My girls are stuffed animal fans. I have found that there are usually two different camps of girls – those that like stuffed animals or dolls. While both of my girls will play with the occasional doll, they do not sleep with them, they do not call them their “buddies.”
This shouldn’t surprise me since I was the same way. Before the days of “Pillow Pets,” I would sleep with all of my animals lined up on my pillow with a tiny space left for my head against the wall. I did this for quite some time and knew it was unique enough that I actually took a picture of it before I went to bed one night. I even think my sister (9 1/2 years older) snuck into my room one night to take a picture too. I hate to admit it but I still have a bin full of my own “buddies” in our basement. This bin has moved with me from my parents home and probably makes my husband question my sanity (just a little bit).
Of all my stuffed animals, my favorite by far was and is Poopasha. Yes, Poopasha. I am not sure how old I was when I named him but I think I was around 5. The age where you find the word “poop” extra entertaining. I remember my dad asking me what I was going to name the dog (who is brown) and I coming up with the name off the top of my head. Poopasha has not been regulated to that bin in the basement. He has a place of honor on my dresser and even went with me when I went away to college.
As Miss M is now 8 she doesn’t play as much with her buddies but she still keeps them on her bed and sleeps on a unicorn pillow pet. Occasionally she will let C have one or two for her bed but sometimes she will suddenly realize that she doesn’t want them to stay on C’s bed too long. A couple of weeks ago something happened between the two girls that made me realize that M was still pretty firmly attached to one of her buddies.
Before I get to that story, I first have to tell you about Doggie aka FluffleBally. He is C’s special buddy. She sleeps with him, talks to him and for him (in a special voice). He is looking quite worn already and we hope he will make it through the rigors she puts him through.
Now back to what happened a couple of weeks ago. All of a sudden M realized that her Bear-Bear is now on C’s bed (where it had been for a couple of weeks at least). She suddenly wanted him back. C started crying that M can’t have him back because Bear-Bear is Doggie’s Daddy! M then started crying that she wanted her Bear-Bear back. Good times. The situation was finally resolved when I told C we would get her her own Bear-Bear to replace M’s. The next day we went and got Bearie the Bear-Bear, Doggie’s new Daddy.
I was really taken aback by M’s initial reaction. I didn’t expect the tears and complete exasperation on her part towards C having her Bear-Bear. Thinking back on it I realize that M was just rightfully claiming what is hers and that is good. So many times M will give into C since she is littler and also has a stronger personality than M. I am proud that M did not give in this time.
I am glad that both of my girls have these comfort items in their lives. I think it is always good and healthy to have something that you can confide in and be your true self to without feeling judged.
Buddies for life.
Do you have a stuffed animal buddy in your home?