Children play with their toys incessantly and typically have little regard for the condition that they are in. While it is important to let children have their freedom, grimy toys are not conducive to a clean and healthy living area. Stuffed animals that live on shelves are very hard to clean without damaging. Here is how to clean your child’s favorite plush bear without destroying it:
~Put the stuffed animals in the dryer
~Set the dryer on the lowest heat setting.
~Let the animals tumble for about 5 minutes.
~Take the animals out
In the world of plush toys, one character reigns supreme: the teddy bear. He’s been around for just over 100 years, and has gone through many transformations and adjustments in his time, but he still claims the stuffed animal throne.
The teddy bear came into being in 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear that had been tethered to a tree on a hunting trip. Almost immediately afterward, two Brooklyn shopkeepers created a small, plush bear they called “Teddy’s bear.” The bear was instantly popular, and the teddy bear phenomenon took off. Over the next 100 years, the style and look of the bear changed, it went through periods of popularity and even a few decades where it fell out of favor. But “Teddy’s bear” has always landed on top, and remains one of the most popular plush toys of all time.
Whether a new baby is on the way, or has just recently been born, birth is a time for celebration and a time for family and friends to offer their support to new mothers and fathers. New parents will need thousands of dollars of supplies to support their new baby in the first few months following birth. Whether the parents are having a baby shower or not, it’s nice to receive newborn baby gifts from friends and relatives. After all, if you’re close to the mother and father you’ll be taking a part in the baby’s development!
Gifts you might consider for a newborn include plush toys, clothing, burp cloths, bibs, and larger items like strollers, high chairs, and cribs. If you’re not sure what to get, you might think about a gift basket, as this will cover all the bases and ensure that the parents-to-be get at least something they need.
My daughter is about halfway through the fourth grade, and she recently came home to announce an upcoming homework assignment. Her task was to do some research on a particular species of animal, including the physical characteristics, behavioral traits and natural habitat. We had taken numerous trips to the zoo over the years, and I knew before she even told me that she’d be focusing on some type of primate or another.
As it turned out, she had chosen the squirrel monkey. These monkeys make their home in South and Central America, mostly in the canopy layer of tropical forests. Their distinctive dark shading around the eyes gives the appearance of mascara. To surprise my daughter, I went online and found a plush monkey toy that resembled a squirrel monkey in every superficial way. Suddenly she had a helpful prop to aid in her presentation.
Surprisingly enough, the history of stuffed animals is inextricably tied to that of taxidermy. Hunters have long been fond of celebrating and preserving their greatest kills in the form of a hunting trophy. Over the years, hunters and outside specialists developed the skills necessary to keep those trophies for posterity. This often involved gutting the animals and stuffing them with materials.
Plush animals toys came about some time later, when children began demonstrating an attachment to the lifelike hunting trophies. In time, toy makers stopped using real animal hides and pelts for stuffed animals, eventually switching to cotton and other similar materials. The animals were made to look even cuter and more kid-friendly as time passed.
Ecosystems make for a fascinating study, and few things are more enthralling to a child than the animal kingdom. Whether their interest is piqued by a Disney movie or a tidbit of information they picked up in science class, most children go through a phase where they have a favorite animal. Before your kid’s next birthday rolls around, it might be advantageous to ask a few exploratory questions about animals that interest him or her.
Remember that giving a child a stuffed animal like a plush tiger, can actually suit multiple purposes. First and most obviously you’ve offered the kid a source of comfort and companionship. In addition, your gift might get the child even more interested in learning about that particular animal. Anything that inspires a child to pick up a book has to be considered a blessing in this day and age.
Ever since I moved to a picturesque spot in the Michigan wilderness, I’ve been captivated by the local wildlife. During the course of my attempts to lure birds to my backyard feeders, I’ve also attracted some less desirable critters. At night raccoons and opossums feast on the sunflower seeds that have been knocked down to the deck below. Throughout the day, squirrels launch an aerial attack on the feeders from overhanging tree limbs.
Even though I’m engaged in mortal combat with those pesky squirrels on a regular basis, there’s no denying how cute and cuddly they appear. My youngest son is 3 years old, and for his birthday this year we bought him a Hansa plush squirrel that looks just like the rodents that bombard our backyard feeders. The stuffed twitter is holding a plush nut, though, not a sunflower seed.
My daughter just turned 5 years old, and now that she’s in kindergarten we decided to hold a party. She invited all of her friends from school and a few from daycare. My husband and I decided to make it a bring-your-own-stuffed-animal party, knowing that it’s hard for some kids to leave their parents at that age. It turns out that the comfort of a familiar stuffed animal can ease that transition.
When the guests began to arrive, I was somewhat surprised at the diversity and craftsmanship of some of the stuffed animals. The well-worn bears you might expect to see were all there, of course, but some of the kids brought more exotic species. I know a little girl from my daughter’s class brought her prized teddy bear monkey, and I counted at least two penguins. Sure enough, the party was a great success. The kids were so busy discussing and playing with their plush toys to even think about feeling homesick.
I had always harbored preconceived notions about raccoons. To me, they were nothing more than scavengers who terrorized raided my birdfeeders at night and bullied the household pets if we accidentally left them outside. Having seen them scrounging for meals in dumpsters and trash bins, I believed raccoons were a public health hazard. All of that changed last week.
I heard a ruckus outside my bedroom window and turned on the exterior light. It was a band of baby raccoons foraging for their breakfast/supper in our trash. Their adorable little eyes took a while to adjust to the light, and they didn’t see me for several minutes on end. The baby raccoons looked just like Gund stuffed animals I had seen my nephew playing with. How could I possibly hold a grudge against these nocturnal visitors?
You can try to prevent it from happening all you want, but it’s just inevitable. Kids are some of the most efficient mess-makers alive, and they are especially adept at covering their stuffed animals with layers of filth. Whether it’s food particles or bits of dirt from being dragged around outside, teddy bears are often covered in various debris that doesn’t belong in the bed at night.
In order to clean your Gund teddy bears, begin by wiping the bear with a damp cloth. Don’t use soap, but be sure to wipe with gentle, delicate motions. Sometimes a hand vacuum cleaner will suffice. Most stuffed animals feature a small tag that only attracts notice when you need cleaning instructions. These directions should determine whether or not you can safely throw the teddy bear into the washing machine.