ST. LOUIS — Though many might never admit it publicly, a new survey finds that four in ten adult Americans still sleep with a teddy bear at night. And many of those bears are the same bears kept from childhood.
The popular custom teddy bear outlet Build-A-Bear Workshop commissioned a new survey with over 2,000 Americans to gauge their views on their furry friends, and came away with some surprising findings.
More than half of the survey participants indicated they currently owned a stuffed animal, and 40 percent indicated the toy joins them at bedtime. Perhaps most surprisingly, most of the plush toys out there are no spring chickens — 56 percent of those polled said that they’ve held onto their favorite stuffed animal from childhood for at least two decades.
This perhaps is a reflection of the fact that 72 percent of respondents want to keep their stuffed animal forever.
As for the feelings and emotions associated with one’s stuffed animal, 30 percent said that they thought of comfort, 22 percent thought of the person who gave them the toy, and 19 percent thought about the appearance of their most dear animal.
Geography played a minor role in determining one’s likelihood of having a plush animal, with 75 percent of adults in the southern U.S. owning such a toy, compared to 72 percent of those in the midwest and 70 percent of those in northeastern states.
“As children develop independence from their parents, they still yearn for a secure bond with something. In many cases, children turned to stuffed animals, including teddy bears, to help them through this transition,” says best-selling author Dr. Shefali Tsabary of the survey’s findings in a press release.
“As we enter adulthood and leave home for the first time, it’s not surprise that the same object re-enters our life, providing comfort while also helping us work through feelings of uncertainty as we transition into a new life stage,” adds Tsabary.
The survey, conducted in August ahead of National Teddy Bear Day (Sept. 9), was carried out by a third-party firm on behalf of Build-A-Bear.
About a quarter of respondents had children between the ages of five and 10.
Yea, Liberal snowflakes lmao
I sleep with my stuffed squid because it is a good supplement to a bad pillow…lol! My wife has an elephant. It is good for sure! Btw I’m Republican…MAGA
my wife sleeps with a dildo…..vs….. teddy….lol
Why is anyone surprised? This country has lost it. Trump saying hate from the left and right sent them into a frenzy. You’ve got people protesting and they don’t even know why. You have black lives matter responsible for killing cops and nobody bats an eye. You have a town in MD voting to let illegals vote. You have an anti fascist hate group called Antifa going around dressed in black beating people up who have the wrong hair cut and might not think like they do. We are taking down statues of confederate generals because they traumatize us. You had a MAN win woman of the year. You have people with debt coming out their you know what’s between cars, homes, student loans and credit cards who claim to not be able to afford health insurance preparing to drop a THOUSAND dollars on a phone. Today Bernie and the dems the day after we top $20 TRILLION in debt proposed a new entitlement – Medicaid for all. On and on folks.
Nothing should surprise anyone.
BS.
Fake news. C’mon people, don’t fall for this crap.
My girlfriend slept with Teddy Bear , Bobby Bear , Freddy Bear, Willy Bear…..
I truly can’t believe this. Are they all unmarried?
The study is pure garbage.
Millennial pussies
I don’t have proof concerning my opinion that I suspect this study is rubbish. Perhaps 40% of Build-A-Bear Workshop customers do. Anyway it sure makes Build-A-Bear Workshops look good.
I don’t know who this Teddy Bear guy is, but he sounds like a real stud!
i don’t believe this for one minute.
proves how fake ‘surveys’ are.