Cuddly toy

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A cuddly toy , stuffed animal or plush toy is a children's toy made of plush or another soft material in animal or modified fantasy form. The most popular shape of a cuddly toy is that of the teddy bear .

A cuddly toy is often given to a child as a baby or toddler and then “accompanies” it throughout childhood . For this reason, children often have a deep bond with their cuddly toy, even if it is already damaged and worn out. Although the cuddly toy is in itself a non-living object, it is seen in the imaginative world of the child as a living being that is entrusted to the child on the one hand and which on the other hand serves as the child's protector or playmate.

Cuddly toys can be consolation donors, sleep aids, friends, companions, collectibles and much more. In the rescue service, cuddly toys are increasingly being used by young patients to distract them from pain and the unfamiliar situation. The psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott described the function of the cuddly toy with the concept of the transitional object , with the help of which the child catches the exit from the symbiotic mother-child relationship of infancy.

Adults, too, can cultivate or develop intimate bonds with inanimate objects, including plush toys, and give them names and functions. For many, the cuddly toy is an emotionalized bridge to their real or idealized childhood, to home, to a beautiful place, a talisman or a lucky charm .

A representation of the child-cuddly toy relationship from the child's perspective can be found, for example, in the comics about Calvin and Hobbes .

See also

  • teddy bear
  • Doll
  • Felix, the Hare (picture book series about the adventures of the little stuffed bunny Felix, who sends his owner letters from his travels)

Web links

Commons : cuddly toy  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: cuddly toy  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. Comforter made of plush. Retrieved July 5, 2016 .