What Are Reborn Baby Dolls and Why Are They So Popular in 2024

All children like to play with dolls and toys of any kind. Feeding the dolls, changing their outfits, cuddling, role-playing, it was all a part of the growing up process. Baby dolls, barbie dolls, Bratz dolls, and all the other ones — were our both imaginary and real friends, and they were allowing us to feel calm, playful, and overall happy. The majority of people remember their first toys and dolls, and some of them still keep them as a beautiful memory from their childhood.

However, what if there are people who never stopped playing? Unconventional or not, they have managed to incorporate these dolls into their everyday life, and make them into a fun, rewarding, and oftentimes a secret hobby.

How are they being called? These dolls’ names are Reborn baby dolls. They can somewhat represent the upgraded versions of the traditional dolls, with a couple of touch-ups that make them hyper-realistic and real-baby-alike. It’s an art doll that’s been transformed by artists in a way that resembles a human infant. The process of turning a manufactured doll into a hyper-realistic baby doll is called reborning and their artists are being called reborners. From real human skin alike vinyl, to painting multiple layers of paint that should resemble real baby skin, to adding numerous physical characteristics to the doll — their hair, eyes, clothes and other modifications — is being done for solely one purpose: making them extremely realistic.

This trend began in the US in the late 90s, presenting a revolutionary change in the way society had perceived baby dolls of that time. Since their grand appearance on the market, and thanks to the internet growth, reborn baby dolls have developed as a unique worldwide phenomenon, also becoming an inspiration for numerous magazines, books, organizations and manufacturers such as worldreborndoll.com.

Adored and hated at the same time, it seems like reborn dolls have become and still are a controversial topic, a crossroad that categorises people based on their ability to understand things that seem different at first, or in other words — just things that are slightly more complex to process.

Looking at the big picture and getting more information about everything you find bizarre or hard to comprehend is what can give you the chance to see things from the other perspective. We’re here to help.

Reasons why reborn babies are so popular

1. LOVE FOR DOLL COLLECTING

The psychology behind doll collecting is pretty simple. People who do it may treat them just as any other collector’s item, only with certain interests like sewing or buying the costumes, they also love fashion, sometimes history, or they want to replace their childhood toys they’ve lost in the past and to feel that nostalgic feeling that reminds them of home and all the beautiful moments they’ve spent with family. Not only that, having different babies with different features and clothes sounds interesting to some. It helps them find joy in everyday activities as well as create their little world of fantasy. If some people collect shoes and bags, why is this any different?

2. EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT

Reborn baby dolls are known for the benefits they provide. It’s been proven that those benefits have therapeutic value since they provide some kind of comfort and emotional relief to numerous categories of women, whether those are elders suffering from mental illnesses and stress disorders such as dementia and other cognitive issues, or women who have suffered miscarriages in their life and of course the ones that cannot have children due to any challenges whether they are physical or mental. They don’t look at these dolls as they were real babies, they’re fully aware of the fact that the reborns are not alive, but it’s the role-playing and taking care of someone (or something) that makes a difference and allows them to fill the void or at least cure their wounds in the short term. Feeling motherly and being able to nurture someone, dress a reborn, take him on a walk or sing to him, can serve as an anchor for some individuals or couples. People choose to deal with their losses in different ways and every one of them is legit as long as it provides results. The research shows that emotional attachment to a reborn can be useful for the grieving person. Also, fantasizing about the idea of having a baby could make the process of grief less painful and easier to overcome. On the other hand, women whose children are grown up sometimes love to buy reborn babies that have similar characteristics to their newborns, so they feel less lonely surrounded by dolls that remind them of their own kids from the younger days.

3. DEVELOPING COPING MECHANISMS

For women who have still not accepted the fact that they are enabled to be a mother for some reason, having a reborn baby kit or reborn baby doll may be an unusual coping mechanism but sure an effective one. It’s been proven that it helps to reduce the anxiety in many women who need to face the truth of being unable to give birth, and it reduces their anxiety levels, stress levels and depression. Having something physically in your hands allows you to emotionally get attached and to keep you calm without causing you any troubles. That is why reborn is a great tool, and it’s even being used by psychiatrists and included in the therapy session for the above-mentioned disorders. At the same time, it serves as a great opportunity to learn how to be responsible and how to take care of the things that are important to you, so they may be useful even for women who are completely healthy and are just getting ready for the new chapter of their life — motherhood.

Unusual hobby or a creepy habit, this phenomenon can also be seen as a fantastic way of improving a person’s emotional health. Judgment is the last thing on the list, or at least should be since there have been numerous researchers who claimed the benefits of having a reborn doll. Next time you feel stressed out, analyze your relaxing habits and ask yourself would it be possible to relate to the high number of these babies’ owners. Aside from that, kids love to have infant-like, realistic dolls. Being able to provide them one can be a wise decision, to develop their care and patience for their siblings and hopefully, their children one day.