Are reborns actually good for dementia patients?

In adult care homes, it is common to see that realistic baby dolls are praised and understood as something positive for adults. But some have said that realistic dolls and pets can have the opposite effect on them.

Many have said that the idea of caring for a realistic doll is like treating the dementia patient as if he or she is a child, but that is not the case. Many adults also play with toys as well as children, and they still know that they are an adult and take up adult roles. Dolls are not just for children, they are also a hobby to collect that many women and men have done for a long time. Reborns or realistic baby dolls are known to have positive effects on those who play with them. They help in anxiety, depression, loss, and more. Play therapy is for all ages and is known to help anyone who needs it. Play therapy reduces stress, and a person does not have to regress to childhood to do so.

It can be claimed that doll therapy may infantilize the elderly, but they are not regressing to a childlike state. They are using an item that is beneficial to their overall health. That isn’t just for a child. It helps relax these patients without giving them medicine, and helps them be able to socialize better as well

It could also be stated that doll therapy is lying to the patient, by telling them that in fact the toy that they are playing with is the real thing. But it is not a lie to hand them a realistic doll to help them. In an article about realistic baby dolls, it is stated that pictures, and old videos did not help, so the opportunity to be able to care for something is not lying to the doll. Giving them a positive way of caring for something that they love is not giving them a false sense of reality. It is infact helping them. It isn’t lying if it is bringing back positive memories for the patients and helping them feel better about themselves

Doll therapy can give the patients positive memories to think back on. Which overall stabilizes mood, and gives them something to do each day that is stimulating for them. It is a positive hobby that keeps the patient happy and calm. 

Doll therapy could also be seen as manipulative to the patients on the recieving end, but giving them a positive hobby that helps their memory as well as helping them calm down, is not manipulative. It is a form of medicine without actually giving them a pill or sedating them. It is a positive therapy that doesn’t trick them into being happy, it actually makes them happy. It actually gives them something positive to look forward to on their day to day basis. 

Dolls also help them feel better about living far away from loved ones, and on their own for the first time in a while. 

Doll therapy also is stated that it may cause conflict in institutional settings but it shouldn’t. If it is their own, which they do not have to share then it shouldn’t be seen as something negative. It is something to help them escape and should not cause conflict if it is a positive reinforcement. Doll therapy will help these people think back to better days and that is good for them. 

In the article that was used in this paper, it states that humans need attachment in order to grow into normal and healthy beings, and that is definitely true when helping with elderly. Giving them a healthy attachment is beneficial to their health.

References

Free, Cathy. “’The Doll Became Real before Our Eyes’: This Group Delivers Baby Dolls to Alzheimer’s Patients.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 1 July 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/07/01/doll-became-real-before-our-eyes-this-group-delivers-baby-dolls-alzheimers-patients/.

May.3.2021, JIJoy Intriago Updated: et al. “The Pros and Cons of ‘Doll Therapy’ for People Living with Dementia.” SeniorsMatter, 31 Mar. 2022, https://www.seniorsmatter.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-doll-therapy-for-people-living-with-dementia/2492362/.