Would you let your kids play with your dolls?

I was thinking of you and your mom when I saw this thread! I met you guys at a meetup several weeks ago, you're both so sweet and your mom was adorable. I wish my mom was into dolls!

 

Though I don't have any children myself, I'd say that they can be used to teach children the delicacy of certain objects and to be more careful

 

I got into ball-jointed dolls because I thought I was never going to have children of my own and I craved something that I could fuss over and express myself through. I apologize if this might sound creepy. I never meant them to be a replacement for a child so please keep that in mind.

But, low and behold, miracles do exist and despite what several medical specialists told me I am now the proud mother of a 2,5 year old son. He loves my dolls so much. He already 'plays' with them as if they were his. He brushes their hair and fusses over their clothing and enjoys moving their limbs to make them sit or stand or kneel. I know some might cringe over letting my son play with such expensive works of art but he is so very careful with them. Children are pretty clever really, if they see you handle items with great care they usually figure out that they need to be careful as well before you can even tell them to be. It's great knowing that for now I can enjoy the hobby together with my little boy. He makes me proud each and every day.

I'll be the first to admit that there is practically no free time to spare anymore to actually be productive with my dolls though. However, I'd much rather have my son with me 24/7 than have more spare time to excercise my hobbies. I understand why some parents might complain but I choose not to because the combination of my little boy and my hobby give me more pleasure than the hobby alone would have ever provided. I hope that when he grows up he'll never have to deal with the stereotype that dolls are for girls and if he does get confronted about it that he'll be strong enough to stand up for himself and honestly believes that each individual is free to decide what they do or do not like despite their gender.

TLDR: Young toddler that loves to play with his mommy's BJD collection and a proud mommy that her son loves dolls and treats them well.

 

My son was 9 when I ordered my first doll, and he was supportive and interested, though very hands off. Over the years, he has helped me choose between sculpts and cheered on my sad sewing projects. After our family dog died, we even worked on a doll together to help us heal, creating a character and aesthetic that reminded us of our dear River.

There’s been a lot of eye rolling along the way—especially now that he’s a teenager—but whenever he’s been part of my doll hobby, it’s been a good thing.

 

I also am the daughter of a doll collector. She collects antique dolls, fashion dolls, folk dolls, pretty much anything that she liked, other antique toys too. Her favorite was Lenci felt dolls. She doesnt have any asain balljoint dolls but she likes to see what i do with mine. When i was growing up She had her collection on shelves aroud the house and she always said toys were to be played with, we just had to ask and follow the rules. Different toys had different rules, some were "breakely" so we could only play with gently on the bed. Some had rules like dont take their clothes off.Others like her vintage barbies or Dawn dolls we could play with however as long as we didnt lose or break them. I am doing the same with my kids, one is still to you to care but my oldest really likes all my dolls. He gets excited whenever i buy or make something new. He knows the dfference between mommas toys and his toys. And when he asks i let him play with any of them as long as hes gentle.

 

I started this hobby when my daughter was nine. She loved looking at the company websites with me while I was pondering what to buy as my first doll...and she was such a responsible little girl that when she fell madly in love with a Risi from the Soom Little Genie line (now defunct) I bought one for her as a gift when she brought home straight A report cards for the year. It was the first BJD that made it home, about six months before I bought my first. Since then, we have shared this hobby with a lot of joy and excitement. She is in college now (still owns her beloved Risi, which has mellowed a tiny bit, but is otherwise in perfect condition) and has graduated to minis, while I frequently favor the large - but we take a lot of pleasure in one another's dolls, and I know that I would not have had nearly as much fun collecting if she hadn't been along for the ride. I guess it depends entirely on the child, because as parents we know that each is unique - but if they are captivated and not the type to break everything that they touch, then I can't stress enough the added happiness that comes from sharing the dolly experience with one of the people you love best in all the world.

 

No. The dolls have too much resource poured into them. Children in most cases shouldn't touch items as that, no matter is their value is assigned by people.

 

No, I wouldn't. My niece always had the best intentions but she was so clumsy and would feel terrible if something happened. She was trying to be gentle, but she knocked over a glass ornament display, a shelf full of nail polish, dropped every phone she ever picked up and so on. And her stricken face every time it happened was so heartbreaking. I couldn't bear it. I mean, if I lectured her to be gentle and then something happened... I'd feel like I set her up.

 

I posted in this thread in February 2011, when my child was still very much a baby. She's now in 5th grade and very interested in dolls. She is klutzy at times, but also knows how to be gentle. I am actually looking into finding her doll now. She started painting Azone vinyl heads last year and I think she would really enjoy having a special doll. When she is 13, I'd like to get her an account on DoA. She is currently more drawn to Dollfie Dreams because she prefers how anime they look, but who knows what will happen in the future. She like most kids right now due to distance learning has a lot of electronics and she needs to keep that from breaking so I think can handle a BJD.

 

I give. Kids are much more careful than adults, for whom a doll is "a toy, but what are you worried about, I'll buy you a new one in the nearest store". And kids understand that the doll does not need to be dropped, shaken or broken.

 

I don’t have kids yet, but if I had them and they were interested in my dolls, I’d only let them handle certain ones (I.E. ones I’m not precious about) under supervision, with some sort of soft cushion or blanket underneath the doll in case they drop it. Preferably while sitting on a soft couch, or sitting on a carpeted floor.

Basically, how would you let a child hold a baby? You do it where the baby can’t be dropped.

It would also depend on the individual kid. Are they generally careful and gentle? I wouldn’t worry too much. But if they were reckless and clumsy, or known to destroy toys, I probably wouldn’t let them handle my dolls. I would rather buy them a kid-friendly version of a BJD (like the PVC ones) as a starter doll and see how they fare with that first.

 

I have 2 kids. an 11 year old and one year old. My eldest son does not really care about my dolls since he is more focused on his gaming. My one year old son seems to be taking a liking towards my dolls but I never let him touch them let alone play with them. aside from ball jointed dolls being expensive they are also very fragile

 

I can’t imagine letting my kids play with my dolls if I had any. Not very young kids for sure, they would have to be older (in the double digits) and they’d have to show me they could be careful and I’d supervise them the entire time for sure, haha. And it would be a smaller doll lol. I mean I am early on into the hobby so I get nervous even thinking about any of this. Don’t know if that will change with time...

 

Hi
Probably going to be a no for me.
My son is 4 very wild, strong outdoorsy type lol
Currently going through the if I get frustrated/angry I throw it stage lol

 

My son has his own toys and does not want to take my dolls

 

I don't have kids, but I do have a niece and nephew who I let play with some of my stuff. Not my BJDs, though - not at that age! They can stick to the Monster High :P

That said, when either are a little older and more responsible, I might feel comfortable having them play with some of my sturdier dolls. I don't think I'd let anyone play with Murmur or Rose, though; Rose's faceup chips really easy and Murmur is just super fragile in general. I don't even usually bring her to doll meets!

 

I don't have children, but if I did, I wouldn't let them play with my dolls. Not only because BJDs are expensive and fragile, but also because they could be dangerous to small kids. Doll accessories could be tiny and I wouldn't want my child to accidentally swallow them. Moreover, chemicals are used in the making of BJDs e.g. coating spray, face-ups etc and therefore I believe it's better to keep BJDs always from children.

 

I currently do not have children but I do work in Early Years/Childcare and from my years of experience I would not let a child touch or play with a bjd. I do understand that they need to learn to be careful and take care of their toys but BJDs are not the dolls to do that. Just too expensive really to put complete trust in a child not to break it or mark it.
I would let them look but not touch. But it is hard for them just to do that so I would have a safe space for them.

 

So, I have Maskcat Doll Anemone, which I originally got as my mini-daughter for my mini-me. Due to style difference with other dolls, I’ve been wanting to let go of her. But I haven’t been able to find a buyer so I decided to keep her. Now, my real daughter prefers Maskcat. And been asking if she could have her someday. My real daughter is 6 years old. If I reserve my doll to wait for her to be little older, I’m afraid I cannot sell my Maskcat for as much I can now when my daughter changes her mind. When I look up Japanese discussion platforms, there are some people getting Volks for elementary school age kids knowing their kiddos already understands the value and delicacy of bjd. My daughter is very much aware of that as well and always asks me when she wants to interact with my dolls after washing her hands. Do you think I just should get her brand-new bjd when she grows up little older and try to sell my Maskcat again or keep the current doll??

 

I went through this with granddaughter. I bought her a doll, but I realized it was to mature for her and resin, but a Volks MDD which is vinyl was better. So I sold the other doll and she picked the vinyl doll she wanted. I did this when she turned nine. She plays with this doll every time she visits. It has made me feel better that nothing can break as accidents happen and when she is older she can decide if hobby is for her or not.