Too young for the hobby?

I don't think about so much about age or maturity as it is about commitment. I first learned about dollfies 2 or 3 years before I ever bought one. With so many dolls on the market, and with such varied looks, it took me about a year to even find one I would actually be willing to spend that much money on. I think it's perfectly okay for a younger person to own one of these dolls if they also spent those years learning about the hobby and preparing for doll ownership. But I highly doubt that girl you met on the street even remembered the doll in a couple months (kids are fickle like that). Considering it can take months or years to even save up for one doll, and that the shipping from over seas can take a month or more, it's just not the kind of thing you decide to get after talking to someone for 10 minutes.

 

I guess like everyone says, it really depends on the maturity of the individual.
You can be interested in this hobby from a young age and if they save up using ALL their own money I guess all is fair. (If they manage to past that test I guess they've proven they really want one, and are ready for it, most 12-16 year olds can't get jobs where I live)

Having said all that, for me personally; I see this as more of an adult hobby, and therefore would not be encouraging any young people I know to get one.

 

For me, BJDs are luxury items and I don't see any reasons why parents should pay such a thing that they might not be willing to pay just because youngsters can't get a job =_=....

As for myself, my parents don't give me gift very often, and when they do, it usually something cheap (not that I don't appreciate the gift anyway), so my own upbringing might have colored my view towards expensive gift.

 

I don't really understand the problem here. BJDs are inanimate objects. They are incapable of feelings and there's no moral/legal devices in place concerning BJD abuse/neglect. It seems people go on a crusade for BJDs: who should own them, what can and can't be done with them, the cheap vs. expensive debate, unlimiteds vs. limiteds.

Let's get priorities straight here. I had a horse when I was 12. I fed it, groomed it, looked after her hooves, rode her, kept tackle in top shape. Many of my friends did the same thing. Horses are living creatures, capable of experiencing pain through neglect. Dolls can't. A person should be free to run a steamroller over a BJD without inciting comment.

 

Awesome. This is so true. Dolls feel zero emotion. If people want to spend money on a doll and proceed to destroy it well...its not anyone's business. The doll will never complain

 

Hehe, I got my first BJD when I was 11

and I knew already that they were fragile,can turn yellow,etc.

I guess, some kids would research about the dolls first,and would know more about them before they purchase themselves a BJD,
so I dont really think theres anything to worry about.

though, I think it depends from kid to kid.. o-o

 

if she wants to buy her daughter a several hundred dollar doll that's her peragative, no one elses. she obvisouly feels her daughter could handle it.

just cause your young or old doesn't matter. i've had 27 years olds break the ears off my doll for being stupid and immature. and 3 year olds take the greatest care of them even when trying to push it's eyes out to eat.

if she wants to get it and her daughter treat it like an american girl doll that's all fine and dandy. nothing wrong with a kid having a bjd nor playing with a bjd.

 

I think kids can have BJD if it's in the budget. I would have totally loved them as a pre-teen (and would have taken very good care of one!), though my family never could have afforded one for me. But owning and playing with the dolls isn't a problem for me. Dolls are toys, at the heart of it.

Being part of "the hobby" is different, though, because it seems like a large part of it is about the social interaction and the community... and by and large, I think it's very possible to be too young for the hobby aspects.

In general, I don't think it's appropriate for children to be at adult meetups... it's either socially awkward because there's a chaperone or it's awkward because the host is left as babysitter. I went to a meetup with some tweens and young teens present... and I felt like I was babysitting and didn't really enjoy it. A lot of kids think they're really mature, but even the most mature kid is still just a kid... and that changes the interactions between the adults.

I also think that really young kids shouldn't be using a lot of the toxic/sharp/dangerous materials involved in customization. Sewing is fabulous, but using power tools or cancer-causing sealants is not so great while their bodies are still developing.

I don't think that kids should be poking around online without parental supervision, even on DoA. Kids definitely shouldn't be getting involved in doll buying/selling transactions.

 

8-12 would definitely not be an age range I'd be comfortable with having a BJD. I gave one of my nieces a beloved doll(fashion, but still) that I'd had for over 10 years. Her mother had assured me that she knew how to take care of dolls and that she never mistreated them. Not even a week later that doll's hair was a complete rat's nest and her limbs were chewed, clothes 'lost'. It made me want to cry.

 

I don't know if it really matters if the child is mature enough, honestly. When a parent buys anything for their child, they take the gamble of whether or not their child will take care of it. If the child abuses the doll, its tragic but it was purchased with her to do with as she pleases. *shrug*

 

armeleia I totally understand where you're coming from here and have to agree with you, even though I am only 16 myself.

when I attend certain meetups I explain that I am a younger doll enthusiast because I know not everyone feels comfortable around teenagers in the doll community. I've been asked to not attend meetups because of my age and I am okay with that. from appearances and probably my personality I must seem very immature and probably would make a crowd of 30-something BJD owners uncomfortable at a meetup because they would think they have to babysit me or something.

but I think it's the other way around as well. for me, as one of the youngest BJD people in my area, there is a little bit of awkwardness because everyone else is older and I haven't been in the hobby as long as other people. Because this is considered an "adult" hobby, I think many adults deem anyone under 18 (or sometimes as old as 25) as "too young" for BJDs, no matter what their maturity level is.

I own 3 dolls (all of which I've bought with my own money and sewed their clothes by hand), I have planned meetups, I've helped friends who didn't research AT ALL about BJDs take care of theirs, and I've started making my own doll. ever since I was little I've been considered mature, but not everyone is like me. I think owning a BJD should be a case by case sort of thing. some kids are mature and some aren't. the same thing goes for adults. so I honestly don't think we should base everything off of age.

so, for actually collecting the dolls? I think over 10 years old is a safe age for some kids. for attending meetups? around 16. I didn't start going to meetups until this year and even then I sometimes feel too young at meetups (because I bring my mom with me)

 

I agree with the people who say you should have to save up for it first. I keep hearing people say things like "Well my parents don't buy me WHOLE dolls," and it makes me wonder if they realize how entitled that sounds. The fact that they put any money towards dolls at all, or that individuals feel as if they deserve one (not an attitude I've spotted here, but in IRL meets) just shocks me.

But of course, every expensive hobby have people in it who are there to show off, so to speak. For the status of owning a high-end item just so they can say they do. In my experience these people don't stick around long anyway; they aren't that interested in the doll, just in being able to say "OH this? Yes, this cost $500." Though that applies whether they bought it themselves or not. They'll eventually drop from the hobby, sell their doll (or lock it in a closet somewhere) and move on.

I try not to focus on it. Though admittedly I do feel uncomfortable around younger people with my dolls. I can't help but think they don't really appreciate owning a luxury item like this. They've never had to set aside bits at a time while trying to pay rent and feed themselves, you know? I suppose part of me feels like "Damnit, I struggled for mine, so you should too!" Which is unfair to a degree, though I think it increases how much you appreciate something when you had to work hard on your own to obtain it.

 

And as a counter-point to this... My god-daughter, who's also in that age range, has had a pair of MiniFees of her own for a couple of years now (The first was a gift from her mom and I, the second she paid for half of herself-) and they're in very good shape. She treats them as well as I treat me own dolls, and I've never had reservations at all about allowing her to handle anything in my collection.

But... and this is the big thing... she's mature for her age. She knows what the dolls are worth, and she's always been very careful with her things, so her dolls have never been in any danger of mistreatment. Her mom and I knew before we gave her the first one that she would take care of it.

 

@ the OP: Holy crap, another Townsvillian! 8D Awesome!!! How are you enjoying the rain? Lol!

It most certainly depends on the individual. There are some incredibly mature twelve year olds out there and I also believe that if that person can save their own funds and do the time out to research and prepare themselves for a doll, then they can go for gold. (At least, if I were to ever have children and this case arose, this would be how I'd treat it)

Back in the day when I was 12? Hell no. I was far too irresponsible as a child.

 

I personally couldn't see myself owning a BJD at 12, but I think if 16 is too young to own a doll, I hope I never see that person out on the roads driving. These are just expensive pieces of resin, nothing living and nothing dangerous (don't get technical, I know everything is "dangerous" in some way). I honestly think if you get upset after seeing someone screw a doll up, you need to step back a moment.

If you are old enough to hold a job, save up your money, research about BJDs, make the decision that having a doll is right for you and then order said doll...yeah, you're mature enough to buy it. These aren't homemade bombs, they aren't guns, they aren't drugs (well... :3), these aren't cars; they are not going to be taken into a public, or private, place and commit a heinous crime, or be used in a reckless fashion by the majority of their owners. Most of the people who are in this hobby are mature.

I think some of us doll enthusiasts can get a bit worked up over these dolls because we love them so much, I'm guilty of it too. But to only consider this hobby as an adult hobby is, in my opinion, plain old stupid. I am very big in the horse hobby, I owned 2 myself and have over 18 years experience, and yes I cringed when I would see some idiot purchase a hot-blooded arab for their 4 year old but did we call our horse hobby only for adults? No. So why should dolls reign up there on the level of living things or dangerous things? I guess some people just get jaded because dolls are their main "thing". Doesn't mean you can say 14 year old Sally next door isn't mature enough to own a LE if she has saved her money, researched and made her best decision. It depends on the individual, not the adults that "control" this hobby.

Just my opinion, I respect those that contradict mine. ^^

 

I'm sixteen, and I've been in love with BJDs since I was thirteen. I do have to admit though, I was far too immature for one back then. Would have disappeared in the abyss of my pubescent bedroom.

 

I had my first doll when I was 10-11, and made my first online transaction for a secondhand doll when I was 12, all by myself. I saved up for weeks, and was happy for both, but ended up selling them due to not bonding.
It really depends on the kid. Like others have mentioned, some adults can be very immature too. At meets, talking to adults is no problem with me. Even at age 11. However, I looked old for my age, and the platform boots must have said something.

 

I am 13 years old and I think that is perfectly old enough to own a bjd. When I was 8 i saved up for my own american girl doll, and she is still in great condition. When I got my first bjd I was 12 and I saved all of my money to buy her. I rersearched how to take care of her and everything. She still looks brand new without a scratch or stain! I dont think age is the right way to catergoize maturaity, I think it should be catergorized on how you treat your other stuff.

 

I was fourteen when I bought my first doll, I'm fifteen now and I think I'm mature enough to handle it. Age really isn't a factor as much as maturity is, my mother only allowed me to buy the doll after making sure it was what I wanted. She knows I'm pretty mature for my age, sometimes she forgets I'm as old as I am. >.>

As long as they can handle the fact these dolls take a lot of work, I'm okay with it.

 

Okay kidos and I do use the term with love and endearment. You guys are shining examples of maturity for your age and that is wonderful. HOWEVER the fact remains that most of your peers would lack the same maturity. I wouldn't trust a 16 year old with my collectable dagger or comics let alone a hunk of plastic worth several hundred dollars.

Most children no matter what the age will break the things they have and expect mommy or daddy to replace it for them. I have seen it time and time again....