Did you (or still do) play with dolls when you were young?

[Corie]

Just curious...

Did you play with dolls when you were younger?

and

Do you still play with dolls?



I have never been interested in dolls, Barbies, etc. And I'm
still not interested.

But my soon-to-be 8 yrs. old daughter loves dolls and Barbies. She
could play with them for hours. She dresses and undresses them.
She does their hair. etc, etc.

[TwinFoxes]

I have never been interested in dolls, Barbies, etc. And I'm
still not interested.


Ditto. That American Girl thread seemed like it was written in a foreign language! :) I did have two beloved stuffed animals (who are sitting on my dresser as I type!) but the whole doll thing I just never got into. I do have two adorable "dolls" now, that I dress up and play with. I used to nurse them, and they even pee and poop (a little too realistically!) They are one of kind. ;) In fact, I hear them stirring, so better go get them. :D

[hillview]

I was NEVER intereste but loved stuffed animals. DS 1 loves his animals. DS 2 loves his "baby" doll.
/hillary

[mommylamb]

As a kid, I never played with baby dolls. Barbies were another story. I loved them and played with them till I was at least 12.

DS is not interested in dolls or stuffed animals in the least. I try.

[MoJo]

I liked dolls, both the baby doll and the Barbie doll kind. However, I also preferred stuffed animals, and still have a few from my childhood. And my favorite toys were creative ones: a Barbie perfume maker, a sof' sounds musical instrument.

Now, I only play with them with DD. . . and at 16 months she may already prefer dolls to stuffed animals, I'm not sure.

I like the one who's getting to wake up now best of all!

[Melaine]

Absolutely, I played with them constantly and I ADORED dolls. I had a huge collection and they were my favorite toys. I wasn't really into stuffed animals that much but I think it's safe to say I played with dolls for about a decade. Now I still do but I blame it on the girls.

[Seitvonzu]

well, yes...i was a doll girl. not the sort that had lots and lots of dolls, but the sort that had a few dolls and LOTS OF CLOTHES AND ACCESSORIES. that is why the whole AG concept appealed to me.... love the little miniature realistic THINGS that you can get with them...and the CLOTHES. any doll i have isn't special until she at least has pjs and an extra dress. clothes make the doll in my opinion.

this said, dolls are for PLAYING to me... i had some very nice, expensive dolls growing up (still have them), but i was always allowed to play with them. i have some "shelf dolls" too (i mostly bought these for myself because my mother wasn't as into that) and i have no problem taking their clothes off and redressing/etc. unless a dolls is meant as "art" (i'm talking about dolls that cost thousands of dollars and are more like sculptures....), i think that putting something up on a shelf is a sure way to zap the life out of it :) especially something with a FACE.

in college i worked in a doll store.. we had a label we'd use for some people-- "doll people." these people were usually obsessive and slightly crazy. they were NOT the sweet grandma's that were coming in to buy their grandchild's christmas baby and cradle. no siree! i wouldn't classify myself as one of those "doll people." i do not need to have each and every madame alexander country doll. i do not spend 2 hours going through boxes of shoes, expecting the employees of the doll store to provide striderite for doll service, and call my doll "my child." no way!

i did buy LOTS of dolls when i worked at the store. i was in college, unmarried, but most of these dolls were for "future" children. baby/toddler dolls primarily. and CLOTHES. a doll just isn't fun unless they have CLOTHES.... apparently lucy already agrees. i gave her a huggems for christmas and she was sorta "eh" about her. then one day i got out a few outfits and the corolle diaper bag i had stashed away. we changed "baby rosie" into her pjs and lucy was smitten. it was so cute. her next dolly was a corolle calin-- "baby charlotte" her and baby rosie can share clothes, but they really don't . they each have their own :) she loves the HECK out of baby charlotte. we also have a boy baby doll named "baby paul." i bought him because he looked like my boyfriend at the time .... the boyfriend that never wanted babies. i thought it was funny :)

wow...tangent! so YES i was a doll person as a kid and i'm a doll person as an adult (i actually recieved a kit doll and wardrobe at my wedding shower... i'm on an AG list that's been around over 12 years and a couple people came to "represent the group"). lucy does seem to be a doll person, but she likes stuffed animals too. currently she carries a thomas engine around like her best friend... so who knows?

[Ceepa]

Yeah, I never was a doll person and am still not understanding the draw. I remember being at friends' houses when they would drag out the big Barbie wardrobe box and I'd glaze over, "Um, can't we go outside and play? How many times can Barbie get dressed and go to The Big Dance?" :ROTFLMAO:

I was given dolls as gifts and they mainly sat on a shelf. If something needed "mommying"or nurturing I turned to my stuffed animals or IRL pets, who probably would have liked me to stop wrapping them in bandages at my pretend veterinary office. :love5:

[elephantmeg]

I loved dolls-my CPK and my barbies!

[Momit]

I think I had 1 Barbie, 1 Madame Alexander doll and about 500 stuffed animals. I used to say I wanted one of "every animal in the whole world!" I had a couple that I would get outfits for and dress up, but mostly I just played with them and made up stories for/about them.

DS is 14 months and has a trunkful of stuffed animals already, but alas he has yet to show any interest in playing with them.

[billysmommy]

I used to say I wanted one of "every animal in the whole world!"


This was me :) My parents saved most of my animals and the boys play with them now. I totally wanted to get one of everything and came pretty close. I just bought a camel the other day because he was the coolest camel I'd seen and I/we didn't have one yet

I did have Strawberry Shortcake dolls that I played with quite a bit but they all came with their little animals which I loved!!! I had one CPK but I loved the Koosa I got with her better.

[Cheburashka]

My older sister and I never played with dolls, but both of my younger sisters loved them. I had a bunch of stuffed animals though, so when my younger sister would play with her doll, my stuffed cat would play along too. Until she got into the big Barbie craze (was Polly Pocket with my youngest sister), then we stopped playing together.

[egoldber]

I loved dolls although I did not have that many. A few babies, but mainly Barbies. I loved my Barbies passionately and played with them into late elementary school.

I freely admit to doing all I can to cultivate the doll love in my girls. :)

[Melaine]

Yeah, I never was a doll person and am still not understanding the draw. I remember being at friends' houses when they would drag out the big Barbie wardrobe box and I'd glaze over, "Um, can't we go outside and play? How many times can Barbie get dressed and go to The Big Dance?" :ROTFLMAO:



I played with my dolls a lot outside, riding my bike, on my balance beam (my parents bought me a regulation balance beam for our garage), climbing trees, in forts, pulling them in the wagon, etc. I tended to do a lot of pioneer playing, traveling around the world and camping out kind of play. Then you can play doctor, veterinarian, store, or restaurant all incorporating dolls.

Just so that the non-doll lovers will understand that doll play can be a lot more imaginative and well-rounded than "Let's-Go-to-Prom" Barbie style.

[vonfirmath]

We had MAndy dolls that we dressed up and dressed up and dressed up. I know we took them around the house in our shopping carts, but I don't quite remember what else we did with them.

We had dollhouse dolls that we played stories with, had them go visit each other, etc.

And we had Barbies-size dolls. (mostly Ginny and younger. I also used my Lego minifigs in this play) that we made up elaborate stories with. we had clothes, but rarely changed them, being more interested in making up birth certificates for every doll, personalities, names, favorite colors, etc. And then telling stories together.

PS but all of these dolls did not prevent me having fun building with Legos, zooming my Matchbox cars around, experimenting with my 101 electricity projects set and my chemistry set, and playing with multiple Little People sets. Oh and reading. lots of reading. So I was pretty well-rounded. As long as it was inside.

[infomama]

Not so much. I played with stuffed animals and Breyer horses. I had one baby doll that got the royal treatment but that was it.

[Corie]

I remember being at friends' houses when they would drag out the big Barbie wardrobe box and I'd glaze over, "Um, can't we go outside and play? How many times can Barbie get dressed and go to The Big Dance?" :ROTFLMAO:




My DD puts a couple Barbies in the basket on her bike so they can enjoy
her bike ride. :)

[egoldber]

I played with my dolls a lot outside,

Me too. :)

We have lots of dollhouses that are for "outside". With the beautiful weather now, the girls spent HOURS playing with their dollhouses outside this weekend.

[citymama]

I did when I was a kid. Loved them. Don't anymore - in fact, I find my MIL's collection of antique dolls very creepy.

DD HATES dolls and will not play with them. She has made me put them all away so she doesn't even look at them. Her stuffed animals, however, rule the house. She is all about the animals - slightly misanthropic, to be honest!

[Corie]

I freely admit to doing all I can to cultivate the doll love in my girls. :)




Even though I don't really understand my DD's doll love, I also try to
cultivate it. :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

I was a Barbie junkie. Pre-Barbie I remember playing with dolls too. But, I was 100% obsessed with Barbie.

Beth

[kijip]

I had a Cabbage Patch doll when I was about 5 or 6. Apparently, that was the first time I wanted a doll. After that, dolls were just not my thing. I had a fleeting interest in the AG stories when I was like 10 but never had (nor do I think I would have played with) an AG doll. I was given a lot of Barbies as gifts- after all they were go-to gifts for girls, perfectly cheap for b-day parties etc. They were mostly passed onto my younger sibling.

I was more of a trucks, tree-climbing, baseball playing sort of girl.

[bubbaray]

I loved dolls as a child, had billions of Barbies and those dolls from the late 60's and 70's with the hair that grew -- Chrissy??

LOVE dolls.

Yes, I still play with dolls. Who else would brush their hair?

[Pennylane]

I played Barbies for hours when I was around 8-10. My daughter, who is now 8, has no interest in them at all! She also never really played with baby dolls. My younger dd plays with her bitty baby all the time!

Ann

[wencit]

My younger sister was always trying to get me to play dolls with her, but I was much more interested in running around outside with the boy next door. We'd ride bikes, play football, etc. I remember one time she convinced me to play dolls with her for a while, and that lasted about 5 minutes before I was bored out of my mind. Needless to say, I was, and still am, pretty much a tomboy.

I have 2 boys now, so chances are very good that no one is going to be brushing any doll hair in this household!