Teddilicious Teddies

People often complain that kids are only interested in television, cell phones, or the internet. But that’s not actually the case with many kids. While kids might be interested in all those things, they prove to be remarkably imaginative when participating in other activities. That’s why parents or caregivers should make a concerted effort to introduce creative outlets into their kids’ lives.

To that end, these creative endeavors can be something as simple as a hand puppet show. Let them write a script and perform the play for you or the whole family. You’ll quickly see how involved and engaged they become in these kinds of activities. If they are particularly taken with the activity, they might even want to get their friends involved. If this is the case, you can help them all make their own hand puppets with brown lunch sacks, some yarn, and googly eyes from a basic craft store.

Performing puppet shows at home is entertaining for parents and helps to foster your child’s creativity. In addition, it’s just an all around fun activity in which everyone can participate. To put on your own puppet show, you will need at least two hand puppets (the more the merrier), an object which your children can conceal themselves behind (a couch or portable stage works great), and a few props like paintbrushes, spatulas, rolling pins, etc.  Once you have all these items, encourage your children to put on a show for you.  Parents will be amazed at all the creative characters and situations children imagine.

Hand puppets come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, and represent characters from the animal kingdom to the pirates of the Caribbean.  Purchase the hand puppets you think your child will identify with the most.

Like most kids, my favorite toys when I was growing were my stuffed animals. Each one had a name and a distinct personality. I remember being able to sit for hours going on imaginary adventures and expeditions with my stuffed friends. My favorite one was my teddy bear George.

George was one of those one of a kind teddy bears that you could easily pick out of a crowd. He stood over three feet tall and was bigger than I was for most of the time that I was played with him. Today I still have George and plan on passing on the unique bear to my kids someday.

Everyone seems to have a lucky number. For many, the number seven will suffice because it already has a lucky connotation. You can bet your bottom dollar that no one in their right mind would choose 13. I’ve noticed that many hotels and even cruise ships don’t have a 13th floor; the elevator goes straight from 12 to 14. Whether it’s something to bet on or intended to be a sign of coincidence, you could ask anyone what number they prefer and I’m sure it wouldn’t take them more than a few seconds to give you a definite answer.

My lucky number is six. It’s not a jersey number or the number of men I dated before I met my husband. It dates back all the way to my childhood when I was about six or seven years old. It was Easter and my family had gone to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Before the games began the announcer had mentioned that there were several eggs with special marking that indicated a prize. I found an orange egg marked by the number six and won a stuffed animal. And what became even more special about the number is that this stuffed animal – a bunny in a purple suit – became my favorite stuffed animal of all time.

Most children grow up with several stuffed animals and receive many throughout their lives. Usually, however, one stuffed animal becomes the most special to a child and must travel everywhere with him. Failure to bring this special animal along on car trips, to the doctor, etc. can spell disaster for the child. And if the animal become irreparably soiled or destroyed, it is nothing short of apocalypse.

This may seem dramatic, but most parents would agree. That’s why it’s a good idea to buy extras of the stuffed animal that your child favors most. I had a friend whose son loved a teddy bear that played a song when you pulled a string. This bear would often become soiled from being left out in the rain or being sucked on by the boy, and the music would stop playing after a while. My friend always had three or four backup stuffed animals – exact replicas – to replace the bear once the current one had to be thrown away. Of course, the exchange was always done in secret, and her son was never the wiser!

Children and stuffed animals go hand-in-hand – quite literally in many cases. At a certain age, it can be difficult to separate a child from his favorite plush toy. Teddy bears and other stuffed animals provide comfort and constant companionship. For young kids who are afraid of the dark, a teddy bear is often a source of strength. It’s no wonder that parents and family friends put a lot of forethought into which stuffed animals they present to kids.

There are plenty of mass-produced teddy bears on the market, but their abundance is part of the problem. These stuffed animals are made in far-flung regions of the world with little regard for craftsmanship. One of a kind teddy bears, on the other hand, are made with painstaking attention to detail. In their most important stages of development, children deserve nothing less than a quality companion.

For many years I had a strong aversion to zoos. Every time I went to see a new exhibit, I would feel sorry for the animals stuck in cages. Luckily, the zoo in my town is known for being progressive. Each animal’s natural habitat is recreated with a startling degree of accuracy. As such, I began taking my 3-year-old son to check out the wildlife. He grew especially fond of the Daisy the black bear.

Trips to the zoo can be expensive and time-consuming, so I formulated a plan that would appease my son when he wanted to “go see Daisy.” I looked online for custom teddy bears and came upon a black bear that bore a remarkable resemblance to Daisy. My son loved the gift, but he still pesters me about going to the zoo to see the penguins.