The merit of stuffed animals

[Jennifer]

I know I'm going to lose my INTP-id card on this one, I just know it...

I only have one stuffed "animal" now -- and it's actually not an animal, it's Leonardo da Vinci. And he's in a box somewhere.

But when I was a kid I had probably 10-15 stuffed animals, some of them odd or quirky. (For example, one was a T-Rex I sewed together myself for a home ec elective class.)

Worse, I was very ritualized in how I set them up. I had a wall on either side of me, going to bed, and each animal had its assigned position, and there was even one that slept on my stomach. And if I didn't set them up the right way, I got a little anxious. They weren't "alive" to me, but I definitely was attached to each one of them in a personal way -- they just evoked something.

I eventually fell out of it and no longer needed the animals. Although I enjoyed buying them for people. And at college, I even had a few stuffed Opus's that I never slept with but just had around for comic relief.

My kids went through the stuffed animal stage too. The eldest (now 12) has fallen out of it; he used to love beanie babies, and now he's much more interested in bionicles. The two younger ones still love their stuffed animals.

[targo]

I have a bear now that my husband gave me very early on in our relationship. It sits on my night stand. My 2 cherished stuffies as a child, a small tenderhear bear and a blue rabbit I have given to my daughter.... she doesn't cherish them as I have. I have a few other stuffies in the closet, but have gotten rid of most if not all the others from childhood, the remaining ones I got either from my husband or close friends.

my 3 kids each have favourite stuffies that they still sleep with, as well my boys still have their 'bubbas' or baby blankies that they were brought home from the hospital in (6yr old & 4yr old)

[nightning]

Originally Posted by targo

I have a bear now that my husband gave me very early on in our relationship. It sits on my night stand. My 2 cherished stuffies as a child, a small tenderhear bear and a blue rabbit I have given to my daughter.... she doesn't cherish them as I have. I have a few other stuffies in the closet, but have gotten rid of most if not all the others from childhood, the remaining ones I got either from my husband or close friends.

Interesting point you brought up Targo... the difference between a stuffed animal and a doll. Would you say your daughter values her barbie dolls more than stuffed animals? I recall asking my mom why I've never had dolls when I was young. She told me I hated them, but loved stuff animals. I use to have a closet full of them.

[targo]

Originally Posted by nightning

Interesting point you brought up Targo... the difference between a stuffed animal and a doll. Would you say your daughter values her barbie dolls more than stuffed animals? I recall asking my mom why I've never had dolls when I was young. She told me I hated them, but loved stuff animals. I use to have a closet full of them.

I had a Brenda Doll as a child which I loved and cherish, it went everywhere with me, I was 5 and I had a baby sister who I didn't want. I have no idea what happened to that doll. The barbies which I also loved were passed down to my younger sisters.


My kids love stuffies, my daughter has a couple of dolls but they are nothing like 'Eee Eee' and 'Hop Hop' Her barbies she could take or leave some days. I think the stuffies she likes more. She dresses them up in doll clothes and they have parties with them and all sorts of funny things.

[Eileen]

I loathe plush toys. I keep one from my childhood (which is not really stuffed; I think it has sand in its body) which was actually named Puffpuff (I just went with that name, apparently) and looks like this:



Other than this one sentimental token, I quietly dispose of stuffed animals by taking them to Good Will or giving them away.

[Ivy]

I loved them when I was little. I had a couple of favorite ones-- a pink mouse and a hedgehog, most notably. I wasn't attached to them in the "I must have them to sleep" way, but I would have been brokenhearted if anyone had taken them away.

Now? I could do without, definitely. My house is periodically taken over by hoardes of them. I make a goodwill run and the pile dies down. I usually tell my kids they can pick their 10 favorite (15-20 if some are small-- the size of the resulting pile is the goal, not the actual number). And I generally remove the huge life-sized teddybears from the choices. If it weren't completely rude, I'd love to ask our extended family members: Why??? What's wrong with consumables like art supplies, or stuff like games and things that don't take over the house? (Well, not yet. Maybe that comes later.)

[cafe]

One of the few gifts Don's dad ever gave Don's mother that she really liked were stuffed animals. He normally gave her gifts like a coffeemaker when she didn't drink coffee but he did.

So when we were dating, Don gave me many stuffed toys as gifts. I liked most of them and kept all of them. I no longer have them displayed as they are so much like dust bunnies in animal shapes now and I'm too lazy to clean them.

The one I have out was one that he gave me for Christmas 2001.

It is a family joke because when I opened it and squeezed it's paw, I thought it was going to say something sweet or play music. Instead, it growled at me and the fish in it's mouth started flopping around. I practically jumped out of my skin and everybody thought it was great fun, with the possible exception of me. So it has a special place of honor on my dresser.
You have to listen carefully to catch the growling. I was interrupted during filming, but chances are I would be again if I did a second take, so . . .

[Falcarius]

I have quite a lot of them, over 30. My sister bought most of them for me (she is a very strong NF). She gets me a new one whenever she goes on holiday. I keep a few on my shelf, the rest stored away. My collection won't be complete until I have a sock monkey.

Originally Posted by Lookin4theBestNU

Heck we have ourselves an INTP who has a big Pink Panther in all of his pics !!

You're scaring the poor Panther.

[sundowning]

I had a blue teddy bear as a tyke... not even sure if it had a name, though.

I should ask my mom... she'd remember.

[Geoff]

I once had a strange prediction of a stuffed animal, that I felt obliged to carry through. Weird how these things happen in life.

I was at Marwell Zoo in the UK, a safari park type place, and they had a stall where you could buy tickets that raise money for the Zoo, and occasionally give a win on an animal.

Walking past, I had a sudden and strong feeling that if I bought a ticket it would win me a stuffed husky toy.. the odds of this were very small, it had to be a winning ticket, and for this particular husky. I announced this to general amusement to those i was with, walked up to the stall, bought a solitary ticket, and walked away with a stuffed husky toy. Scary.

-Geoff