Survey says teddy bears accompany many British adults to bed

[minx]

By Jordan Chittley | Daily Buzz

Many people may think teddy bears are only kept on children's beds, but new research shows a surprising number of adults are taking the cuddly toys to bed, too.

The survey by hotel chain Travelodge reveals 35 per cent of adults in Britain admit they still sleep with a teddy bear to de-stress and help them sleep, according to a Travelodge statement.

"Teddy Bears represent happiness and security in childhood," said Dawn James, an arctophile (someone who has a fondness for teddy bears) and editor of Teddy Bear Times, in a statement. "They are the best friend that always listens and never criticizes."

Staff of the hotel have tried to reunite more than 75,000 forgotten bears left behind in hotels during the past 12 months and found many were not owned by children.

About 25 per cent of men said they take their teddy bear away on business to help them nod off because it reminds them of home.

"It's not surprising, then, that taking a cuddly bear on a business trip is so popular," said psychologist Corrine Sweet in a statement. "Cuddling a teddy bear is an important part of our national psyche as it evokes a sense of peace, security and comfort. It's human nature to crave these feelings from childhood to adult life."

The research also finds more than half of British adults have a teddy bear from childhood and one in 10 men admit to hiding it when a girlfriend comes over.

More men (15 per cent) than women (10 per cent) say they treat their teddy as their best friend and share intimate secrets with it.

According to the release, the most popular animals to nod off with are the classic teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Tatty Bear and Sooty.

A total of 6,000 British adults were surveyed.


The ideal bedmate?

[Scarlett]

Interesting read.

[SnarkyOracle!]

My parents tried to take away my Smokey The Bear teddy bear when I was 7 because they thought I was too old for it and it would scar me psychologically if I continued to sleep with it.

Then one night I got sick and threw up on it in my bed. And so my mother then took the opportunity to throw it out.

When I protested for hours devastated, she got it out of the trash bin and washed it in the washing machine and then thoroughly dried it in the dryer. As a result, its little fuzzy felt mouth (in the form of an upside-down "Y") came off, and, not remembering how it looked originally, she got a brown piece of felt and contructed a new one, leaving my cherished bear resembling something like a cross between a mexican bandit and Adolf Hitler.

But she tried. Which is what counted.

[Garrison]

I have 2

[SnarkyOracle!]

I want one of these --- even if it is ... y'know ... kinda creepy:

[Swami]

By Jordan Chittley | Daily Buzz

Many people may think teddy bears are only kept on children's beds, but new research shows a surprising number of adults are taking the cuddly toys to bed, too.

The survey by hotel chain Travelodge reveals 35 per cent of adults in Britain admit they still sleep with a teddy bear to de-stress and help them sleep, according to a Travelodge statement.

"Teddy Bears represent happiness and security in childhood," said Dawn James, an arctophile (someone who has a fondness for teddy bears) and editor of Teddy Bear Times, in a statement. "They are the best friend that always listens and never criticizes."

Staff of the hotel have tried to reunite more than 75,000 forgotten bears left behind in hotels during the past 12 months and found many were not owned by children.

About 25 per cent of men said they take their teddy bear away on business to help them nod off because it reminds them of home.

"It's not surprising, then, that taking a cuddly bear on a business trip is so popular," said psychologist Corrine Sweet in a statement. "Cuddling a teddy bear is an important part of our national psyche as it evokes a sense of peace, security and comfort. It's human nature to crave these feelings from childhood to adult life."

The research also finds more than half of British adults have a teddy bear from childhood and one in 10 men admit to hiding it when a girlfriend comes over.

More men (15 per cent) than women (10 per cent) say they treat their teddy as their best friend and share intimate secrets with it.

According to the release, the most popular animals to nod off with are the classic teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Tatty Bear and Sooty.

A total of 6,000 British adults were surveyed.


The ideal bedmate?

Tempting.

Swami

[joan w]

[Scarlett]

I still have a few stuffed animals (but I am also female).

[SnarkyOracle!]

I still have a few stuffed animals (but I am also female).

You're so conservative!

Mine are all stored in a big plastic bad somewhere. But now that you've asserted that it's only okay for females to have them, I think I'll break mine out and display them around the house -- in a gesture to feminism and masculinism!

[Scarlett]

It is perfectly acceptable for men to have favorite stuffed animals (didn't mean to imply otherwise). All I said was that I am a female who still keeps her bears and such. Why shouldn't men have the same opportunity?

[SnarkyOracle!]

It is perfectly acceptable for men to have favorite stuffed animals (didn't mean to imply otherwise). All I said was that I am a female who still keeps her bears and such. Why shouldn't men have the same opportunity?

Thank you.

[Scarlett]

That's the same bear that one of my preschooler's has.

[minx]

I was never really into stuffies. I loved my FAMILY AFFAIR Talking Buffy Doll more than anything in the world. The doll even had her own Mrs. Beasley doll hooked onto her arm with an elastic band. I still have it, but I don't sleep with it.



I'd sleep with Mr. French if he agreed to be my personal butler and male nanny though.

[joan w]

When I was 8 in 1966, I got a Rag Doll called Dolly Longlegs.
She had a white furry body and hair, big blue eyes, and red legs (long ones) with a red courdroy hat in the same material as her legs.
I still have her in my drawer and she is falling apart.
Her legs are full of holes, and she is worn out with being loved.

A bit like me actually.

[J. R.'s Piece]

I don't know. I remember The Avengers episode, Mr Teddy Bear, in which Mr Teddy Bear is a professional killer for hire. At one point, he arranges a killing, talking to his contact via a talking, moving teddy bear and he uses the alias, Teddy Bruin.

That said, I would take out childhood frustrations by giving the bear an uppercut. I remember being greatly upset when it disappeared one day along with my guitar and soup flask and was explained as being away on a world cruise.

I later bought a talking teddy bear for someone. It says things like "Ooh! That tickles!" or "You're so good!" when touched.

[J. R.'s Piece]

I'll break mine out and display them around the house -- in a gesture to feminism and masculinism!

Teddy bears should transcend forms of gender stereotyping loosely ascribed to notions of biological sex differentials.

I still have a few stuffed animals (but I am also female).

Taxidermy?

[SnarkyOracle!]

Teddy bears should transcend forms of gender stereotyping loosely ascribed to notions of biological sex differentials.

This bitch sure thinks so!

[J. R.'s Piece]

."Cuddling a teddy bear is an important part of our national psyche as it evokes a sense of peace, security and comfort. It's human nature to crave these feelings from childhood to adult life."

I concur.

[MrsSuperman93]

I've only got one - the small pink teddy that my dad bought the day I was born - and it stays on my dressing table!

[Mrs. JR Ewing]

This is the only British bear I would take to bed....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HW0j13EvTg