A new survey has shown that 28 percent of adult men still sleep with a stuffed animal by their side. 51% still own their favorite stuffies. And that is OK.
Many people say that stuffed animals are only for children and “when the time comes” they should give them up. But that is difficult to happen. Plus, there is no real reason for it to happen unless you want to follow someone else’s unwritten rules because they think they know better.
Online bed retailer Time4Sleep has conducted a survey that shows that out of 1000 Britons surveyed, 51% still own their favorite stuffed animals. 28% of the people surveyed even still seep alongside their stuffies every night. When asked why they still slept with their childhood soft toy, the most common response was: “I just can’t bring myself to get rid of it”, with “It reminds me of my childhood” and “It just helps me sleep” coming in close behind, the Telegraph reports.
Interestingly 30% of adults in the survey say they have never owned a stuffed animal. There has been a massive resurgence in the number of men who are getting their childhood bears restored, says Rikey Austin of Alice’s Bear Shop, Lyme Regis. “Absolutely there has been,” says Austin, “and quite a lot of the time it’s wives and partners who come in to get them fixed for the men. It’s very romantic!”
Austin thinks that the actual number of men who still keep their teddy bears and other stuffies is bigger than that. It is that simply most men are embarraced to admit it, since they are supposed to be all manly and “macho”. But a real man is not defined by muscles and tough behavior, but by correct and humane behavior, knowing when to step up and when to give others a chance. Having a teddy bear dosen’t make you less of a man.
Of course some psychiatrists think keeping a stuffed toy in adulthood is a symbol of unresolved childhood transition period. But then again, why it is perfectly OK for women to keep their stuffed animals, but not for men? The psychiatrists don’t have an answer. We do and it is in the paragraph above this one.
The Telegraph has set up its own quick survey amongst its readers. The question is simple – Do you still sleep with a stuffed toy? The answers are quite obvious: 49% say “Yes, and there’s nothing wrong with it!” Another 12% say “Yes, but I’m embarassed to admit it”. 24% say “No, I gave up Mr Fluffy when I became a teen”. And 15% say “No, I’ve never slept with a stuffed animal”. So you are free to make your own conclusions whether stuffed animals are bad for you or not. You know our opinion already.
