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

Well I treat my dolls like this: when I have time, I sew for them, dress them, comb their hair, play with them, spoil them, take pics of them, go to meetings with them, well I enjoy them a lot.

But when I don't have the time (and thanks god they're objects) I let them sit on their shelf for a while and return to them later... but on these days, I must have a look at them nevertheless... just to check they're OK... ^_^

 

Everyone has such interesting takes on this. It's quite a ride, reading through the different opinions and such.

To me, the dolls are works of art. And in my mind, any work of art has a soul. The soul that the creator put into said art to make it come to life to captivate those around it for years to come.

I do not have a doll, so I fuss over my friend's instead. We treat him like a doll, but at the same time like he's a member of our circle/family. He has a creepy way of acting life like, even though he isn't doing a thing. He has a personality that we gave him, but in a way he came with it. He gave us the base to work with, and now he is who he is.

I do not know how my friend personally feels about the doll. But I know that once I get my own, I will probably treat mine more like a person, than a thing. I am a person who will talk to paintings, trying to figure out why the lady is smiling at me. So I will probably talk to the doll, figuring out why he holds himself the way he does, why he stares, etc.

 

I guess you could say I treat mine like a person. I think its a bit embarrassing but when I got him I pulled out an old barbie bed from the 90s that I used to play with when I was little and I set that up for him as a bed. Whenever I accidently drop or hit him of something I apologize and I feel really bad. I also have small conversations with him but I have conversations with almost everything whether its a pencil to a tv remote. When something frustrates me I say little things like "Stop it" or something around that.

I'm weird. -head scratch- Most people look at me like I am a weird freak when I talk to things[even during school I'll start talking to things]. But then I do agree, I am weird, everyone has weird things about them and I love myself for being like this. Inanimate objects and my pets keep me company!

 

I seriously doubt anybody here actually treats their doll like a real child. Children are loud, messy, prone to disease and annoying outbursts. They are also unbelievable soft, sweet, trusting, and capable of inspiring ferocious love. I think most of us treat our dolls like very treasured possessions, or maybe like a favorite childhood teddy that was worth its weight in gold to you even when it grew old and tattered. But I don't think we actually treat them like real children or humans, with all the ecstasy and imperfection life brings.

That said, I certainly am very fond of my dolls. I feel a maternal-ish instinct to clothe them and pet them and talk to them. I have mostly child-ish looking tinies, so I respond to them naturally. My mature minifee girl doesn't get the same sort of attention, she's more like a beautiful character in a book. I do love my dolls very much, they're not just possessions to me, they're like little muses to my creativity. Each one inspires me in a different way.

 

The way I treat my doll is between the line of friend but also inanimate object. Though sometime I might say "Oh they're like my babies" I don't really think of them as my children. (Maybe because I think I'm too young to have kids.) And I don't really talk to them, occasional "Staayy. Stay." or "Ouch! Don't Pinch me!" when I'm trying to work with them but beside that, nothing else happen.

 

I have to say things changed when I lost my doll to an accident. I'm not sure what it was, but when I found her on the freeway afterward. All I could do was hold her close and cry. She was no longer just a friend, she was my baby.

 

That's so sad Cosmosprincess...just a few days ago you where wondering if honey could be harmfull and than this happens. I really hope there is nothing wrong with you or your human loved ones (freeway sounds serious).

If you ever feel the need to talk about this loss you can always pm me.

 

Thankfully this was only a doll accident. My bags zipper malfunctioned while I was on the back of the motorcycle. But thank you so much for your concern. I think I will take you up on that offer.

 

Luckily no humans where harmed, but this is the kind of loss that can be kinda hard to explain to non doll people. Sure there are no salvagable parts? Ive seen a doll come out of a housefire and turn into something. Dealt with quite a few pet-chewed dolls too.

 

i treat mine 1/2 1/2

 

I treat mine like friends. They all represent characters I write with and those characters end up being like friends. Not like children though, they are still inanimate objects to me, but because they embody my characters I can see them like friends.

 

I haven't decided what my role is with my dolls yet. I know a lot of people who call them their children, kids, or resin children and I know people who treat them as real people and call themselves their doll's landlord...I am neither. I thought I'd play the landlord role but that didn't happen...I don't feel like I'm their mommy because they are all pretty much grown and have a life of their own.

This might sound weird: I look at them and feel like they are talking to me. I talk to them all the time, and think they answer back...now I know its just my mind and that my dolls don't actually talk to me...it just comes from the fact I created characters and personalities for them and so I automatically respond to myself the way I know they would...so it's very different for me.

They simply just call me Rae-chan and I call them by their names and treat them as if they were real people....so dressing them is ackward sometimes...so I guess overall I play the "friend" role if anything...

 

Interesting question, as I know a few people who do talk about their dolls as children and friends. I thought it was very strange but I guess how the sensitivity and familiarity towards something you put so much love and care into can sort of grow into a personality you interact with. ^^

I myself consider my dolls as works of art and generally treat them as such. I am overprotective of them as I have put much effort into forming their appearance around character personalities I give them. Sometimes I will playfully talk about "He seems to really not like this wig, it always goes flat" or "She just wont stand. She's probably mad I didn't bring her boyfriend along..." hehe But I mean it in a playful sort of talk which I'm sure most collectors understand.. or at least don't take too seriously. XD;

 

I treat my dolls more like inanimate objects, I feel. Occasionally I'll take them and sit with them while watching TV or other things and redress/adjust them lovingly, but at the end of the day they go back on their shelf until later. I do feel like they're my friends, but I just.. I don't know, they're still just dolls.

 

To me, they're definitely inanimate objects. Sometimes, since I get pretty lonely at college 2000 miles away from home, I'll take her out to dinner and she'll be my friend, but I don't really talk to her like a person ever. I would never consider my dolls my children. I plain ol' hate children (sorry!) so really they're my possession and my friend (sometimes).

 

That's a good question. I don't think of dolls as living things, friends or whatever, but I do talk to them, especially when dressing up, fixing their hair or when doing a photoshoot and I want them to feel comfortable (or it should just look like). Sometimes it seems like they listen to what I say. It's definitely just imagination, but that's the funny and interesting part of our hobby. If you imagine a personality for them, they start to feel real.
For example, a friend of mine thought about my doll being cute and nice and all this stuff, just because of her looks, but when I told her about her backstory and her nature, she got really scared and couldn't even look at the doll anymore 'D Okay, she is afraid of dolls in general.
But its true, my doll has become an important thing in my life. I don't feel lonely anymore since there is something human-looking sitting on my desk xD
So ... To summarize what I tried to say: My doll is my creation, I treat her with respect, sometimes I even talk to her, but I do definitely know, that she (thank god!) is not and will never be alive. So she's more an object than a living thing with some kind of personality.

 

You mean to tell me they aren't children? Well, could have fooled me.

 

I have to update this ~

My opinion was already given earlier in this thread but I was talking with someone on the other day & she informed me that she things dolls captures souls or evil spirits inside ! I am not a soft tender girl who fear horror but I hate that when I go to sleep and because I own like *30 + dolls including bjds in human shape* I feel scared a little ~

I should say I hate Chucky's movies .. they are ugly to me! Now, this idea was annoying me since I heard it 2 days ago. >____< I don't want to think my dolls got any evil or spirit inside them .. I am thankful they don't actually !

 

I don't own my own doll (yet) but I do have an opinion on all of this!
I'm a believer in Animism,so with just about EVERYTHING I worry that I am offending it or not making it happy in some way...
But I really think, depending on the "closeness" you have with your doll treating it like a very dear friend, even a baby is acceptable!

For instance, I have a bear that I've had since I was 12 (I'm 20 now) and I talk to him and hold onto him even though I'm about to be married! I consider him one of my dearest friends, because he's been with me through so many rough patches of my life and with me on ever adventure I've ever been on.

I think it would be the same if I had a doll. If you have problems, they listen and don't judge. They're an ear and a shoulder to cry on.

 

I treat my dolls like inanimate objects (I can't really claim anything else, considering I keep them in heir boxes/in parts the majority of the time - I hope no one would treat their children or friends like that )

All my dolls do have characters that I interact with, though. So, when I have my Cuprit out, I treat her differently than I do my Chalco, just because my Cuprit's character is sweet and easily scared, while my Chalco's character is imperious and not scared of anything.

So I do assign 'emotions' of a sort to my dolls when I am interacting with them, but those emotions only exist during that time - I don't think my dolls are 'sad' or 'lonely' when I am not playing with them, or anything like that. They're the same weird blend of inanimate and 'animate' as my laptop (who I also assign emotions to), or other things that I treat as animate (sometimes I talk about the weather as being grumpy, or our house as being sulky, for example).