You are currently viewing Soft Toys

Soft Toys

This page may contain affiliate links which simply help you find the stuff I like a lot easier and pay me a commission! To read  my super boring privacy and disclosure policies, click here.

We called “soft toy”, any type of animal-shaped toy that with synthetic fur and  filled with soft material. Sometimes the first gift of a child may be a teddy bear or another stuffed animal. Studies have shown that soft toys can have a positive impact on the development of a child. Through soft toys, kids can express feelings and emotions that they cannot otherwise express with words. Soft toys still cover the shelves of stores all over the world, even in today’s technological era, and are one of everyone’s most loved toys.

Interesting facts about Soft Toys

  • Studies show that if a child has only one toy, it’s likely to be a stuffed animal.
  • Children learn through play, and in playing with stuffed animals, they are in fact building their first relationships.
  • Some scientific studies suggest that children who become more attached to teddy bears start giving them life-like.
  • Sewing soft toys not only helps them develop basic sewing and pattern skills but also involves fine motor coordination and 3-dimensional math skills.
  • According to some university medical centers, teddy bears “evokes” a sense of peace, security and comfort.
  • Children often use soft toys to project their own feelings and then comfort them, encouraging valued qualities such as empathy, affection and bonding.
  • In the aftermath of the 2012 school shooting in Newton, Connecticut about 7000 teddy bears were donated to the survivors and their families to comfort them.

Benefits of soft toys for babies and toddlers

  • Babies love to touch and feel new textures, especially with their mouths or hands. They represent the perfect mix to improve sensory skills and encourage social and emotional development.
  • The advantages of soft toys include: The warmth of a soft toy provides the comfort and protection that kids need when they are tired or facing a new change or circumstance. The beloved teddy of a toddler can also assist with separation anxiety and in all changes and growth like from crib to toddler beds.

How Soft Toys Contribute to your Child’s Development

Learn New Skills– Kids can learn new skills by playing with soft toys. For starters, you might ask your kid to show his or her teddy bear how it should be done when the time comes to get dressed or brush their teeth.

Learn to separate– One of the things that children dread most is being separated from their parents. Soft toys help reduce their vulnerability. Experts suggest that parents allow their children to play for at least 10 to 15 minutes, many times a day with their teddy bear.

Educational advantages– Stuffed toys help toddlers at a later stage to learn empathy along with words and names. 

Language– Children, who talk with their soft toys practice  vocabulary, try out new words, gain confidence in their speech since this is a “friend” with whom a child can test out the words he heard during the day.

Develop compassion– Older children can sew soft toys and gift to their friends or siblings. It helps them realize the value of kindness in relationships.

Learn etiquettes– Eating habits, sanitary habits, salutation manners and general etiquettes can be easily taught to kids through role-playing, where kids teach their stuffed toys the god manners.

Establish confidence – it becomes easier for kids to perform, and to connect socially with the aid of these fuzzy buddies. This gives them a stronger sense of trust, which helps them achieve their goals.

Mental well-being-Such toys also encourage them to comprehend complex feelings. Among these toys, teddy bears are the most loved, and these fuzzy animals can dampen emotional trauma.

Advantages of buying soft toys for children:

  • As they are often made of fabrics, and more importantly, when they get dust, they can be cleaned.
  • Low in weight and with no sharp or rough bits, this makes the toy suitable for infants and babies to use.
  • If well taken care of, soft toys can be kept for years and still preserve their excellent quality. There are no malfunction problems that you often have to face with toys that have electrical or mechanical components.
  • These toys are usually seen to be handed over to the family’s youngest baby as an opportunity to retain these toys in the latest, original shape.

Here are 10 soft toys I recommend from a great company, Melissa and Doug:

Click on the title or image to open a link where you can purchase online:

SOFT ACTIVITY BOOKS

Soft Activity Book – Peekaboo

$12.99 at Melissa and Doug

Soft Activity Book – Whose Feet?

$9.99 at Melissa and Doug

SOFT STUFFED ANIMALS

Jumbo Blue Teddy Bear – Plush

$35 at Melissa and Doug

Burrow Bunny Rabbit Stuffed Animal

$14.99 at Melissa and Doug

Panda Bear Giant Stuffed Animal

$79.99 at Melissa and Doug

Brown Bear and Cub Jumbo Stuffed Animal

$100 at Melissa and Doug

Orca Giant Stuffed Animal

$39.99 at Melissa and Doug

Sunny Yellow Lab Puppy Dog Stuffed Animal

$14.99 at Melissa and Doug

Benson Black Lab Puppy Dog Stuffed Animal

$14.99 at Melissa and Doug

I hope you enjoyed this article and more importantly that it will help you choose your next gift for your kid!

I highly recommend you to read about “Play & Learn Daily Living Skills” as well as “10 Amazing toys for shoulder girdle stability”.

You can  Subscribe HERE to receive future posts to your mailbox and follow me on Pinterest

Leave a Reply