Treat dolls like children, friend, or simply just as an inanimate object?

Treasured inanimate objects that I get emotionally attached to, and assign different personalities to is probably the best way to sum up how I feel about them.

 

I think I treat my dolls like children. >.<
For instance if they fall over, I run to them and make sure they are ok.
I stress out over taking them out cause I'm afraid they might get damaged.
I also talk to them before I go to bed..and tuck them in~ haha x)

 

Before getting into this hobby, I tended to talk a lot to something that wasn't there..
So now, I have a little ear to listen to all the little things no one else listens to.
His silence lets me know that he must not mind my company too much.
So.. friend, I guess

 

Personally, they're like my friendly children, i guess. I talk to alot of inanimate objects.
*at a grocery store* lalala-- *bumps into a pole* ow! err, S-sorr- that's a pole, isnt it. .-. *bumps into a table* sorry! *so on*

So i kinda talk to ciel, my MSD, in my head...
Ciel: Why are you putting a shirt with a Jabot(spelling?) on me? I look like a moron.
Me: it's a cravat, cieeel. and you look cute.
Ciel: No.
me: yes.
Ciel: Put me down, woman.
Me: Nuuu!
*ciel slumps over, headbutting me*
Me: GOD-- CIEL! that huuuuurt!
bro: were youjust talking to ciel?
Me: mo, of cource not.*sets her down*

... and i have no such affection for my off topic dollie. .-. not like i HATE her, but... she doesnt have the same place in m heart

 

Me babies!

After this first proposition is still not clear :p? I don`t think they are actually living beings, and when I don`t feel like dealing with a subburn poser they just go back on the shelfs.
But otherwise , I talk with them( just like with other inanimate objects) , I hug them and sometimes give them a kiss on the wig. But that `s just me.

Edit: I don`t love my procelain or living dead dolls this way.

 

I would love one but unfortunately I can't afford to keep it alive. I have very little money (can't buy lunch anymore!), definitely no more dollies for me :C
I really do love cats

 

I love my dolls and though I realize they're inanimate objects, they still should be taken care of. For instance, if their wigs or clothes get messy I'll fix it as soon as I can. Nobody wants a dirty, messy doll.

 

My doll is an inanimate object, but I still carry her around the house and set her up next to me while I'm working. She has a personality of her own because she's a character I've been RPing for a long time, albeit in a slightly more bovine form (World of Warcraft tauren >_>).

I talk to her, usually things like "Stop kicking me!" or "Please, please, please balance on one foot like a good girl..." but I don't expect answers, just like I wouldn't expect answers from my pet hamster.

I do fuss with her a lot, mess with her wig or her clothes or her posing, but generally she's just there to sit next to me and look pretty. I do want kids, but dolls (for me) are in no way a surrogate or a way of "practicing" for that relationship.

 

My boys are inanimate objects that I lovingly instilled character traits in, but when I'm not treating them as the puppets they rightly are in my world of make believe, then they are pretty things that decorate my rocking chair. I do not believe they're real, nor do I imagine them like children or friends. I tend to see them more as artworks that demand a certain level of maintenance and care. I treat them like they belong in a museum- not allowing light to get to them and being careful of what's in the air surrounding them. They are special to me and well loved, but are creatures of aesthetics and made-up dreams.

Do I speak to them? Well yes, sometimes...

Such as mild cursing at them as I struggle to restring with my less than steady hands. It is more of a frustration thing for me.

I do tend to talk to inanimate objects in general though in "think aloud" mode. I've been known to talk to a vase- "There. Now you're all clean" or to huff at a bookshelf that wasn't realigning properly, "Get in there- Come on now- I can't do this all stinking day long, you stupid piece of wood-"

It's not as though I expect any of these things to talk back to me because goodness knows if my dolls did I'd die from a heart attack. Thank you, 1980s doll-based horror movies...

 

I suppose everyone has their own way of treating their dolls.
Some see then as very expensive display pieces, others see them as being 'real' or like to pretend they are and maybe even treat them as your children. I'm one of those people who see them as being 'alive' though of course I know they aren't really alive, it's just fun to pretend!

I guess I got that from my grandmother, she always kept baby dolls and stuffed animals in a little bed and used to knit clothes for them and talk to them. My whole life I would pretend stuffed animals were alive and I might endup talking to them when Im feeling down. It's comforting to people to have someone to vent to, even if it's not 'real'. And it kinda keeps us in touch with our inner child, which I feel is a healthy thing to keep with us through our lives.

As long as people aren't feeding their dolls real food and truly believe they're living beings then seeing them as your kids isn't all that bad, haha!

 

To me, they're toys.

Treasured and adorable toys, but toys nontheless. They do have personalitys, yes, because most of the time, people tend to assign personalitys to toys. I used to buy PVC figurines and pose them and snap pictures of them as a kid, so I guess this is just a natural extension of that. I also tended to be very, very carefull with my toys so they would be in pristine condition, so I guess that's a part of it, too. Yes, I may occasionally talk to it, but mostly in a "I'm bored, and you're the only intelligent company around" way. I don't expect it to answer or talk back in any way- It's a doll.

 

I sort of feel a mix between both sides of this... ;-)
I don't treat my dolls like real life people/pets/etc BUT I still feel bad about the idea of stuffing them under a bed or 'smothering' them by storing them wrapped in blanket or something...??@£!%
I kind of feel I can't treat them cruelly and this also prevents me from re-selling dolls ..! I feel like i'm betraying them or something..? How does this make sense..?...
Well...i know I'm basically totally nuts anyway, all my family would vouch for this.. so hey ho..! ;-)

 

More like...inanimate pets? It reminds me of when I was a kid and not allowed any furry pets. I then had some attachment to some of my stuffed animals and pretend played with them as though they were real (and could talk ). Nowadays I have a cat and dog to baby over, and the only "playing" I do for my dolls is by photography and sewing clothes for them, but the feeling is very similar to what I felt back then.

 

Inanimate Objects. Period.

 

My dolls are inanimate objects, I admire them and take gentle care of them but they are not my children, I have 3 grown children of my own. I treasure my dolls and love to make clothes for them, I also make clothes for my granddaughters dolls.

 

For me the doll and the character are one in the same. I wouldn't say that I treat them like children or a even a pet, but, I do treat them as a little more than an inanimate objects.

 

To me they're just expensive, classy, and pretty playthings... to a degree. Obviously you might not want to manhandle them like a small child because of the price, but they're still dollies, and dollies are playthings

 

For me, though of course I know they are dolls, my boys are like friends or children...I talk to them as I do my cats, and I love to hug & kiss them and hold them on my lap while I write or watch movies...all of which my teenaged daughter finds incredibly weird...:P

 

So well spoken..... when they become something else, THAT is when it gets scary. Life is family, friends, furbabies, etc. Dolls are a HOBBY. Well, IMHO, that's what they should be unless there's somethin' else going on which isn't all healthy........... in anybody's book!

 

My dolls are not my children, my friends, or even my pets. They are part of me. Everything I put into them is part of me, their character, their makeup, their clothes, their little 'houses'. They are a way for me to express my art. This hobby is pretty all consuming for me. I don't feel that it keeps me from living normally or anything though. I don't have children, mostly because I can be a little selfish about my time. My dolls allow me to do what I want. They don't require my time, and I always have them to love on when I want them. I know everything about them and they know everything about me. I feel like they can understand me in a sort of way that no one else can...well, because they are me ^_^ Hope that makes sense. I feel this way about some of my old stuffed animals and toys though too. I suppose that's why the Toy Story movies have such a profound effect on me.
I have to agree very much with what Ebony Rain said too.
Also...I never really think about how much they cost. LOL It's not because I have a lot of money (because I DON"T). Maybe I just don't value things by the amount of money I spend on them. Money is money and you can't take it with you when you go. When you spend it, it's gone. I will never sell any of my dolls so the part about them being expensive doesn't really occur to me.
It's interesting to see how some of you other doll collectors feel too.