some ages, it doesn't really matter what their personality is. they just aren't old enough.

but I'm 13 and I would be thrilled to get the doll that I am currently saving up for, and would take excellent care of it, but other kids my age wouldn't. Usually if they realize the worth of something, especially if they are willing to save up for it themselves, they are ready. Sometimes, however, a kid might realize that the doll that they got for their birthday (just as an example) is really expensive and all that, but mistreat it all the same.

 

Absolutely it depends on maturity, mostly because these dolls are expensive. Something that costs $200+ should be taken care of properly. If a child can do that, fine. However, its important to remember that at the very basics, these doll are toys or collectors items. They can be played with because of their ball joints. And there are more inexpensive bjds out there if you want to share the Hobby with your children but don't want to risk destruction.

 

I think I agree with most of the people who say "It all depends on the child." I have a 12 year old daughter and we are sharing our first doll who will be here in about 50 more days. I felt like getting into the hobby together would give us something to bond over as mother and daughter. It also helped me justify the cost of the hobby whereas I couldn't see myself spending so much on just myself or just her.

If I had unlimited money would I give her a doll of her own? Probably not right off. I feel like I need to teach her how to care for the doll and how it can be played with but how you also need to treat it differently then a doll you get at Target or Toys-R-Us.

 

In my personal opinion, I don't think a younger child should have a BJD. I see the BJDs as a collector doll that is expensive and something that is valuable. And for a child to know about how to take care of one, they must first learn the value of it. That's how I feel and to others I may seem wrong, but oh well. I just get irratated when I see 9 and 11 year olds with youtube videos up about their BJDs lol and here I am a 25 year old collecting them too...lol

 

It all depends on the kids. If they are really fond of BJD dolls and know how to take care of them, we can let the kids have the BJD Dolls. Meanwhile, it can help to foster good character.

 

Sounding like a broken record, but it REALLY depends on the mindset of the child/teen in question.

For example, if it had been implied I wasn't mature enough for a BJD when I was 15, I would've been really resentful -- I knew full well how to take care of valuables, and I was pretty mature for my age. Yet, my little sister is 15 now, and she destroys everything she touches (I'll spare you all the list, but if I took the value of everything she's wrecked all together, I could buy myself a few Volks/Soom limiteds). I would NEVER get her something valuable like a BJD, not for a long while.

 

I don't think it depends on the mindset of the child in any way.

I don't think 'right' or 'wrong' comes into play at all. I can see this debate when it's about owning a pet, because then it concerns the welfare of a living creature. I can't see what 'right' or 'wrong' has to do with owning any object, including a doll.

The only proviso I have when it comes to kids and BJDs is that there are health hazards involved for younger kids, since dolls do have small parts.

But if I want to give a child a BJD to break, and I can afford the BJD and I know there isn't any health risk if he does break it to pieces, then it's my business if I do so. It's not 'right' or 'wrong'.

I personally may think it's stupid to give a destructive, clumsy or careless child an expensive gift which they're likely to lose and/or damage, but ultimately it's the parents' decision whether they want to waste money on dolls. Or want to dress their six-year-olds in $350 designer dresses with $200 shoes and a pair of diamond stud earrings when they go to the playground.

On a grand scale, you could argue it's morally 'wrong' for any of us to own BJDs when people are starving elsewhere in the world. Whether we put them in cabinets or cut them in pieces and tattoo them with felt tip pens.
But if you leave out that type of moralising, then it's ultimately up to the parents.

 

I am going to have to go with most of the people it really depends. I have a 5 year old niece who loves all my dolls and is extremely careful with them. She even knows not to keep it out in the sun for more then a half an hour or less. She always asks me politely and plays with them very carefully and knows how to put the hair back on if it falls off.

I really think it comes down to how mature the child is with things, my other niece is not allowed to play with the dolls even though she is 7 simply because she is to careless. Grant it I would not buy a doll for a child under the age of 10 and they would really have to continuously take an active interest in it.

 

Like most have said, it depends on the child.

There are kids out there who have pets they take good care of, and hobbys they are really into and proud of.
Some kids are just good with things like that. Others not so much. They don't have the skills to know how to take care of things that well yet. It's really up to the parent to decide if a doll like this is appropriate for their child. Even if the parent spent $800 for a doll, it was there choice with their money. Maybe the kid will only like it for a year or have it laying around. But some parents could care less, to them it's just a doll. An expensive toy for the moment. Other people would expect the child to take awesome care of it and might even take it away from them until they're a teenager lol. That happened to me. As a kid my mom had these glass miniature Merry Go Rounds, that played music. I broke one and I proved I couldn't take care of delicate things. Im glad she didn't just let me have them, because I wasn't ready, I didn't know how to take good care of things.

That was her judgement call, and like I said it all comes down to 'Does the parent care what the child does with an expensive item?' And like I said, not all children are dumb and can't take care of things. Lots of kids have pets that are their responsibility, and nice collections they look after and are so proud of. So it's not really fair to say all children are sloppy and irresponsible.

 

I probably wouldn't buy one for my child unless I knew they were mature enough to take care of it, but I do think there are some cases where it is irresponsible to let the child have one. For example, I saw a thread where someone was restoring a RS Rong after a 13-year-old had completely messed it up. And by messed it up, I mean sanded the face with no one's knowledge, drawn on it with sharpies, and it had oil stains. IMO, that child was not only not mature enough to own a BJD, she was putting herself in harm's way by sanding it and probably without a respirator. That's my main beef with people buying dolls for children.

 

Think that it's individual. But I think that BJDs are little more expensive to children under 13 yrs.

 

I personally don't think a hobby should be limited to any one age group/sex etc. I know BJDs are very expensive for a kid, but there are a lot more mature and careful children these days and as long as they are prepared to work really hard to get one, then why shouldn't they. I was given my Sasha doll when I was tiny and she is in brilliant quality for her age xD

 

I do think it depends on the child...I have cousins who for fun broke my toys when I was little...When I was around four I came home from spending the day with my aunt and I saw their coats on the floor and my grandpa saying he let them into my room (my grandfather's greatest joy for years was making my life miserable.) and when I ran to my room which I had been screamed at and yelled at hours the day before by my mother as I cleaned it up was trashed and my cousins were laughing and showed me a doll I loved they had ripped the head off. They were so proud of themselves as I broke down into tears.

My mother then put a lock on my door so they couldn't get in even if they tried and their dad told one of my cousins to stand in a corner (the younger one) and my oldest one had to apologize to me whilst he was getting spanked. If I had BJD's as a little girl I would've taken care of them whenever my childhood self is brought up the first thing everyons said was: "You always took such good care of your stuff. Nothing was really broken except by outside parties or by accident." and it's true. I was a bit of a klutz in certain shoes but I would always turn myself around and get bruised up to protect whatever I was holding.


If I had a BJD my cousins and ex-friends would've destroyed it just to see me upset and then mentioned it laughing for years.

So yeah it depends on the child. Hell I know plenty of ADULTS I wouldn't even allow to handle my dolls, I don't even let my little cousins touch my Monster High dolls or my sewing table. They get a quick look but then it's outta my room. When I get my MSD she's going back into her pillow and box and up on a high shelf that I wouldn't even be able to reach her without assistance when relatives come a calling.

But I also know of kids who are really gentle with their things and animals too....My youngest cousin whilst she plays rough she's so gentle to my dog who spooks easily that he loves her. She pets him and kisses him and he doesn't let people touch him without flinching but her? No flinching.

So yes...It does depend on the kids...As it is most of my teenage cousins are hellions who still break things to get at each other. They WOULD knock over a computer if it meant they could get a laugh out of it. A BJD? "Hey bro! Let's see how Storm reacts when we break it!"

I like to assume my cousins are smart enough now not to do that.....But I lost faith years ago in THOSE two.


But I'm also smart enough to know that not all kids are like they were when we were younger. There's kids who have BJD's and take care of them or have porceleon dolls that they collect and care for.

Do I think a 200 dollar doll needs to be bought for a child? Not really....There's plenty of cheaper dolls that still look lovely and won't be easily broken. Big Obitsu's, little Obitsu's, Hujoo's (12 cm, Berry, Jake, 44 cm Dana and Sara for example) but again it depends on the child. I'm also thinking resin yellows and a kid might wanna be able to leave their doll in a sunny spot without worrying about it getting messed up.

Daaamn that's a long post up there.....Sorry I'm a bit tired and some of the recent replies made my blood boil.....

I better go to bed....Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's posting on this thread!

 

Even if the child is careful and well behaved. (Havent seen one in years though)

I do not think they should be able to have a BJD.
Even if they are careful and a good kid.
I dont think a child should have anything that costs over 50$ unless its like one of those big cars they can drive around in or one of those plastic playhouses.

I Think it would get them accustomed to thinking they have to have expensive things to be happy.
"oh my mommy bought me a 200$ doll for my 5th birthday, so now i have to have a 500$ doll for my 6th or else its not good enough"

Is how the majority of kids think these days.
Or at least how pretty much every single student at the elementary i substituted at thought. =/
Its really pathetic how much parents spoil their children these days and then if they misbehave they dont get disciplined at all, only more toys to shut them up, or hand em off to a nanny.