Teddies

[beverleymot]

My sons dad thinks that 5 is too old to be having a teddy bear. My son has a teddy that he has loved his whole life and these days he only takes it to bed- and brings it down with him when he wakes up. He usually leaves it on the sofa and its forgotten about until bedtime! He went out with his Dad on Sunday and took the teddy with him and now i'm getting hassle off his dad about letting him have a teddy at 5. As i say he never takes it out with him he only ever has it at bedtime- am i right to let him do this or is he too old?

[Gail_Fawcast]

You're never too old to have a teddy, beverley - surely

[jno]

jno jnr gave up his dummy of his own accord when he was about 2; he clung on to his fluffy blanket till he was about 7. That was fine by me; it's his choice. What's the point of taking toys away from children?

Okay, if he still has it when he's 25, that might be different.

[boxtops]

Teddy is fine at bedtime, a friendly familiar face. Five is not very old, if he was fifteen it might be different!

[Robinia]

haha...jno read my mind I was going to say don't worry until he's 25 :o)

[beverleymot]

well thats what i thought gail- but he had me actually questioning whether it was ok or not! thanks jno

[poodicat]

Maybe its because your son went out with his teddy, its not any different from a blanket,piece or rag or a dummy

[brenda]

I have a teddy--give him a hug every night .I have had him for nearly 40 years , he is bald , scruffy and losing his stuffing , but then so is my OH.So at 5 your little one in not too old.

[Gail_Fawcast]

lol@brenda

[Mr Veritas]

Well, I am 87 and still have the teddy I was given by my Father's upper crust employed.(Dad was a groom to a very large house).
The poor old guy(who BTW doesn't have a name,just teddy,any suggestions?)
is now compltely bald and devoid of fur.His growl doesn't work, and his limb are very loos(despite attention from Nurse Elsie!) and his (glass) eyes have seen better days.
However,he still goes to bed with me every night,and Elsie is not at all jealous,even though sometimes he ends up between us!
He went through WW2 in my knpsack,and other guys in the regiment use to borrow him to cuddle if they were frightened of the bombing etc,but I always got him back.He even got past from hand to hand in the liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp,where the starved Jewish children hadn't seen toys for years.
So, I think your Sons dad needs to read this,and see HOW important a teddy CAN be to a boy and a man.
I wouldn't be without mine,anywhere~he always goes on holiday with us,much to the amusement of (most) customs officers!

[boxtops]

Mr V that is the best answer - wonderful!

[madmaggot]

Perhaps your son's dad has worries about his own masculinity and is projecting these onto his poor son. Stand your ground! If the lad loves his teddy, that's fine.

[B00]

Totally agree with all of the above answers. Nothing wrong with a teddy- the child is 5 for heavens sake! H's still a baby.

Am I wrong in assuming that you and his dad are no longer together? Maybe his dad is just having a go at you and the teddy thing is not really an issue with him either, just something to get at you with?

[daffy654]

I'm 41 and I still sleep with a teddy, my family laugh at me about it but I genuinely can't sleep without one. lol.

[karenmac60]

My daughter has a stuffed giraffe she got when she was a day old. When she was younger Josie went everywhere with her but as she got older it was mainly just bedtime. She went on holiday with my parents and took Josie along but my dad started on about how she was too big to have a toy (she was about 7) and it ended up causing more problems than it solved. She started to behave more babyish - I think in a panic about being told she was a big girl now - and acting up till I said it was fine for her to still have Josie. After that she went back to her old self and she still takes Josie to bed on occassion. Making a big deal out of it can just make matters worse - ignore your ex. And Mr V - what a lovely answer!

[annie0000]

My boys are almost 10 and 9 now and still sleep with a variety of soft toys every night -- the eldest's current favourite is a stuffed dog and he bought himself a little fluffy chick at tesco last week! I can assure you that according to them, most of their friends also have bears and other stuffed animals in their beds. In fact in school they got to take a turn of the class bear up until about age 7 or 8 and they had to take the bear everywhere and write up the book on what they had done together. 5 is definitely not too old - if you are on speaking terms with dad's mum, i bet she would know at what he he gave up his own bear and I doubt it was 5.

[beverleymot]

mr v- your answer was beautiful! i think he is just using an excuse to nitpick at me to be honest- he is 2nd boy of 4 boys and you know what boys are like- cant be seen as weak with other brothers so he probably gave up a teddy quite young. we are no longer together and I only speak to his mum civilly if i see her out and about- cheers for the answers everyone I feel much better now- pooh bear can stay a few more years!! xx

[welshlibranr]

Lovely Mr V! Really lovley!! So enjoyed reading your your story......................

[lucca]

Agree with all the answers - everyone should have a teddy. Mr V's story is very touching.

[joko]

i think perhaps the dad needs to grow up...not your 5 year old...