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

I treated them as my companion. All of them have very detailed characters. I can guess what they would say in a certain situation. They all have their own preferences of clothes and what they like or dislike. I talked to them a lot. And, they never stay inside the box. if I have to stay elsewhere for more than 2 weeks, I always bring one of them with me.

 

I give them names and I pay for their stuffs, but to me, they are just inanimate objects.
Also I treat BJD as an object of art.
Especially BJDs are valuable to me and I think they have something very special.

 

An inanimate object of art. I love her and think she's adorable. I like trying different looks and wigs, and am enjoying the hobby, but I give real affection to my dogs.

 

I'm stupidly sentimental and also rather tactile, so I tend to form emotional attachments to anything I handle on a regular basis. I also personify and talk to inanimate objects - I apologize to a chair if I run into it, I cajole a computer into working faster, and I greet portraits on the wall at work, just as a few examples. A lot of my association with physical objects has to do with memories - childhood toys, books I have reread many times, pieces of furniture made by my grandfather. A different copy of a book isn't quite the same to me even though the story it tells is identical. These objects are not alive, necessarily, but they have a positive presence in my life and in my imagination.

I'm new to owning dolls, and I wouldn't call them children or friends, but they do have their own characters and a physical presence that goes a bit beyond my other material possessions (probably because of their humanoid appearance, but largely because I enjoy imagining them that way even though I know they aren't "alive"). Heh, they even inspired me to clean up my apartment because I felt bad having them "live" among so much clutter, so they've been a good influence so far. ^_^ "Art objects" might best encompass them since they inspire and enhance creativity, and art can be said to have a spirit or a life of its own.

 

To me, they are something like really expensive teddy bear plushies. I call them my sons but I do know they are inanimate objects and I don't give them personalities. But just talking and playing with them helps me to de-stress, also they can keep secrets really well haha

 

Inanimate objects. Maybe also a friend. But definitely not a child... Yet. :3

 

More inanimate objects for me. I tend to leave them on shelves and occasionally pose them Like a really expensive painting that can be moved around the house.

 

A companion and an inspiration.

I often find myself holding Ethan in some way, or sitting him alongside the laptop. To keep him in view.

And then, tonight, I put him in a trenchcoat that I originally bought about 4yrs ago for Alex and it fits Ethan better. Alex has a broader torso. It's also helped inspire a scene, for the story that Ethan existed in before the doll version came along, and I bought the doll to hopefully assist in 'unlocking' scenes and traits that I struggled to uncover beforehand. Turns out it was a good move. I can put him in outfits and find inspiration for extra scenes. Same will probably apply to his girlfriend when she comes home next year.

 

While I am in love with the characters I have created and my dolls are physical representations of them, they are definitely just objects to me. I forget about them for months at a time if I am not updating their looks or taking them with me to shows. I only have a a few dolls though, so they remain out on display and aren't boxed and put away.

 

They are beloved inanimate objects. I adore them but as much as for example my dad loves his motorcycles .

 

My dolls are a bit like expensive stuffed toys. I love to hold them, especially when I'm just de-stressing after work and need to feel like I have some company. I don't really talk to them, but I like to position them as if they're accompanying me around the house. My tiny also accompanies me to work but I don't take xir out to play with, just knowing I have "company" is enough. I feel like they have presence and a lot of character, which makes them "feel like company" even though I'm certainly not expecting them to talk to me or be alive.

OTOH, I talk extensively to my pets and they also don't talk back (in human language)

 

I can only think "inanimate object". I adore my dolls but I can leave them alone for weeks at a time without a second thought. I couldn't do that to a person or pet I cared about.

 

I guess I do treat them like friends/family. I talk to them a little bit sometimes but not much. I don' talk to my figures but I do a little to my dolls. I guess maybe it's a little odd? It started when someone gave me a porcelain doll that looked like me. They said it was haunted and freaked them out but she looked like me and I thought she was cute. I figured if it was haunted talking to it nicely and treating it good would be good. So far nothing has happened but I still talk to her and my bjd's nicely when I'm changing and posing them and stuff.

 

I just noticed that I like to pose them in their custom dollhouse and leave them for a week or two (a luxury compared to the hundreds of orchids, perennial plants, houseplants, finches, and puppy that need constant care) and then return to marvel and delight over the great poses and clothes I left them in. I have 6 adults and three children with a baby on the way...

 

I'm a mix between friend and inanimate object, in that I love holding and grooming them but can also leave them be for months with no second thought. I guess they're more like roommates, I care about them and we share the same space but they can take care of themselves

 

Definitely an inanimate object but one that takes me to another world for a short time and makes me happy looking at it. It's great to use my imagination for a little while as well since there's not much room for imagination in my job.

 

They are like my kids, i dress them, talk to them and say good nite! But i dont have any back stories for them, even tho i love them alot i never think too much about it .

 

for me I'd say they are like a piece of art, something to put on display because I think it's cute! but as an artist myself it's also something i can get crafty and creative with. also, I don't have children and I don't really want any so I justify spending money on doll stuff since I don't have real children to spend money on lol.

 

I only have a floating head at the moment but I already regard them as a little friend/companion and I know when they have a body they'll sit by me and hang out all the time because they are a great comfort for me especially in terms of my anxiety. And I don't mind what others think about their dolls, whether they have them as display objects or the same as me it's whatever they want to do

 

For me my dolls are both art but also friends...Almost like talking to a loved one who has passed on. Sometimes I just need to talk to someone and not have them talk back. And I get a nice calming effect from a certain doll I have where as the other makes me feel more confident when I need it. The each have their own personality :-) Then again, I also talk to my plants
@littleraeven I agree with you about the comfort during anxiety.