To think reborn dolls are disturbing?

Can't put my finger on what it is about them, it's weird.

Whenever someone on Mumsnet cannot articulate why they don't like something, ("it just seems off" is the classic), it's usually down to some sort of unreasonable judgementalism, or worse!

They are not "creepy". They are dolls that cannot hurt or harm you. If you think they can, then it's you that has a problem.

I don't find them particularly appealing, but I don't see anything sinister in them either. As others have said, they are a source of comfort and joy to many people. Those people don't deserve judgment or contempt because you don't understand them.

OP you've completely ignored KrustyKitten who has (very graciously) tried to explain why they enjoy the doll.

YABU, I don't understand people who like trainspotting or Love Island, but it's none of my business! It's their hobby, leave them be.

Oh come on don’t be so nasty. You obviously haven’t lost a baby, so how can you honestly know how you’d react in that situation? It’s not for you or anyone else to judge how other deal with grief if it isn’t hurting anyone else. Don’t be narrow minded.

I dont understand why you need to be quite so vocal about these dolls? Just let people be.

You can have your opinion.

And people can respond to your opinion.

Sigh.

But try and open your mind just little. You seem weirdly annoyed that just because you don't think you'd feel a certain way in situation X then no one else should either.

I agree they are creepy and just look corpse like to me. However, I know of a young woman who has learning difficulties and severe mental health issues who has had two children removed because of neglect. She pushes one round in a pram. She loved her babies but was simply not equipped to cope. I'd rather she put all her attention on one of those than a real baby. Like a pp said, I equate them with loss.

On a lighter note, I remember seeing a video of a woman who made them into monster babies or zombies. They were incredible works of art and absolutely not intended as toys. Somehow didn't seem as weird 🤷🏻‍♀️

You keep saying they need “psychological help” instead, as though anyone who has been through trauma just needs 8-10 sessions of counselling to be completely healed. A lot of “psychological help” is about finding ways to soothe yourself, to cope, to find outlets for your emotions. A doll might be fulfilling those needs for a lot of people.

I don't get it either but when my great granny was in a care home with dementia they were very popular with a lot of the residents. They had something to care for.

Again, who appointed you the arbiter of what is and is not a legitimate reason for owning a bloody doll? Your attitude amounts to "I don't like these, so I feel entitled to police other people's usage of them". Astounding.

Do try to find it if you can! Wish I could remember the name of it or the channel. It was just so bonkers. I was trying to imagine how I’d react if MIL took a baby photo of one of our kids and had a special doll made of it. I’d think she’d gone nuts!

But yeah, I think it’s relatively harmless really. Not my cup of tea but then I bet I do things that other people think is a bit odd. And people dressing up their dolls and doing whatever with them definitely aren’t wasting more time than I do scrolling mumsnet or watching crap telly! If they didn’t waste their time watching Riverdale like me then I don’t think I can judge them wasting it playing with a doll. And at least their babies (unlike mine) can be shoved back in the cupboard when they can’t be arsed dressing them.

do we take a child's favourite teddy or blankie because they have a close attachment,no we don't. Because although we don't understand the attachment to a inanimate object .People find things to comfort them.I find the idea weird ,of these dolls weird to but if it comforts someone and it does no harm.Then let it be ,some people have had it ruff let them have something that brings them comfort

Do you often have difficulty understanding that different people can do things differently to you?

Must be tough.

You should seek help for that.

"A normal doll is a hobby, but a life like newborn baby is something else."

I also collect normal dolls and people still call me weird!

Why do they need help? Who are they hurting? People have things like support dogs and companion ponies etc. If it helps them, that's all that matters.

Omg, that is hilarious. People are very fucking weird indeed.

They help people with dementia.

Also they won't grow out their clothes.

I haven't lost a child or had fertility issues, but I do have chronic depression. I own one of these dolls and I find the weight of it in my arms soothes me when I am very low and weepy and brings me back to a happy time in my life. It's a small coping mechanism I use amongst others but I do enjoy it. Sometimes it is the only thing that helps me sleep.

No one tell the OP about Real Dolls 😬

If my husband died and I wanted a life size doll to replace him people wouldn't be so accepting of it!

I've seen on TikTok a man who has a life size doll in his garage which he calls his wife and has a real wife in the house. His garage wife even got pregnant and they had a baby together.