Cuddly toys! You have them in all shapes and sizes. Big, small, soft, ugly. And that one favorite favorite cuddly toy of your child. That very special favorite cuddly toy that solves difficult situations, but can also take care of it…
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I used to have hugs too. Only a few in my memory. My favorite stuffed animal was a crochet doll. I mostly had teddy bears. Now that I've been happy with my own big teddy bear for years, my plush bears could go. I couldn't get away from my favorite cuddly toy. This cuddly toy is still doing well and has been in bed with my daughter for 11 years now. Do you also have a favorite cuddly toy from your childhood?
You hardly see my hug from the past. My girl's whole bed is strewn with stuffed animals. How she still fits in is a mystery to me. My son is also fond of hugs, although he does not like them as much as his big sister. He has a different favorite cuddly toy every week while his sister has had one big favorite for years.
About six years ago, my daughter was allowed to pick out a little something. She had obtained her swimming diploma and was allowed to choose a small gift. She wanted a hug. Necessarily! By then I was done with those hugs. The grandmothers had just saved up all kinds of hugs with a promotion from the local supermarket. Hugs galore. But no. Madame wanted nothing but a Mini Mouse plush. This one was slightly more expensive than the amount we had agreed. Nice, I thought. But daughter sweet was not easy to catch. She paid the difference herself.
Mini Mouse it is!
Alright then. She deserved it, and after all, I promised she could choose. I did bale. This mini mouse became her favorite cuddly toy. This love would last a few months, then another would surely come. That was my thought. But I was wrong. This love runs deep. To this day, this is her favorite cuddly toy. No good night's sleep without Miss Mini Mouse.
Cute, when they're toddlers, all those hugs. But that amount of hugs…. My children are now 9 and 11 years old. Now I find it anything but cute. Dust nests and ballast. I like it. When I go to change the beds, I first move stuffed animals for half an hour. Grrr.
What is that? Children and hugs. Look, I understand a few hugs, but so many? My daughter, in particular, has quite a bedtime ritual. The cuddly toys all have their own place in her bed and are placed well every night. I suspect it will be a switch off for her. Nice to cuddle and chat with those hugs. But a few less hugs would be fine in my opinion. She just can't choose. One offers comfort, another hug makes her happy and yet another one is just cozy and soft. One favorite cuddly toy seems almost not enough.
I once lost a hug. Getting rid of a hug unnoticed, which mother has not been guilty of this? Be honest, am I the only one who has ever done this, or do you recognize this too?
I was convinced that that one hug would not be missed. So anyway. He even had a name. King hug. The result was a very sad child. So sad, that I dared not say that I was guilty of this disappearance. That's why I searched the whole house with her, in vain of course, for that stupid hug. Believe me, an actress has been lost to me.
But when I recently got to talk to a proud grandmother and her 13-year-old grandson, my opinion about hugs changed. Forever.
The grandmother, whom I met by chance, talked enthusiastically about her grandson's sleepover. A nice kid to watch. Shy, but with an open mind. I involved him in the conversation. He'd had a good time with her. He was on vacation from school and grandma was now taking him to his aunt. Here he went to chill for a few more days. Before they went to his aunt, he was allowed to go to the zoo with his grandmother. There he was allowed to choose a stuffed animal. Grandma had promised him that. He beamed all over. Being so happy when you can choose a hug when you are already 13 years old. Bit strange, I thought. Oh my kids still love this too. I probably don't get it.
Out of courtesy I inquired which hug he was going to pick. Perhaps he had a fascination for a certain species of animal. He didn't know yet. He looked me straight in the eye and told me that the hug should at least be soft. The grandson began to talk incessantly. He used to be bullied in elementary school. He had no friends. No one. The only friends he had were his stuffed animals. They were his best friends. swallow. My heart broke when that sweet boy just stole it. Bullying is also so bad.
It just seems so awful and intense to me. But how nice that he felt supported by his hugs. He had to promise me that he would choose a very nice and super soft hug. And he did.
When I got home, the story wouldn't let go of me. While changing the beds, which was scheduled for that afternoon, I did not throw the cuddly toys off the bed. I always did that before. Whoops, everything on the ground! No, I placed them gently on a large, soft rug. And I promised myself I'll never, ever again mysteriously make stuffed animals disappear. Such a favorite cuddly toy is more special than I thought.
I told my children about this meeting the same afternoon and explained that bullying is really not allowed. That they can always turn to me and their father with problems. And with their hugs!
