Is this really normal

I would've paid good money to see the look on your face Bluebelle when those covers were pulled back

It takes all sorts.

It does come across as a bit sad, doesn't it? In the long run it's harmless. Is it any worse than say, collecting teddy bears? Who can say?

Love beige depends if you take your teddies out in a very expensive pram, talk to them as if they are human,rock them to sleep , have parties for them and like these two ladies get your husband to watch them while you’re in a shop !
Breeze my face would have been worse if it had been Lovebeiges s teddy bear in there

I did just read up on it apparently it started in (guess where) USA in the 90s the dolls cost from hundreds to thousands and so do the accessories It seems to have reached UK and Australia in the 2000 s and now is in other parts of the world
I wish all that money could be spent on real kids, bless em

Ridiculous and first I'd heard of it. The world has gone quite mad. When I started to read your post Bluebelle I thought at first it was one of those 'practice' dolls to see if you are cut out for motherhood. Seems a few people haven't quite grown up have they.

And don't get me started on dogs in bags (unless puppies who haven't had their jabs and are being familiarised with traffic etc.) or dressed in stupid outfits. One of my large dogs once picked up a small dog that was wearing a fluffy pink fur coat by the back of the stupid coat. He stood there sheepishly looking at me as if to say 'What the hell is this? It looks like a toy but the legs are waving about'. Owner not impressed but let your dog look like a dog then and not a fluffy chew toy.

goody ell....get a cat!

I think the baby dolls in the care homes are dolls , not those creepy reborns

It is a bit like being a little girl with a dolly and pram.

Were you in Morcambe bay by any chance came across a group of reborne collectors on the prom there last July very interesting

Never heard of it this before but it seems so sad when there are millions of real children looking for a family and someone to love them. Sad

I have a friend whose second child was stillborn. Several years later she was given a very lifelike baby doll by her husband. The doll spent most of its life in a cot but came out for a cuddle sometimes. They were very happy kind people but the death of their baby had left a huge space in their lives. They went on to have another healthy child. We really don't know why people do all sorts of things but it may bring joy and help to assuage grief and doesn't harm anyone else.

It is really very sad that grown up women should be acting like children. I think that maybe the social service should pay them a visit . They might need some help.

Ginny42
There was a TV programme on this subject some years ago.Why see it as, in your words, an obsession and incredibly sad.?
On many occasions I have observed actions taking place in what to my way of thinking are 'sad ' but providing no harm done then who am I /we to judge.

breeze priceless!!

It is any more abnormal than someone who collects and plays with train sets?

Any more ridiculous than someone who sits overnight on a river bank waiting to catch a fish? [and then hopefully put it back]

Any more weird than someone using a metal stick to bang a small white ball around a some big green grass?

Any more creepy than someone playing games on an X-box?

Any more sad than someone moving about to music in a hall?

Any more mad or even heaven forbid American than having chickens/cats/dogs/etc and taking them to shows in an attempt to win a bit of coloured ribbon fashioned into a specific shape?

How judgemental so many of us who have posted on this thread appear to be. Now that is sad.

It's just a hobby like so many others and fortunately we are free to enjoy it or take no notice - whichever takes our fancy.

I'd never heard of it before. It possibly fulfills some maternal longing but without all the crying/broken nights/stress...

Lots of people (mostly men) collect transformers, action dolls/models. A very 3xpensive habit..What's that about? Similar to 5he baby dolls?

I would quite like one of those dolls. I wanna play dollies again. Could get the old pram down from the roof.

In reply to Rizlett. I do think that this practise is very odd.
There is a big difference in collecting train sets or such.
They think that they have a baby . They need help.

Back in the 70s I remember an old lady who walked around my town with a pushchair full if dolls, teddies etc.
She'd go into Boots and ask the pharmacist for medicine for her babies who were ill.
I was told that she'd lost her only child to cot death when she was a young woman. Very sad.

Barmeyoldbat
Until you know the circumstances why assume every woman ' is suitable to take care of a 'real child'.?
This unsuitability does not stop a woman's 'instincts' which were clear to me when visiting a very dear friend in a care home.
One of the residents, who were of various ages , was observed holding a doll wrapped in a blanket and would when seated rock this 'baby' back and forth humming a tune.
I was informed, by staff, this lady had never had children due to the need for care herself but clearly her needs to be a mother had not been diminished.

They don't think they have a baby. It probably just helps to fulfil a need. There can't be anything wrong with that.

(that was to Khan)

In reply to @Khan I might or I might not think that the practice of collecting train sets is very odd.

They think that they are a train controller. They need help.

Thank you for your view too @Gonegirl.

Balance is always a benefit.

Someone answered the door to me with one in her arms,It looked really stranger X odd and I panicked and said Your baby looks really ill. Then she said it was one of these dolls. Each to their own I suppose.....

Additionally and further to @sarahellenwhitney a number of care homes provide residents with dolls - not just those who may or may not [and how would we know?] have lost a child or baby in the past.

It's seen to help some people feel more calm - less anxious. I suspect it might be connected to the natural endorphin release that many people experience caring for real babies.

Perhaps this is also why the reborn ladies like it - or perhaps they just love vintage prams and walking about with an empty pram might be viewed by some as even more odd!

I might, when I get to that age, put a little dog in mine.

I've just looked this up on Youtube as I hadn't heard of it. I saw a reborn baby who had surgery, a reborn labour and delivery which I find really unpleasant. I know this does not harm anyone else but I really cannot understand women who enjoy this.