Why is it that people love to give stuffed animals? It seems that stuffed animals find their way home as gifts for many different celebrations. Most stuffed animals are bought because they are soft, cuddly, and cute....you know just like the child or the special memory you have in mind.
Stuffed animals can easily take over your house before you know it. That was what one mother's concern recently in response to an older post. She asked why people just keep giving stuffed animals. We have to ask what purpose do they serve except for a few cuddles here and there.
My son Judah has a whole zoo in his bed. I am not sure how he sleeps without rolling over them throughout the night, yet he insists on having all of them - the monkey, the puppy, the tiger, the elephant, another puppy, another elephant (called the red one), the duck, the little white bear (I think that is all of them). Only so many fit in the bed. Then we have some on his shelf on the wall. And do not forget the giant animals that sit in the little chairs around the room - the monkey and the elephant.
On top of that, I still have my stuffed animals from when I grew up. So I did hold onto a few sentimental ones given to me by family. Take my blue jean bear, this is perhaps one of the only gifts I remember getting from my paternal grandpa. Then I have my bear that is made out of my fur coat from when I was five years old (I even had a muff to go with it). Let's face it, these soft cuddly things do find their way in our hearts.
Most of the time though they end up cluttering your child's room. And it is always hard to find a home for them. If you decorate with them on the bed or the rocker, they get thrown to the floor at some point. Perhaps that is why we put some up on the shelf to look at. Then you run into the problem of the velveteen rabbit.
Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about stuffed animals is that they get dirty over time and then what do you do. I absolutely find it disgusting to see stuffed animals at garage sales or secondhand shops. You never know to what adventures that furry thing has been up to.
Recently, I washed some of Judah's animals in the clothes washer because he had vomited on them. I washed them on a cold, gentle cycle like I would pillows. Surprisingly and thankfully they came out clean and like fluffy new. Of course washing animals depends on the materials used to make the animal as not all can be cleaned.
Even so, on one hand I cuddle up with the stuffed animals, loathing their furry softness, with my child as we wind down for the night. And on the other hand I am plagued with the difficulties of storing and caring for these monsters. Yet, I do agree that it is important to have a few around to enjoy. Oh - the stuffed animal dilemma....
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