Lately there have been discussions about what age is appropriate for playing with stuffed animals, especially for men. So let’s clear up a few things.
Modern society loves to claim that it is free and open, but at the same time loves to place labels on everything and everyone. Even for something as simple as collecting stuffed animals. We have had a few readers share with us that they love stuffies but feel ashamed by it. Why? Because they are men, some of which are of age.
They share with us that they fear they would be ridiculed by their peers. Others feel like it makes them less “manly”. So let’s be the first to say, that there is nothing wrong to play with stuffed animals, no matter what age you are. If that is your hobby, so what? Some people like to collect post stamps, napkins, cars and so on. You like to collect plush toys. It’s perfectly fine.
Let us remind you that a study by Travelodge showed a total of 35% of British adults sleep with a teddy bear. 51% still keep their childhood teddy bear. 10% of adult women say they view their stuffed toys as friends. Even more impressive – 25% of men say they’d bring their teddy bear along for a business trip.
As you can see, you are not the only one. Quite a lot of adults still love stuffed animals. It’s perfectly fine to have something “childish” in your life, as long as it doesn’t consume your normal life. This means it’s probably not OK to bring a stuffed animal on a date, let alone giving it a voice… unless your date has a good sense of humor. On the other hand, there would be nothing to be ashamed of if you keep a few stuffies on the shelf in your home and don’t hide them every time someone comes over.
As you can see it’s about being balanced. Sure, you shouldn’t force your fondness of stuffies (or anything else for that matter), but you shouldn’t feel ashamed that this is your hobby. It is after all a very good hobby, that is also healthy and actually can helpful in certain situations. So be proud in the knowledge that your hobby is something good and loveable, and there is nothing to feel ashamed or bad about. Plus, you can always have more than one hobby, like many people do.
