Thank you. I thought I was the only adult navigating all of the “official” adult stuff who likes to hold a teddy bear sometimes as I prepare for sleep.
9
My stuffed lion, named Katie, or Katrina, was a gift for my 40th birthday, and named for Katharine Hepburn, my all-time feminist heroine. 28 years later, she is still with me, nestling with me when I go to sleep. I've never had a cuddle buddy quite as special as she is, and I suspect Radar O'Reilly of M*A*S*H and his teddy bear would envy me.
3
I thought my hubby and I were the only grown-ups playing with plushies! We endlessly amuse ourselves with their antics. Squido is the VIC (very important cephalopod), and he enjoys bopping people with his tentacles and listening to GUSTER. Chthuey the tiny Chthulu likes Gnar and looks sharp in a tie. Smothers the penguin is cute but homicidal and carries a spatula to whack people because his flippers are too small to do it efficiently.
7
I have a basket of treasured stuffed animals in my apartment from all stages of my life: mostly from infancy, when they doubled as teething helpers; and teen years, when they served as the most romantic type of gift most boys I knew could dream up. Recently, I bought an assorted group of lovingly worn Steiff big cats on Ebay because I saw in their eyes so clearly a yearning for the companionship of a tiger my mom inherited from her parents. A couple of years ago, I impulsively bought a Grumpy Cat for my mom when she was ill, and now that she's gone, I have her on my desk at work. I still feel a deep pang seeing small children clutching a sweet, soft friend and hope they never get tired of needing their companions.
3
I have a teddy bear that as old as I am. He doesn't have a name, so I think I got him before I was able to speak. When my mom died this summer, I looked all over her house for him and finally found him in her closet. He'd been there for 27 years! I'm so grateful to my mom for storing him for as long as she lived in her house. He's a treasure.
I never outgrew my love of stuffed animals. Paddington Bear especially is a balm in these troubled times.
6
Frank has been with me since the day I was born and I've slept with him almost every night for 50 years. I don't take him on trips or extended work assignments but otherwise, he's by my side every night and can't imagine life without him. Partners come and go but Frank has always been there. If my house was on fire, the first item I would grab is Frank. He gives me so much comfort.
13
Growing up, I had masses of stuffed animals. I preferred them to dolls. I took some with me to college and grad school and they moved around as I accumulated degrees.
Right after I moved into my new office in my first job as a professor, a huge box showed up. It was full of stuffed animals from my childhood. My dad had dug them out of the garage and my mom had cleaned them and put bows on them, and as a joke they mailed them to the university where I worked.
My secretary told me that I should put them up in my office, that the undergrads would get a kick out if them. So I did, lining the top shelf of my bookcases with so many stuffed animals, including some that had been my mother’s, that she had passed along.
All I can say is the students love them. There is a particularly large bear that sits in a chair that has been cried on by many a distressed undergrad as they tell me their troubles. Some students delight in seeing original toys from the early eighties when I grew up (Care bears, etc.) others just brighten up when they come into my office. After my mom died, the pile of stuffed frogs she collected and later gave to me, would bring me comfort whenever I missed her. Students who are fond of me have given me more toys to add to the collection, so now it grows.
And more than one colleague has come into my office and sat down and picked up the bear to hug after difficult day.
16
I have a store on ebay called Stuffed Animal Rescue. It doesn't make me rich by any means but I love that I'm reconnecting people both big and small with stuffed animals. They bring comfort to so many.
7
It's long been my assertion that teddy bears (or the stuffed animal of choice) are extraordinary self-soothing/stress-reducing aids that are neither expensive, immoral, illegal or fattening. My coterie includes a gang of 8 (4 couples) who sleep on my bed, plus the I've-lost-count of other teds & stuffed friends who share my home. If you haven't tried speaking to your stuffed animal to get their opinion, you may be surprised to see how deeply wise they are. Better than therapy! Available 24/7! Everyone needs a teddy to love!
15
As a child I had many stuffed animals. I remember my bed was full of them. As I grew up, some drifted away but many were boxed up and placed in the attic so as not to let them go. When I had children, they came back to life in the hands and minds of my kids. My children have their own special stuffed animals but my old ones; one eye missing, threadbare and faded, sit next to them enjoying the company and life they once loved with me.
10
I received a teddy bear when I was 4-5 months old. Nounou is now 40 years old. It's been completely flattened by years of me using it as an extra cushion when I sleep, it's lost eyes and nose in the laundry. But it's still my best source of comfort today.
19
I can’t imagine I’m the only psychiatrist reading this... why has no one yet mentioned the “stuffed animal sign”, pathognomonic for Borderline Personality Disorder?
4
@Hmm. I hardly think that stuffed animals are the most significant sign of BPD.
7
For many people they can be, very simply, a harmless reminder of childhood, of a time when everything was fine and easy. It doesn't have to be pathological.
Yes research as shown a higher prevalence of attachment to inanimate objects such as teddy bears amongst patients with BPD but let's not be too cynical here. From reading the comments it sounds like most here are well-adjusted adults who simply like having a soft, cuddly source of comfort at home.
8
@hmm
Oh, please psychologist! Not everything had to be pathology. Should all humans
who find comfort in a stuffed animal gets a diagnosis? Medication? Years of therapy? Have you heard about naturally playful natures? Your old school thinking has you in a box; don’t put us in there with you.
12
I love this article. My teddy bear Valentine and my my stuffed green Grinch wait for me on my bed.
8
When I went away to college I tried to leave my stuffed animal I'd slept with for 18 years behind, because now I was an adult and too old for such things. But my dad stuck Dinosaur in the van when I wasn't looking, and I ended up being grateful he came along for the ride, because he was a comfort when I was lonely and homesick, and I was far from the only college student in the dorms with a well-worn stuffed animal on my bed.
10
I know a few people who sleep with the Tanakh in their bed! Nearer My G-d to Thee!!!
2
People often cling to pillows or small sofa cushion without thinking about it, a stuffed animal is just putting a face and some emotion into a otherwise unconscious act.
17
Problem is in my house a stuffed animal would last three minutes after one of my dogs got hold of it.
3
last sentence says it all!
3
Stuffed animals are soft and appealing because wipe like soft and in our minds imagine them as kind. A refuge from humans that are soft but often not kind.
10
We all do it. I have just been given a lovely chicken...Chrissy Chicken who is making her home with Floppy Cow (a nightclub owner), Sleepy Bear (from Sunset Boulevard), Bridgehampton Ted (no need to explain) and ancient Teddy whom I have had since I pulled his eyes out when I was two. Sleepy often travels with me and I've discovered that housekeepers at hotels like to arrange him in comfy positions. There was a lovely Mary Moose, but my grand-daughter begged me to let her go to another city and she was a traveling kind of girl (Mary, that is.)
Happy holidays to all the animals.
15
I cultivate close, personal relationships with a rather large number of TinkaBelles. The first of their kind I found in an Oxford bookshop opposite Christ Church - all the rest have made their way to me as I think, a known refuge from the wider world. First there was Mean Bunny, then the Bears, Neliphant .... We are all safe as houses.
6
@GWPDA,
With this in mind, can you remember the name of Sebastian Flyte's teddy bear, a constant companion in 'Brideshead Revisited'? No chicken peeping at the web, your friend Basil Brush.
3
@Miss Ley Aloyisius..the trick is to pronounce it properly...I am hoping that I have spelled it properly - have not peeked....and Aloyisius had his own hairbrush, I recall..
6
@Miss Ley I named one of my teds Sebastian... :)
2
You never know when a house guest might need the comfort of a stuffed animal. For years, I have kept a stuffed Koala bear on the bed in my guest room. The Koala bear is just the right size to hug.
9
What a joyful article. Thanks!
20
The college library where I work has a large collection of puppets & stuffed animals, as the campus's second-largest major is education, & our student teachers often use a puppet or stuffed animal to help present a lesson to younger kids. As I found out while giving a tour of the library to student orientation leaders, one of the OLs sheepishly admitted that the college students in general will blow off steam during midterms & finals by playing w/the puppets & making up stories w/them.
7
@Bobcat108,
Your anecdote when working in the college library and the student tour orientation reminded this reader of 'Love of Seven Dolls', where the puppets save the life of a young girl cast aside and are the go-between with the puppeteer. Each one, whether it be Mr. Reynardo, the dishonest crafty fox, or Dr. Duclos, the pompous penguin, express his multi-sided personality.
Written by Paul Gallico, it is a small book with a large impact, both light and dark, one that Max Genecov might wish to read. Thanking him for this fun and moving article and the commentators.
2
@Miss Ley: I love Paul Gallico's work! My grandparents met him in Liechtenstein back in the late 1960s & got me an autographed copy of Ludmila. Time to visit the library to see if I can still find other Gallico works on the shelves...
3
@Bobcat108 -there's a good topic - famous stuffed toys from the classics or history..I loved the book Edith and The Bears, one of my favorites, and very special stuffed animals in that..
2
It was the Day of Katrina, and placing on my shoes to reach our humanitarian agency for children and spring into action, my childhood friend called from France. She wanted to know the name of the toy store where our parents used to buy us gifts. F.A.O. Schwartz, I replied on the verge of growling. An early memory had surfaced where on leaving New York for Europe, her mother told her that she would have to choose one of her plush toys, and leave the rest behind. She is gone now.
A close friend of mine had a theory about women who kept stuffed animals on their bed, but never let the cat out of the bag. Starting in the late 80s - 90s, while still dating, I noticed a neighbor or two would bring me a teddy bear. Five of these were hidden in the linen closet, until a polar one arrived, and showed signs of wanting to go ice-skating. To make a short story short, I found forever homes for these cubs.
'Nelson', a tiny anxious looking-one is resting on the pillow; when visitors ask for a tour of this small house, they look startled to see little Nelson. He was named after a couple's dog in San Diego who had survived surgery. The couple were distressed because he had better health coverage than Obamacare. Nelson, I replied, you are a lucky boy because not only do I not make $46,000 a year, but I cannot afford to have a dog.
My Nelson will always look anxious, but should I fall ill, he will come along with me.
2
My stodgy father-in-law brightened when my son brought him a Kermit the frog stuffed animal after open heart surgery. While my father-in-law has since passed, my 30 year-old son still has Kermit.
8
Yes. Our stuffed animals (monkeys, mostly) are good company, but sometimes they talk too much!
6
Okay, I'm in. We have a mobster bear who repeatedly tries to jack Santa and a team of Otters who regularly stymie him. Some lion protectors and one panda who we suspect might be working for the Chinese. Some other animals are deep undercover working for Mueller . .
6
What an interesting article. If I hadn't recently slept in my sister's guest bedroom where she has a stuffed puppy and a Kermit that I had to remove before getting into bed, I mightn't have read it. I have lots of photos of me as a child in the early 50s, carrying around a teddy bear but I haven't thought much about stuffed animals since then. Until this visit; when I made up the bed, I felt compelled to put the toys in an expressive pose: Kermit waving with his hand held up by a small pillow and the dog placed so he was looking at whoever entered the room. I had to show my sister; it felt so satisfying that now I'm going to get one that I can move around my apt. and talk to it, and answer for it! I suddenly see how it can be a lot of fun, whether alone or with someone else. Play! How refreshing.
17
Still have my Steiff dog Reilley and Steiff Capuchin monkey, given to me in the sixties, from the best toy store in Beirut, where we were living at the time.. They are my most important stuffed animals, but some of the new Folkmanis ones are really incredible - my Folkmanis toad and Folkmanis sloth are a joy to live with.
6
I always take my Beddy Bear, Rupert, with me when I go on business trips.
I usually put him back in my luggage when I leave for the day, as he is a little shy (like me).
One time, I was running late and forgot to stow him.
Imagine my delighted surprise upon returning to the room, to find him lounging on the made-up bed, in front of all the pillows!
The housekeeping staff received both a note of my heart-felt thanks, and a greater-than-average gratuity.
22
While reading your letter I looked to the corner of my living room where all of my dog's stuffed toys and hard toys are. When he was ready for sleep, I would put his toys back in this, his corner. I keep them there just as they were when he left over a year ago. Your essay seemed to give me the freedom to look through them for a favorite which I placed atop my dresser near his photo. After all, when we played I played with them almost as much as he did.
21
My stuff toys connect me to the real me.
18
"I am not, I don’t think, a poster child for the infantilization of the American adult."
Maybe not, but you've given us more evidence of it.
5
@Umberto what do you call a drink, a smoke, a pill, a toke? ways to soothe one's psyche. teddy bears fill the same role -- just with a fewer side effects and lot more effectiveness
8
yes, but there has to be a limited number.
less than ten.
5
Imagination doesn't need to die when we turn 18. We are all allowed to find joy where we can, as long as no one else is harmed in the process. Seek comfort where you will and find joy however you can. The world is a bleak and despairing place.
33
On Easter morning in 1971 or 72, I found a stuffed bunny in my basket left on our front porch. I'm 50 now and sleep with Miss Bun Bun every night, much to my husband's chagrin!
13
All of our pets are stuffed. Life is much easier without shedding, “accidents”, paying for food food or vet visits, and having to get home to walk at specific times of day. No allergy symptoms.They are dependably affectionate, exhibit personalities and with our assistance speak in distinct voices.
13
Thank you so much for this article! Like some of the other readers who have posted comments, I am surprised to discover that I am not alone in having a deep friendship with my stuffie pals. I went through a personal crisis earlier this year and talking with my stuffies has been one way I have coped with the trauma.
Certainly maintaining a relationship with my stuffed animals is not a substitute for the other steps I have taken to get through a difficult time in my life, including seeing a therapist, staying busy with work, spending time with friends and family, and being part of a faith community.
But talking to my stuffies is unique in this sense: Everyone gets along! There is no arguing, no hostility, no judging, and no anger. We sometimes get sad together, but then we offer comfort.
No, I am not delusional. I understand fully that in recovering from my life crisis I have needed to rely on a variety of coping skills. The nice thing about talking with my stuffed animals is that it is a time of the day when the focus is on everyone being nice to each other!
23
Humans aren't the only creatures that play with stuffed animals. One of my undergraduate students gave me a stuffed version of the mouse from the German cartoon show, De Sendung mit Der Maus. This was a nice gift and I gave it a special place to sit -- on my computer. After the first week or so, Maus disappeared and I found it in one of the bedrooms. Turns out that my rescue kitty developed some sort of affection for the stuffed critter and steals it whenever she can. It's my job to find out where she hides it.
41
I have over 100 stuffed animals, small and large, including some sewn by my mother 30 years ago while my father underwent dialysis. My grandchildren invent whole story lines with the animals and I use their play to teach them about the animals - where and how they live and how many I have actually seen in the wild. Seeing them everyday gives me comfort.
17
This brings to mind Puff the Magic Dragon. It's hard for me to play that song on the piano without crying when Puff realizes he's being retired.
"A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys
One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane
Without his life-long friend, Puff could not be brave
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. Oh!"
18
nooo, it's about marijuana
4
@Pia Yes it is. But it can be about more than one thing. Just like we can hold more than one thought, emotion, or desire in our hearts and our heads.
14
@Pia
You just put a pin in Tinseltown! How unkind of you, and was hoping you would keep it a secret from those of us who remain young at heart.
4
When I had open-heart surgery, I used a soften pillow-like stuffed animal to hold against my chest. It helped I had to move and made me feel less vulnerable as I was healing.
17
I note with interest that many of the comment writers have at least one wise stuffed animal. so do I, among the mischievous and the lazy stuffed animals is also a cow who is wise and a bit earnest. when a new animal joins the herd, she is in charge of induction. she gives me stern looks when I am slacking....
19
"I am not, I don’t think, a poster child for the infantilization of the American adult."
Yes, you are.
I imagine you also clutch your Official Patented Kidult water bottle with the "nipple" like top too, sucking perpetually like a little child ...(plastic water bottles with nipple-like tops, for adults....think about it....)
Not only infantilization, but the moronification of America continues at a staggering pace ( which is why we are saddled with a phone-diddling President who behaves like a perpetual two year old child...tantrums, foot stomping, name calling and fibs....the hallmarks of an infant...who apparently has the support of more than half the nation.)
Thankfully, if this comment offends you, you can go in your safe space and squeeze your stuffed SchmoopiePoopie or whatever childish name you have bestowed on it.
WHEN can we be ADULTS again?!?!??!?!?
11
@Ignatz lol :-)
1
@Ignatz
My younger son, Andrew, loved animals, stuffed and live. He was so fond of stuffed animals that when we visited friends, he would play with theirs and they would send one or two home with him. His older brother, Adrian, had other interests.
When Andrew died, shortly before his ninth birthday, he had three large baskets of stuffed animals, plus the favorites that stayed on his bed.
A friend from school brought a beanie baby husky to Adrian during a condolence visit. Adrian slept with Slushy for years and was so attached that I worried about what would happen if Slushy got lost. I later found a second one. When Adrian learned that I had that second dog, he adopted it too. When he moved to his own place, both dogs moved also.
What gives comfort is a personal thing. I love that my son has this special gift. Some day he may have children and tell them about the brother that he loved and the dogs that helped him in that sad time.
62
So, bah-humbug, huh? I bet if Donald Trump had a few stuffies, he wouldn't need women the side - and maybe he'd even be a more stable & secure individual.
22
My first born daughter's favourite stuffed animal was a cat. She took it along everywhere, including on plane rides as an un-accompanied child when visiting my parents.
One year after her brother was born, she insisted that her stuffed cat needed diapers too. She used the cloth kind wrapped around with the cat's tail hanging out.
Flying by herself, she always took the diapered cat with her to the amusement of the rest of the passengers. Once her little brother started flying by himself, she graciously loaned him her diapered kitty. It was a hoot.
13
Last year I realized that I'd somehow lost my childhood Teddy in a reshuffling of boxes from storage ; he hadn't been a visible denizen of the household but I'd known he was there somewhere, wearing an old sweater since he'd lost most of his hair in his 60-odd years, and a medal I'd won in a race in my 30s. I found myself feeling almost sickened--had he inadvertently ended up with the stuff that went to Goodwill? Would they have recognized his intrinsic value (unlikely!) or just chucked him? Of all the things I've lost over the years, this loss bothered me the most, and months later I could still hardly bear to think about it. Then in another go-through of the storage unit, there he was after all, in another box. The relief of that buoyed me for months--and actually, continues to and seems to have put things in permanent perspective; lost my good birding binoculars? Pfff--replaceable! Obviously somewhere in me the conviction I held when I fought with my sister 60 years ago as she told me our bears weren't really real after all still holds in a way; Teddy sits in my closet now, comfortably seated, where I can see him, on the shelf.
67
Once, shortly after I was diagnosed with liver bile duct cancer—I'm happy to say that this was 11 years ago, and I'm cancer free—my hand was inside a Furry Folk rabbit that I had for many years, and I found my hand, as the rabbit's paw, patting me in sympathy.
This was unnerving and at the same time comforting.
And yes, I live alone, was never married, and never had kids. But I have several small stuffed animals. I'm very glad to read that I'm not alone in treasuring them and their company.
54
I don’t like to fly but I have to for work.
I have a small bean filled lion that’s quite easy to pose. He sits on my shoulder and keeps me company. On one turbulent trip, beverage service was delayed due to the turbulence. When the air smoothed out the drink service started again. When the steward got to me, I was asked if I wanted anything to drink and I shook my head no. Then he pointed to my lion and asked if he wanted anything to drink. I laughed along with my seat mates. Tau, the lion also politely declined.
47
Wow. Thank you for this. My siblings and I spent countless hours as children role playing with stuffed animals, that, over time, fell apart and required multiple repairs. We created a family within our family where emotions could be expressed otherwise discouraged in real life.
27
Adding to my comment (though the order of the comments sections is mystifying) :
How delightful that in the print edition of the paper, there’s an article on “How To Converse With A Hand Puppet,” following this one. I’ve been fascinated by ventriloquism since I was young; always wishing I could master it, though I never took lessons. Yes, these articles are a linked, sweet giggle of joy. Thank you, editors.
8
Ok comments section, one more, in the form of a question to anyone reading:
How do you personally take care of and clean yours? I am actually afraid of ruining them, especially ones from childhood. The thought of putting them in the washing machine (which is in my building, not my apartment) has always been a no. Sure my way could be better. Methods appreciated.
3
We wash ‚baby monkey‘ by hand gently with woolite. It is kind of cute when he takes his B-A-T-H in the sink. After a nice rinse down, he relaxes in front of a fan until fluffy again. Hope this helps. :-)
27
Monica,
Thanks for the morning smile; I could see the whole thing.
7
@Person If you have a good front load washing machine like a Miele (no central agitator) , I'd suggest putting it on a gentle (cold water) or woolen cycle with a comparable liquid detergent and put in dryer on the gentle cycle until not quite dry.
6
Hospitalize with a serious illness..my 10year old granddaughter brought me her soft sweet pink bunny to keep me company. It slept with me all the time and brought such great comfort! Also, great laughs and smiles to staff and visitors...as I explained I did not usually sleep with a pink bunny...but I would from then on!
Give a sick person or a child in peril a soft cuddly stuffed animal to hug!
Miracles happen when we hug!
66
I still have my 2 oldest stuffed animals on a shelf at home. Bear, a teddy bear, with a music box inside of him with a tune I have never figured out. Robby the Rabbit donated to me by the Salvation Army when I was a toddler. (This year, it was a joy to buy/ donate similar plush animals for kids.) Others are ones people have gifted me over the years, including in my late 20s and 30s.
14
My husband and I have a number of stuffed animals, and they bring us much joy. Each one has his/her own personality. They bring us much joy and are very much a part of our lives. It’s great to continue this kind of play as an adult and to share it with someone you love. I’m glad to know we are not the only ones!
36
@Janet Wikler my boyfriend used to write me letters and postcards from our favorite shared stuffed animal. I still have them all and it brings back very sweet memories. I still have the stuffed animal too!
10
@Liz
and the boyfriend, too?
4
I am an adult male, and I have had a lot of emotional hardship in my life, so I can say from experience how important teddy animals are for spiritual sustenance. I find interesting, however, the rarely discussed places in history that teddy bears have had in their approximately century of existence:
In Nazi-occupied Europe, Jews hung onto teddy bears as long as they could, and one of these bears was for years shown in an exhibit at the Yad Vashem memorial; it is reported that a number of visitors, including heads of state, cried upon seeing the bear.
Martin Luther King got his start in the ministry as a young boy by practicing sermons in front of his teddy bears.
There is evidence indicating that it is not just humans, but also other mammals like goats, pigs, and sea otters who can feel the magic of a teddy animal.
I believe teddy animals are really important for society at-large. At a time in which so many of the world’s problems are in some way related to not fully understanding our own feelings and not feeling the “music” of other people’s emotions, who can help us more than teddy animals? They will not by any means eliminate all the dark aspects of humanity, but they can be instrumental in sustaining the trait of Sabradom, a word that refers to being tough on the outside and sweet on the inside. For this to be possible, though, teddy animals need to become openly accepted. So it is time for them to come out of the closet, both literally and figuratively!
95
I hear you. I am a trauma survivor dealing with a tough life, and deep depression. My stuffed animals are not only a source of comfort, they let me express the playful side I was completely denied in childhood.
60
I don't see how this is anything but retreating into infantilism. However if it keeps you sane, great.
11
@DJ, if playfulness, softness, comfort and love are all "infantile," then perhaps we should all retreat.
56
A few years ago, on one of the coldest days in Chicago, I rescued a small stuffed lion from a snow bank. After being laundered in a pillow case and dried, he came out pretty well, his mane sticking up a la Rod Stewart. Dubbed Tony, after St. Anthony, the finder of lost objects, he sits guard in my apartment.
82
I was happy to see that I am not as odd and eccentric as I had assumed. During the 6 months of chemo I endured after a double mastectomy for breast cancer that — just barely—made it under the wire as early stage, I slept either hugging or holding the paw of a Ditz Company Red Fox stuffed animal. Chemo is a lonely journey, difficult to explain the walk along the edges of survival to anyone who has not experienced it first hand. And the path is long enough that even boyfriend, parents, siblings, pets, cannot easily maintain a continuous level of support. They are not living it, you are. So each night, instead of asking them for the exhausting level of “ Am I going to survive this?” yet again, I held the fox’s paw in my hand as I fell asleep. And that comforted me. And I slept and I survived.
129
My husband and I have a collection of little stuffed friends who are part of our family in a silly way. They add to life’s fun and joy... and after 37 years of marriage we have a good collection! What a sweet article!
49
My husband 14 years my senior and I also although we had only 20 years together. Some of them we named and gave personalities to. Without children and real pets, this may be what happens. Our favorite? Dolly our sheep purchased from a Pendelton shop approx 2001 and named for Scotland's cloned sheep. Handsome and wise she presides thoughtfully over the rest.
31
I was delighted to read this article (and would have commented sooner, but the comments to this and many other articles often disappear at night). Yes, it would be nice to have a picture of the author's stuffed animals. I am in my late fifties and have never wavered in my love of stuffed animals (I did not like dolls), my cherished family members. I also recommend stuffed toys for those in small living spaces, such as I have always had. Mini porcupines, hedgehogs, bunnies--they are all here.
43
Funny, I loved stuffed animals too and hated dolls (and those who attempted to force them on me). Stuffed animals seemed like equals and friends in a way a doll could never be. & yes, I'm almost 50 and still sleep with my stuffed zebra (hubby insists that he stay on my side of the bed!).
24
Well this is certainly a delightful find. My stuffies have gotten me through some trying times and are usually able to give me a lot of perspective, humor and love. Lambie (who is currently writing a her Lamboir), Snoopy, my beloved copilot and alter ego, since age 14, and Pudding a wonderful lab, is always a wise and loyal friend. No one in my life would ever refer to these family members as transitional objects.
29
Delightful! My stuffy kids are overjoyed at the recognition. They have long known that they provide a valuable service, and certainly campaign for ever more recognition, but now they will use this insightful tribute as evidence of their indisputable place of prestige in our home - should the need arise - which is highly unlikely.
Thank you.
31
A lovely surprise to stumble upon this morning. Grudgingly admit to playing with my stuffies, Hector the Protector, a beautiful panther and Finn McCool Sock Monkey, a, um, sock monkey. The surprise? That I’m not the only one. Thanks!
51
The stuffies who live with me will be glad to hear that I am not aberrant. Ignatz, the Penguin, who at times questions my wisdom, may be surprised, but Piggie who is very cuddly will not. I myself was surprised that someone besides myself appreciates the artistry of the stuffie makers. I was also surprised to learn that there are "Stiller" stuffies. I will have to ask my stuffie friends if they would like to hang out with a "Stiller" or two. The holidays are always a good time to enlarge the circle.
13
They can also be conduits to the past...my mother's large, now one legged, teddy bear (a Steiff) dates from 1920. He isn't cuddly but he is very wise. What he wears is another conduit - a pair of gingham checked dungarees and a white (horrible) cardigan of mine from age 3 - my mother made them and when I outgrew them, they became John's. And, yes, we do talk.
35
What? No picture of Patricia or Butterscotch?
9
@Kassis
too shy
6
@Pia,
They might get plushnapped and then where would we be! By the way, a trust fund has been set up for the cat who adopted me, and he doesn't give a whisker about stuffies, except for the banana one filled with catnip.
1
Everyday my pooch and I play toss and fetch with his stuffed animals.
He is such a sweet boy that he decides to share and take a toy to my husband to also enjoy play much of the time.
13
I have a stuffed bear that replaced the stuffed tiger I slept with growing up. I don’t play with him but I sleep with him and make no apologies for it. Life is hard, bears are soft.
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