I’ve read from some people on here that sometimes take their reborns to nursing homes for the people to play with. I was considering doing this as well, but don’t know where to start.
I’m rather shy, so just going there or calling is kinda hard for me. Does anyone have any tips on how to approach this and perhaps deal with employees that just think I’m a plain crazy doll lady?
What are some things I should think about, apart from no magnets and no rooted dolls?
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As a nurse I have taken babies that I made into the home where I worked and the residents loved to see them and hold them. I have also donated a baby to a different nursing for them to keep. They are great therapy especially for people with dementia they can have a calming effect. I would suggest using sleeping babies as if it is awake the resident may expect some interaction and not fully understand why it is not moving,however if someone puts a sleeping baby in your arms all you want to do is hold it gently. Don’t be too shy, if you can’t face going to a home try emailing them first to ask if they would like you to bring a reborn baby in as therapy for their residents. I don’t know who gets more back from therapy dolls the residents holding it or you seeing the effect it can have. All I can say is do it you won’t regret it.
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Thank you for your information! I do have a sleeping reborn that I can take with me, I’ll just need to take the magnet out.
Emailing is a good idea, I may try that. It’s less scary, haha.
I can almost guarantee that the activity department would love you because they are always on the hunt for new things to do. The activity director plans everything that goes on in there so that would be a good starting point.
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Call the nursing home and ask to speak with the activity director. Explain and he or she will set you up.
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@DollyPardon @babymaw I didn’t think of asking for the activity director. That’s a good idea. Thank you!
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I read somewhere that the sleeping babies can cause some elderly people to become upset because it reminds them of a dead baby. Have you ever encountered that personally? I want to bring my babies to a nursing home at some point as well but haven’t yet. Do the residents you encountered become upset when the open eyed babies didn’t interact with them, or just confused?
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Your welcome. My brothers in a nursing home they are always looking for things for them to do. They like to get things some of us throw away to like scrap material crayons markers glue etc. I’ve even given them things that they give as gifts to the bingo winners.
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So, little update, turns out my mom was planning on visiting an old neighbor at a local nursing home. I tagged along and asked one of the nurses about bringing in reborns. She seemed to like the idea and wrote down my information. So now I’ll just wait until they contact me. 
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I’ve never had anyone get upset thinking it is a dead baby but I have seen some residents trying to talk to an open eye baby, it’s only my thinking on which is best I don’t think there is any evidence either way. I’m sure the residents will love to see any reborn baby, just the fact that someone has come to visit them makes their day as some don’t have anyone come to see them.
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Thanks Julie!
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We have a project on the go in our province where nursing homes are using dolls to help reduce the use of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes. We are working on some guidelines and staff training based on observations and interactions that have been recorded over the course of a year with the hopes that it will become a recognized therapy. I have been facilitating workshops for a while now on how to to introduce doll Therapy to a person living with Dementia. There has been no evidence that a person reacts differently to an open or closed eyed doll and the majority of the reactions/ interactions have been positive. However, some react in different ways…I had a lady tell me she was pregnant but when I introduced the doll to her she didn’t want it because she was very focused on being pregnant and was waiting for her own baby to arrive. Her daughter later old me that she had never had children of her own and had adopted five. We figured out that it wasn’t about having a baby, it was about being pregnant…something she had wanted all of her life. We changed our activities to include talking about a baby shower, picking baby names, if she wanted a boy or girl…we never introduced the baby to her again. It is also important to discuss doll therapy with the residents family before introducing it to them to learn about the residents history. Have they ever lost a child or been involved in a trauma that involved a child…will the introduction of a baby bring back memories or feelings of trauma? Another important thing to remember, always refer to the doll as “the baby” never “your baby”. A person with Alzheimer’s or dementia may become very confused with the ownership, especially during mid stages when they are still somewhat aware of their past. Never tell them that the baby is real unless they believe it to be real. If they know it is a doll, tell them the truth and let them know that it is just used to create good feelings. I’ll gather up some more information from the nursing homes that I work with and share it with those who may be interested. This seems to be a hot topic lately. I’m also doing research for a Theraputic Activity course im studying so I will share what I find.
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Awesome info -please share more when you find out . I have one ready and in process of finishing another ( took longer than I had planned ) to take to our local nursing home. One is for a member of my church who now resides at the nursing home and holds a doll for comfort - and the other one is for the Alzheimer’s unit -several ladies there hold dolls all the time.
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Thank you for sharing, that’s very interesting!