Would you let your kids play with your dolls?

I don't have kids, but if I did I think it would depend on their age and their maturity level.

 

I don't have kids but kids (especially little kids) drop things when they are board with it, and I wouldn't want a kid to drop my doll and it brake or have a piece fall off.

 

I think it depends on the child. My two year old little sister loves to talk to my doll. She won't even try to pick her up. I'll sit the doll down and she'll sit across from it and carry out a conversation with it, or get a book and pretend to read it a story. But even though she's never tried to touch her, I'd probably be scared to leave her alone with my doll. She's always supervised.

 

I don't have kids of my own but once I let my niece change my dolls outfit and the dolls wig popped off and my niece looked at me all scared and said "her hair fell off" she hasn't wanted to play with them since

 

To be honest, I could never feel alright about letting any younger kids (or almost anyone, for that matter,) play with Ivan. He was suuuuper expensive and I dunno when I'll have the funds to replace him. My stepdad always has his grandchildren over (a one year old and a ten year old, both boys,) and I'm sooo scared that one of them might hurt my $774 resin darling. Especially considering the ten year old thinks that he can grab anything in my room and play with it (read: destroy it) and the one year old chews on ANYTHING that gets near his face or hands. So, no. Letting kids handle my BJDs would be a huuuuge no-no for me. Then again, I'm not super trusting or fond of kids to begin with. x_x But, whoever feels comfy letting their presh babies play with their dolls, good on ya'!

 

The my sibling's kids are not getting their hands on my resins. Ever. They don't know how to respect others property. My brother's daughter, luckily for me, looks at them from afar, but I've told her she's not to touch them and she respects that. However, my sister's daughter is not yet a year old and her mother is just plain not interested in teaching her that she's not to touch other people's things. I've been trying for WEEKS to teach her that she's not to touch my computer. She understands, because she gets the most devious grin on her face whenever I tell her no, but she does it anyways. She thinks I'm playing with her because that's what her mom does. When she breaks my phone we'll see how much her mother cares about her daughter's grabby hands then.

 

Haha sorry not at all. Kids are too /enthusiastic. Maybe when they'd be about 12.

 

ok first off "if" i had kids i would not let them ever touch them. i have loads of anime pvc figures and people come over wanting to see them, ya you can but they stay in the display case.

 

My fiance has a daughter and when she's over she always wants to play with my dolls, but she isn't allowed to touch the BJDs, period. She broke some of my less expensive dolls before, on accident (she gets very hyped up when she gets to spend time with us), and my fiance agrees that she's simply too young and gets too excited to play with such expensive dolls.

 

I don't have kids but i don't see me letting my children in the future play with them.
Maybe when they are older and understand what kind of value they have.. But not until then!
I have a hard time letting anyone touch my doll. I'm a bit possessive with him. Haha!

 

Hi there, Not sure if this pre-exists and if so sorry! ^^;

Just thought I'd start a thread where people can post their experiences, fears, tips and tricks involving BJDs with Babies/Toddlers/Children. I love when pictures are posted so if you allow your little ones to sit or play with the dolls (supervised of course ) and have a picture you'd like to share feel free to post it here!

I have a young one myself who loves any type of doll, so when I finally get my BJD I won't be 100% sure how to go about it when she wants to play with it. Which is why I thought it'd be great to make this thread. For mothers new to the hobby or doll enthusiasts who are new to motherhood. How do you feel about your little one playing with the dolls? Are you afraid they will be too rough? How do you avoid letting your child/or someone else's from playing with the dolls you own?

Thank you for taking time to read this or to reply! Any and all responses are welcome and very much appreciated!

~Twig321

 

Not a mother, but I'm frequently entrusted with small children so hopefully this will be useful.

I'm assuming we're talking about a very young child? When watching a calm and mature 8 year old, I let her comb my dolls' wigs, hold them, etc. All I had to do was ask her to avoid "the paint" and she was perfectly fine. ^^ Younger children, particularly toddlers, should probably be kept away from these dolls. Even adults get bruises and blood-blisters from handling the joints on some types of dolls. Resin dolls are also pretty heavy, somewhat fragile, and very expensive as you likely already know. I've not had trouble telling toddlers/little ones that the doll simply isn't a toy, then I distract them with an actual toy; they seem to understand, though I try to avoid letting them see the dolls to begin with.

 

There are some really interesting General Discussion threads on this topic, if you'd like to see thoughts that DoA members have had over time:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?319192-Dolls-and-your-children
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?405653-Would-you-let-your-kids-play-with-your-dolls
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?111547-Children-handling-your-dolls

 

I would definitely keep the dolls away from very small children, since having resin in their mouth, chewing it or licking sealant could be very hazardous to their health (not to mention choking hazard if a finger broke off or s-hook came loose), and it's near impossible to keep babies from trying to eat EVERYTHING. They're heavy, and can be pinchy (I have a scar from my SD). Really not good for toddlers or babies to be playing with. If the kids are old enough to understand how to handle a doll, not put anything in their mouth, and try not to touch the joints, then I'd just explain that it's a collectible doll, not something to play with. I explained it that way to my 4 year old niece. I think the best way to say "no" (at least in my case) is to make it clear from the start "This isn't yours, it isn't a toy, it's only okay to touch it when I'm right here holding it. It is to look at, not play with." She was very understanding, and once finding out it isn't a toy, she lost interest pretty fast.

 

Not a parent, but growing up I had the part of "parent with low-to-no play doll." My mum's doll was an old 18inch fashion doll (predates Barbie). Admittedly, she was generally kept in her case, so less of a draw... in fact, I'm not sure I even knew what was in the case before I was 6 or so. After that, getting her out, and changing her clothes, and posing her, and eventually styling her hair became a reward for good behaviour. And initially I was only allowed to have her out on my parents bed (it's large and low) and fully supervised. As I matured the rules were eased... until there weren't really any left once my mum realized I'd gotten better at handling the doll than her. One thing to note, I was taught from the beginning that if I liked a toy/etc not to damage it because it wouldn't be replaced, so I even still have all the accessories for my first Barbie, given a couple minutes I could align all my combs and brushes to which of my old Ponies they came with, etc.

 

Like Cynthia noted, this topic has come up multiple times on the board. There are a lot of moms here, some with very small children. I'm not sure what search term she used, but I imagine 'children' would probably work. You can find a lot of good stuff through the search function. One of those threads was just barely updated today, too.

My daughter is ten and responsible enough that I am okay with her around my dolls; she's not going to do anything to them and she's quite well aware that Mommy's dolls are not toys and not to be treated roughly. She's had this understanding since she was four and I got my first one; I was just very firm and told her no, this is not a toy, and I kept it up high out of her reach. You should be able to make it clear to your child that this doll is not a toy like her other dolls and therefore not to be played with in the same way. I would avoid letting a very small child handle a BJD; there are choking hazards and it's not so safe to chew on resin, among other things. That said, it's largely dependent on the child. There are very mature, responsible five-year-olds that would be safe to have around a doll, and there are highly irresponsible teenagers (and adults) that I wouldn't let within a stone's throw of my collection. At any rate, I find it's very simple to keep children from playing with my dolls -- I keep them out of their reach, and in a room children other than my own are not allowed in. If they can't get to it, they can't play with it. Simple as that. Keeping them out of reach and a good firm 'no' seemed to do the trick well enough for me, and if the kid can't take 'no' for an answer, well. That's a whole different kettle of fish and not really to be discussed here.

 

Children can be more mature than you think if you give them the chance. Just lay out the rules of how to play in clear, positively worded rules, model the desired behavior, answer their questions, and supervise, supervise, supervise. If you act nervous or unsure the child will pick up on that. A positively stated rule could be, "We gently touch her hair" or "We use our eyes to look at her face." If you say Don't touch the face the kid might immediately interpret that as "Touch the face." I had a 5 year old ask me why he couldn't touch the face and I explained that it would make the paint come off and she wouldn't be pretty anymore. He nodded and never touched the face. He even explained it to his older brother! I don't know where this persistent view of children as out of control demon spawn came from on this board, but a child is only as out of control as you allow. :/ Teach them and you'll be surprised.

 

I have posted in the discussions linked above. My kid is a baby (4.5 mos) and has zero interest in playing with anything unless it can fit in his mouth. Definitely keep anything tiny out of the reach of a crawling baby and an eventually walking toddler. My cousin's 4 year old did not seem to understand that the dolls were not for playing, until I found another way to explain them. She understood "glass", and we compromised....she got to play with the monster highs whenever she wanted but only got to touch the "glass" dolls when I was around. She was very careful and delicate...almost awe-struck. It was pretty cute. A well-behaved child will treat things nicely if you give them a chance and a little supervision. Now a child (or really anyone) known for misbehaving or treating things badly would probably not be allowed to touch the dolls at all, even with supervision. It depends on the kid.

 

I have posted in the threads listed above and am not nearly as active in the community here or in real life as I used to be. I have been in the doll hobby for just shy of 5 years and in the past year life has gotten a bit in the way of the hobby. I still have my dolls (and my hubby still has his) but they tend to spend more time packed away on their shelves than out being played with or going to meet ups. I started collecting when my youngest son was 2 years old and to be quite honest I don't think I've ever particularly worried about either of my children handling my dolls. Since the beginning I've taught them how to properly handle the dolls and they both developed an interest in the hobby. Both boys have dolls of their own (3 each actually) and frequently talk about future doll plans. They shop for their dolls, play with their dolls and when given a chance attend doll meets.

 

Rianne~ My daughter is 20 months old on the 17th. She walks, climbs, (sort of) talks. But when she's played with her dolls sometimes she's sweet and tucks them into bed other times she's shoving them into a container or something. I obviously won't let her play with it for a while I just wanted to get a feel for what others have done. Thank you for responding! I really appreciate it!


Cynthia~ I'm sorry! ^^; I will deffinitely check out those threads. I'm still getting used to the forums here.. Thank you for sharing the links!! I really appreciate it!


CloakedSchemer~ Hehe, My daughter is 20 months old, I would not let her play with it anytime soon but I'm glad to hear that just kindly yet firmly saying "No" and explaing has worked on other kids. She's my first and before her I've only been around my little sister so I wasn't entirely sure how a youngster would respond! Thank you for posting!


Thothep~ Haha, that's pretty cool! I could pair up some of my things. Since I was small I thought to myself that the toys/dolls had feelings (like in Toy Story) so I would try to be as sweet on them as I could ^^; hehe I still have my MH on their original stands with their original brushes on a shelf in the other room. I will probably have my BJD there as well. Let's hope "Out of sight, out of mind" works! Thank you for your response!!


Tez~ Sorry! I will most definitely check out those other threads! It's hard to tell what my daughter will be like at this moment, she'll be 2 in August. For the most part she's pretty well behaved, she does listen to daddy a lot more than me but so long as I keep it out of her vision and put away it should be alright. Thank you for your response! I really appreciate it!


Silverholly~ Thank you! I just got the vibe that a lot of people were afraid of children doing anything with the dolls so I wasn't sure if I should be as well or what? I mean there's obviously some that are too young but I feel that as long as I'm there watching them there should be no worries. ^-^ (I have a 20 month old daughter like I've said above lol and I don't intend to let her touch it for another year or so after I get my doll but I want to be prepared


Carmarilla~ I will check those out and I appreciate you posting here as well! Congrats on your baby! That's good, I have so many Monster High that I could let my daughter play with instead. I am still collecting those too ^^; That does sound very cute My daughter loves to.. explore and test things out. She will listen but she listens better to her father than me. So maybe I can get him to tell her not to touch. She's always there when I open a MH and she tries to "help" me open them. I may just have to stow away in the other room with the doll(s) ^^; Thank you again for your post!


Iris0110~ That is amazing, your whole family is somewhat in this hobby! I want to share it with someone but I don't know anyone irl that is into BJDs ^^; That is refreshing. I've just seen a lot of worries about children with the dolls so I wanted to see other's experiences. I'm glad you shared this with me! I don't have to be so incredibly worried anymore!!


Again thank you to all that posted! I really truly appreciate it! I will look at those links above and I really do appreciate it! I'm sorry for starting a thread when there are already at least 3 on this! ^^; I am still getting used to this

Thanks~!

~Twig321