Having a teddy bear in adulthood or using it to sleep better is not ashamed or abnormal. Specialists even confirm that this habit offers several benefits for mental health and the well-being of the greatest.
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In 2024, 21% of the stuffed animals were bought by adults over the age of 18, according to Juli Lennett, advisor to the American toy industry at Circana, a market research company based in Chicago, reports CNN.
Some specialists incorporate stuffed animals into their therapeutic practice to help their patients who have undergone trauma. This is particularly the case with Dr Jessica Lamar, mental health therapist working in Seattle.
Its patients go to Build-A-Bear, a company specializing in the sale of customizable stuffed animals, to create a tailor-made bear representing their inner child or their younger version, in order to facilitate the healing of trauma-related trauma.
According to Dr. Jessica Lamar, this approach is particularly beneficial because patients offer these stuffed animals the comfort, connection and compassion that may have missed during childhood.
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But the stuffed animals are not only reserved for people with trauma.
Anyone can benefit from the sweetness and appeasement that a pretty plush can bring, said Max Genecov, in an interview with CNN.
Dr. Jessica Lamar shares this opinion, and underlines that a plush animal preserved since childhood can provide several benefits: nostalgia, a link with family or distant friends, as well as an anchor for pleasant memories.
“It can be very comfortable, relaxing and pleasant,” said Dr. Jade Wu.
“There is no reason why adults cannot take advantage of the benefits from children,” she said.
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Max Genecov is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, father and owner of plush animals.
“I have always been growing up, I dreamed a lot (child),” he said. “I think it’s a good thing.”
Max has a plush raccoon he has kept since childhood.
He comes out of his stuffed animals when his friends or family have babies, and he still tightens a plush animal in his arms or using it as a pillow when he sleeps, he said.
Increase in sales during the pandemic
The purchase of animals in plush by adults has intensified from the Cavid-19 pandemic.
Looking animals “have touched a sensitive string in young adults and adults as a means of entertainment, a collection object and a source of comfort during the pandemic,” she said in an email.
AFP
BUILD-A-BEAR dedicates a complete section of its site to products intended for adults. According to a study sponsored by the brand, more than 50% of respondents have kept a plush from their childhood, and around 40% claim to sleep with a blanket.
“I wonder if people are looking for more comfort in the face of uncertainty,” said Dr. Jade Wu, sleep psychologist and founder of the Thrive Sleep Clinic in Durham, North Carolina.
She added that for people who live alone, having something against what to snuggle in the evening could be particularly pleasant.
