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

very well said... I completely agree with you...

I think it's because they look so human that they are for me more than just inanimate objects... particularly BJDs as they have such expressive faces (compared to other dolls that look like they are staring off into space)...

I would say that they are my "children" (and I would say the same for my teddy bears) only because I love them in a different way then I love, for example, my iPhone (which I love very much ) and anyway it's just a figure of speech... i'm very much aware that they are not real...

Another reason I think I'm also attached to them this way is because they all have a distinct character and a background story... this is no different to me than when I read a book and I get attached to the characters I'm reading about...

And i do talk to them (in my head... and no they do not talk back to me :P ) and stroke their pretty hair... not because I think they need it and that they will feel neglected if I don't... it's just that they are SO pretty I can't help myself :P

 

hm , I wouldn't call them friends as they are dolls not human beings. I do call them my children but I dont treat them like that. They are something that I love so I wouldnt call them inanimate objects either, they are not like my wardrobe or carpet, like Binx213 said. They are my hobby and passion.

 

Eh, I treat them like I do with any other objects I collect. I think of them as I do with my figures, plush dolls, and so on. I would never refer to my dolls as children or friend and even inanimate object seems too strange for me. I just think of them as well...dolls lol;;; I like to hold them and play around a bit I don't "talk to them" usually it's like talking to myself like "I think I'll change your eyes." and so on. I also have a habit of just kinda staring at them kinda space out uhhhh OTL;; Okay that sounds creepy but I am just one that tends to space out a lot haha.

 

To me, they're inanimate objects with high value and/or sentimentality. Of course, I don't own a doll yet, but this is how I feel towards practically everything I own. I have a very hard time getting rid of anything, and have some small emotional struggles when I lose things. For instance, I once had a very old book full of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, and I lots it during a move. I'm still pretty upset over that, even though it was quite a while ago.
So I feel strongly towards the things I own, but they're still just things. If it came down to my pets or my stuff, I'd drop the stuff in a heartbeat. That includes dolls.
On a lighter note~ I tend to talk to inanimate things a lot. XD; I'll name my more expensive items (For example, my MP3 player is called Wolfgang, my car is named Jack), and natter at them when they don't work as expected. I can imagine that when I DO finally get my first doll, I'm going to gripe at it when it doesn't feel like wearing its wig properly, or when it won't get into an outfit without a struggle.
So to me, they're just things. But at t the same time, a thing with sentimentality attached is always a little more than just a thing.

 

for me, i just leave them on my bed and occasionally pick them up, fuss over them and then put them back. i guess i kinda treat them like my children but i dont really talk to them unless i bump their head or maybe drop their parts by accident. but other then that they are just expensive pretty looking things for me to fuss over. hahaha. their characters only come out when i do photostories of them. like as i pose them i feel like they are saying this and stuff and it slowly makes their character.

in a nutshell, i treat them like inanimate things but with a bit more care. lol.

 

If I considered them my children, I would probably be considered abusive and a horrible parent. That's only because I'm always lugging them around, they've taken some hard falls, I dress them and take the most extensive pictures. I don't really talk to them as if they were my kids, either. So I would have to say inanimate object with a very nice place in my heart. They are wonderful objects, and I hold them in great value.

 

Maybe I'm reading a bit far into this but...It saddens me how some people are talking about their cats/pets as if they are less than or equal to their dolls (i.e. I consider my dolls as "pets" statements). Animals are breathing, thinking beings, and I certainly hope one would treat an animal with more repect than a doll.
That being said, I feel all my possesions with eyes seem to have more 'worth' than those without. For example, I tend to make sure my plushies are all arranged comfortably on my bed. I don't know why I have an emotional connection to certain possesions/dolls, but I think eyes have something to do with it for me. (To a certain extent...I wouldn't have the same connection to a notebook with googly eyes slapped on it as I would to my childhood toys.)

Edit: I'm not a crazy cat person, by the way, as may be inferred by my username, avatar, signature, etc..

 

i actually think that people who treat their dolls like children either have a very strong maternal instinct or have either a very good or very bad relationship with their mother.

i mean, i'm just speculating here.

 

Does he pay rent? *bwahahahahahaha* funniest thing I read today. Thank you for the great laugh. Landlord.

 

Seeing that in my apartment there is myself, Ansara, my laptop named Lappytoppy and books, I treat Ansara very much like a person in that I talk to her, good morning, see you when I come back, you look very nice in yellow, i'll make that for you very soon and so on. She is my pet. She is also a creative outlet and a diary that can not be read or used against me. My Ansara has possessions of her own, I have made books for her, planning on writing one for her as well, a stuffed bear, dishes, hello kitty stuff of all kinds and soon a bedroom of her own.

 

I treat my dolls the same as I treat my video games; As my favorite toys, but they need a gentle hand if I want them to last a while. Dolls have the added bonus of being tiny investments.

I've never had that surrogate child feeling, my horses and dogs are for that!

 

At the end of the day, my behaviour towards my own dolls is one of respect, but they're still an inanimate object to me. The way I might hold or grasp them, or behave towards them in general is definitely the way in which one would expect to see a person behaving towards an inanimate object or thing that had no feelings, emotions, or personal attachment. And really, in my manner of consideration, they are just dolls.

I love them (as much as one could expect to love something that will never be able to love you back, I suppose...), and I think they're great and a wonderful creative outlet, but at the end of the day, they're just a toy for me :O

/twocents

 

I will see it as a doll, It would hurt way to much to change eyes or restring it if I saw it as a person

 

hhmmm.... it seems that everyone is taking the "Treat dolls like children" literarily... I don't know what the original poster meant... if they meant it literarily or not... although I can't see it as a very healthy activity if you are treating them like REAL kids... I took it to meant the same way as I treated my dolls when I was little, as if they were real kids but in a pretend way (if that makes sense )...

Also reading the posts it feels as if people are afraid to say that they treat their dolls as kids... and it's contradicting to what I read in other posts (in general... not from anyone that posted here, i don't remember names so I wouldn't know :P).. comments such as I got my boy a new outfit today, or I took my girl out for a photo shoot., or my baby etc... To me those statements indicate more than just a love of an inanimate object.

I don't know... even though I'm not a huge doll person (had dolls and played with them when I was little but never had any when older, except now with BJDs) I think dolls are made to be loved more than just inanimate objects and it kind of feels sad to read people love them the same way they love their phones, cars or video games for example... that's just my opinion I guess, but enough rambling for now

 

I know some people consider their dolls as 'investments', but I just don't see it that way. I don't know what I'm investing in when I buy these dolls. I can understand what investing in a new winter coat, or a decent umbrella and the usefulness of it, but I just don't see the investment aspect of these dolls - for me, at least.

 

Hmm... that's a good question. Some would argue that at my age, I'm really in stage where people would mostly overlook my BJD hobby as a childish thing, like Bratz or Barbies (I'm 13), so I generally don't carry my doll around outside of the house or when I'm not at a Con or with my friend, who understands my hobby. But, my doll is a character from my novel, and I tend to treat that character like a little sister, so I guess... my dolls a bit inanimate, a bit little sister? o u o ''

 

I don't think of dolls as my children- rather as 'members' of my doll family. If I talk with them I am basically working on a story for their characters and seeing if that dialogue sounds ok spoken vs. written. They are beloved objects of course, but I look at them more as physical characters that represent the stories my imagination brings to life. And I also love to play, and rearrange them, etc.

I would say adults play differently with dolls than children. For an example, check out this website- and the 'town' and the indepth website these three sisters put together- www.ourdolls.net

No bjd's, but their imagination is so much fun to watch-- listen to Nafycast. Everything is in 1:3 scale, and the detail is incredible. I am not partial to only bjd's, I love alot of different dolls, so my collection is the type where I will mix a bjd with a My Twinn , etc. I think alot of this is how you connect and play.

 

I'm sort of surrounded by partial negativity, but a lot more confusion about this new hobby of mine (though I was an enthusiast for almost 5 years), so I think part of my not really involving my dolls in my everyday life is based on the fact that I don't want people to pronounce me crazy or mentally unhealthy. I've been in the presence of people who feel that I'm supposed to think that this kind of hobby is silly, and pointless. I've been in the presence of people who don't understand it, but would like to.

I think this might be partially why I keep my distance from my doll most of the time. The negativity I get when my doll is around the wrong people is stifling. I feel silly, quite honestly. I feel like I'm a weirdo for finding a hobby solely based on collecting dolls that are expensive, but you don't have to leave in cabinets, or high on shelves. It confuses people, and sometimes that confusion leads to negativity because people don't want to take the time and listen to you explain how the hobby works.

 

Beautifully said writerm. I must say that I feel the same way sometimes.

 

I bet some people are going to think I'm nuts.. but..

I believe all my dolls have souls, so to speak. I only ever buy my dolls new, because I believe they were made just for me to give a home to. I especially believe this with my one and only BJD, Emma whom I picked off of a website, and ordered her, and had them make her just for me with her faceup and body brushing done just for her, and my two Build-A-Bears who I went to the store myself and picked out just the right 'skin' of theirs, told the salesperson just how to stuff them, my husband put a special message in them, as well as the heart I kissed and made a wish with when they were made.

I pick out my dollies clothes as to their personalities and their likes. I believe that they love me oodles and oodles because I love them so much and take such good care of them. They all call me their mommy. Even my authentic military Iraqi War Military Police Jennifer. Though she's more like, "Yes Mommy Sir!" when she talks to me. I believe that they're a lot like on Toy Story. Always hiding their lifefullness from me as to the dollie code.

Dollies have always been a passion of mine since I can remember. And always will be. I love my little family. I have no shame at all with my dolls. I couldn't care a single bit what other people think of me and my dolls. I honestly carry my dolls around with me everywhere. The grocery store, the restaurant, on walks, to the pharmacy, trips to the shooting range with my husband. Everywhere! I get the occasional weird look sometimes by a mother of some kids who look at my dolls with wide eyes, obviously thinking my dollies are awesome, but the mom gives me that "Omg you're going to blow up a building one day aren't you? Stay away kids!" look.

But there's also a lot of people who are pretty open minded about my dolls and think they're really cute. At my pharmacy, everyone there knows me and my dolls, and a lot of the women look at them when I come to see what clothes I have on them. In fact, there's even a couple of women that knows that my two Build-A-Bears are married, haha.

But other people who don't view dollies the way I do don't bother me at all. Everyone has their own way of loving their dollies, and that's what makes this hobby fun!