What do you consider as "poor care" of dolls?

Basically for me poor care is when an owner doesn't minimize the (potential) dangers to the doll or to others through the doll.
That includes leaving the doll on the ground when you have pets around (that could choke on parts or get harmed in other ways, also of course because the doll could be broken); leaving the doll outside unprotected or in cars (especially in the summer, because of fumes, yellowing or/and warping of the resin); using stuff on your doll that just isn't made for them (like chemicals, when there's even so much as a small chance of harming the resin, why would you want to try it out?)

There are other things where I would think the owner is not caring much for their doll, but those just result from the fact that I just take care of my dolls differently.

 

Everyone will have a very different opinion on this and the argument of "you have no right to say anything about someone elses doll" will definitely arise.
I think a lot of people would consider my dolls poorly cared for. I grab them by their heads and limbs and I don't really care if they yellow. I also use them in water photoshoots, which will eventually probably damage their elastics and I just can't really care.
So I feel I don't really have the right to tell other people what's bad.
But there's one thing that just doesn't go over well with me. And that's sharpie. People that use sharpie on their doll. That's poor care. If you can even call that care at all.

In the end though, it's someone's property and it's not alive, so they can do anything they want to it and we have nothing to say about that. But I guess that doesn't mean we can't cringe at the thought/sight.

 

I was about to say "Sharpie" too. Sharpie and nail polish. Those are the ones that really make me flinch. It's true that it's really none of my business, but when I see those on a doll, it bums me out.

 

My first doll has not been taken care of as well as my others, because she is the one I try everything out on. As a result she has some scratches, a damaged face-up (that yes, I will do my first face-up attempts on) and quite a bit of yellowing. I don't care, because I love her dearly and the fact that I can try out stuff on her is part of the reason why. I like that I don't have to be super careful with her. But having said that, I do try to take good care of my dolls. I keep them clean, keep them out of the sunlight when I'm not doing photoshoots, make sure their resin doesn't stain etc. etc. I second the Sharpie and also using stuff like oil paints/pastels that will just damage your doll beyond repair. But I do feel strongly that anyone can do with his/her stuff as they please, even when that means damaging it. I will cringe, though, and probably not understand...

 

If it results in damage to the resin, staining or any of that some-such, then it's poor care.

 

Things that have no obvious reason, damage the doll and could be avoided with minimum research, use of sharpies, vigorously sanding tan/coloured dolls that aren't from a company like Resinsoul that colours the resin all the way through.

 

Well, I guess I haven't been as careful with my doll as I should be, but I try to be. I mostly have trouble when changing out faces, wigs, and eyes. (Sometimes I accidentally grab under the chin when adjusting her wig, and that can damage the face up) I know better now though. But it's a bit late. It already looks like she may have a weird spot on her chin (sleeping and awake face) and just a small spot on her lip (sleeping face) I may just be very nit-pickety? I agree that anyone can do what they want with their doll. (If it wasn't bought with my money, I shouldn't care) However, using things that you know or at least think will damage the resin, it's pretty senseless if you ask me. Don't leave your dolls where they can fall and be broken. That's one thing that really burns me is leaving dolls in clear danger. Other than that, I'm not sure what else would really bother me except what's already been said.

 

I don't really get the whole "poor care" idea. I honestly couldn't care less if someone wanted to smash their doll with a sledge hammer and can't understand why anyone would. Give them a Sharpie faceup if you want to. Leave them naked or in a "sock dress" if you want to, in full sunlight in a bowl of oil, without eyes or wigs. Who cares? It's their doll. If you want to give a $1000+ LE fullset to your dog as a chew toy, I don't care (but I might have something to say from a veterinary perspective).

Then again, the way I treat my own dolls might constitute poor care to the hand-wringing think-of-the-children Daily-Mail-reading minority class of doll owners: the kind of people who wear white cotton gloves to touch their dolls may well see me as an abusive and negligent doll owner. I leave my own dolls in the same outfits standing in the same place on my dresser for weeks on end, I touch them with unwashed hands (wearing - gasp! - nail varnish!), they even get dusty and sometimes deal with a face full of sunlight, and when I mod them, I do it in the most cavalierly enthusiastic way possible utilizing everything from a carving knife to a chisel. But I don't care. I love my dolls and I love not having to be all precious and timid around them. I can't see the point in that; I'm even slightly contemptuous of that whole approach.

Bear in mind, though, that I only treat my own dolls this way. If I'm handling someone else's dolls I'm much more respectful. It's the same way that I play rough with my pet dog, pretending to nip her on the ear and mock-growling at her, because I know her and she trusts me. I wouldn't do that to a strange dog (or doll).

 

I cringe when I see overly dirty dolls, or people grabbing their dolls by the ankles and knocking them about on floors, that sort of thing. But then, I'm one of those people who washes my hands before I touch my dolls, and I keep them in a glass case with a curtain over the glass (the horror!) but I don't expect others to be so fussy with their own dolls.

 

Harlequin-Elle: The question was what you would consider poor care. Of course everyone has different opinion it's their doll, etc. But what counts is your opinion on the matter.

 

I agree that while everyone is free to do what they want with their property, that doesn't mean we can't cringe a little at certain things. Anyway, we're not discussing what we think others should do with their dolls, are we? I believe the question was simply "What does "poor care" of dolls mean to you?"

To me, to 'care' for something is to keep it in generally good condition to the best of your ability and knowledge, so I suppose anything that harms it or decreases the quality significantly would be considered 'poor care' to me. Using things that are known to be harmful to resin would be one of those things, while excessive sunlight exposure just happens to be a personal pet peeve of mine.

My personal opinion

 

I like the way she put this so I quoted it! I've been less carefull with my dolls since they're not new to me anymore but I do try to mimimize harm while still enjoying them to the fullest. They aren't in pristine shape anymore but I enjoy them everyday even if they're just sitting around looking beautiful.

I haven't seen what I would consider poor care. I've seen mistakes like too much glue on the magnets that froze up hand and wrist joints. Dirty heads that could be cleaned but I've never seen dolls dragged around or carelessly packed up.

OK, once I did see this young girl and her sister handle their own dolls with "poor care" and they were scratched and such but they were soooo loved and dolls can be repainted so what is the harm?

 

Poor care of dolls to me would be letting permanent damage occur. Using the wrong materials around them, leaving them in precarious positions, letting children/pets play w/them (which is poor care of said children/pets, BTW), leaving them in sunlight, etc etc. Being careless, in other words.
People do this w/tons of things (be careless w/them which leads to damage). It's their money - but it IS wasteful, & there is tooooo much waste on this planet. I care from that aspect. I also really care & feel terrible when I hear that something RARE & beautiful is destroyed (whatever it is) - someone who buys a very expensive one-off item (doll, painting, car, etc) & deliberately ruins or smashes it (modding a doll does NOT come under this heading for me, BTW) is not a person I'd admire. Period. I think of the hoarders of things, such as works of art, who refuse to share & claim that since they've bought it they can be selfish that way. Sure, it's legal. However, money is NOT a good excuse for doing nasty things. Careless, wasteful destruction of anything does not count as good behavior in my book.

 

Poor care of dolls, for me... Humm, tricky question!
The answer, I believe will vary for most people, and since this is a debate section I believe there are others who agree and disagree with my answer.

For me, poor care of dolls cover:
- Handle it roughly, causing chipping in the faceup/parts because of accidental dropping etc
- Put it under direct sunlight / display lamp and leave it be until the resin changes color
- Leave it dusty for too long a time until we can wipe the thick layer of dust on it
- Let the doll wear staining clothes until the resin is stained quite severely
- Let the underaged children and pets play with them, knocked them, etc

Frankly for me, the owner who keep their dolls in the box in the darkness, never to touch them at all, are considered owner with better care. But then again, others may think differently

 

This. I grab mine by the head/neck to move them around, accidently mush them into the wall when I leave them on the bed and then sit on it without thinking, refuse to restring them, couldn't care less about yellowing (unless it's a doll I'm selling, in which case, I try not to let them get too much exposure and worsen any yellowing that might have already happened). Otherwise, because they're mine I just see dolls as being dolls, I treat 'em the way I used to treat the ones I collected as a child. I've still got most of those while definitely well loved and not mint condition, none have been sharpied or destroyed.

I can't comment on what others do with their dolls because so many things that I don't think are a big deal will freak out other owners, and vice versa. I'm actually fussier about people handling my dolls then I am about myself handling them. I think Snow nailed it though- it's down to the fact that none of us are really qualified to tell anyone else how to handle their possessions. Unlike pets or kids where there are some pretty basic no nos, how I treat things I've bought an paid for is entirely my prerogative, and if I want to reverse over my dolls in my mum's pick up, then I have every right to have at it.

 

Ok! The following list is my opinion of what would be mistreating MY dolls. Anybody can do as they please, but if somebody did any of the following to mine, I would certainly consider it abuse and be upset:

-letting small children touch or hold them
-letting animals chew on them or knock them over (puppy cuddles are fine!)
-using poor quality faceup materials or sealants that will make them look shiny, sticky or yellowed
-not stringing them properly
-dressing/accessorizing them in extremely poor quality items (doesn't have to be expensive, handmade is fine, but holes and loose strings and things that don't fit bothers me)
-smoking next to them
-letting them get dusty
-neglecting them/not playing with or enjoying them
-leaving them laying in the floor
-leaving them naked and wigless

 

I've let little kids handle my dolls...depends on the kid. I don't just constitute poor care to the dolls but to their stuff as well. Dirty clothes, torn clothes, wigs that are dirty and horribly damaged with bad hair cuts etc.