Reborn dolls in the pram bay

[gezelligheid]

A couple of times now I've been unable to get on the bus with my baby in a pram because there are two local women who take their reborn dolls out in prams and take up the pram bays. I know they are reborn dolls as I've seen the dolls in their pram.

I understand people have reborn dolls for many different reasons but to take up a space meaning a real baby can't get on the bus surely isn't fair?

I've complained to the bus service and they've said they cannot monitor whether babies are real or not so if they get on the bus first I should ask them to put their pram down upon boarding.

I'm worried this will cause an altercation on the bus so I'm wondering AIBU to say something on the bus even though it may be embarrassing for the women?

Accessibility is enshrined in law thank goodness. If you find a place that’s not accessible to people with registered disabilities you can report it. Sometimes shops are in the news for not allowing guide dogs for example.

I think the likelihood of not one, but two people together on the same journey needing a reborn doll as some sort of essential therapeutic support is slim to none.

No matter what the reasons for having a doll on the pram are, a real baby should take priority over a doll when it comes to taking up the pram space.

This is the bottom line tbh. Regardless of how important the dolls are to some people, and personally I have no problem with that, a human baby needs to be in a safe place on a moving vehicle.

It's a health and safety precedent. That's why the pram spaces exist. It's not just to be cosy for mums. A baby can be strapped into a chair.

Twitter seemed to get you a quicker response with the bus company OP. Don't be just fobbed of with the form though. Keep tweeting if you don't get a decent reply.

It's not about "mums, prams, dolls". It's about them enforcing their own rules and their customer safety.

Takes me an age just to fasten all the clips on the carrier, and I'm better doing it seated. I'd love one of those wrap round and over soft slings but I got very confused how to put them on.

Ridiculous!
YANBU.

Why for the love of god people these days are being so ridiculous. Confused about gender, real baby/dolls and all sorts. What's wrong with people these days and why are they being prioritised is beyond me😭

Not entirely sure but if memory serves, it's because the original doll is factory made, not necessarily very realistic, and then someone takes that doll and works on it, putting things inside, painting, sculpting and so on, doll parts are baked in an oven I believe, and the result of all that work is a different-looking and different-feeling doll that is considered to be "reborn," meaning it's like a whole new doll. I think? googles
Ok here we go from Wikipedia: "A reborn doll is a hand made art doll created from a blank kit or a manufactured doll that has been transformed by an artist to resemble a human infant with as much realism as possible. The process of creating a reborn doll is referred to as reborning and the doll artists are referred to as reborners. Reborn dolls are also known as lifelike dolls or reborn baby dolls."

Are you serious?

Surely even if these people do have mental issues they have people around them who know this is not acceptable behavior?

I mentioned a few pages back that they may be carrying and distributing drugs, before you said they look like addicts.

Do they actually interact with the dolls? The fact that everyone is intimidated by them sounds like they are not acting very motherly.

I can see from your post that the modern world must be very very confusing for you 😆😆

This thread led me down a rabbit hole. Some of these dolls are incredible! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RebornsbyVahni

The wheelchair spaces are for wheelchairs, not for toys. Yes, the reborn doll owners may well have mental health problems but that doesn't give them the right to use a wheelchair space.

Yes! What a rabbit hole. I had no idea these existed.

The wheelchair spaces are for wheelchairs, not for toys. Yes, the reborn doll owners may well have mental health problems but that doesn't give them the right to use a wheelchair space.

This is correct but this is about whether prams takes priority over other belongings in the space. Wheelchairs should take priority over everything but I don't actually think someone with (for example) large suitcases should have to get off a bus to make room for a pram. This is the same.

The prices have gone up! Though they were never cheap.

I'm not an owner I hasten to add, but DD bought two of them, over a couple of years, with her birthday money years ago (she was around 10). They were approx £125.00 each then. Many years ago though.

Her dolls had weighted rather than realistic bodies though! She used to trash all of her dolls though, they were well played with which is, I suppose, the main thing.

@Wolfparty the OP has stated several times it is a designated pram space on her bus for parents and carers of infants and young children in prams. So the wheelchair is irrelevant and someone with a large suitcase should move as the space isn't really supposed to be for them.

Update: received another response from Arriva

How do you feel about that result?

I'm surprised they can't enforce it. I thought they could if the space was needed for wheelchair users, but perhaps that's a different space. I've rarely used the bus so can't recall the layout.

That is, I think, the same line as bus companies use when asking parents with children in prams to make way for wheelchairs. The driver can’t force them to fold. But can refuse to budge until this happens or the person takes the pram off the bus.

Charming

Why cant the reborn dolls get "popped into a sling" and their pram folded to make way for real babies? For those shouting mental illness.....yes fine but these dolls can be removed from the prams and sat on laps whilst their prams are folded. It's not like they wriggle and cry or be I. Any danger being carried off the bus. I would imagine it's extremely dangerous for a mother to try and fold her pram whilst holding a baby, not to mention getting off with baby bags and a folded pram. No one is suggesting that reborns shouldn't be on the bus, or in the pram bays but when a real mother, with a baby laden with shopping bags needs the space they should absolutely remove the doll, fold the pram and move, or carry the doll in a sling. What happens if there's a crash and the baby is on a lap of an unstrapped mother whilst the dolls are secure in their prams? Mental illness should not trump the welfare and safety of a real baby..... because believe it or not the baby has human rights too!!! A right to be safe on public transport

Are you seriously suggesting that the mental health of an adult is more important than the safety of a human baby? These dolls can be safely placed on laps and pram folded babies need to be strapped into a pram not sat on an unsecured mothers lap in case of an accident!! These mentally ill people carrying dolls can sit anywhere on the bus whilst it's pram is folded. How does a mother fold her pram whilst holding a baby and how does she open it all back up whilst holding a baby? People need a reality check.

I don't suppose they will ever commit to "enforcing " anything as they're not the police. It's a legality thing probably.

But it's a good start. And puts the onus of asking on the bus company. Which seems to be part of the difficulty since the Doll Ladies have not come over well, regardless of dolls.

Thank you . That makes sense.