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.
Teddy bear 🐻 safe spaces said liberals all over it
Grow up
Sorry but I call BS on this story. First clue: “The popular custom teddy bear outlet Build-A-Bear Workshop commissioned a new survey…” If someone pays a firms to conduct a survey that is beneficial for their product, the results will predictably please the client. The results of a survey can be highly biased and inaccurate depending on how the questions are structured, how they are presented, and whether the person surveyed is consciously aware of the preferred response.
After looking at America today…I believe it.
Those people with their teddy bears will get a huge surprise after buying their first sex-bot.
Fake news
I’m assuming the same scientific method used by climate change types was used here. This is almost as big a crock of poop as man caused climate change.
Either a) the creators of this survey have been totally trolled. or b) the other 60% of us are totally screwed.
I always sleep with a S&W in the drawer of my night stand.
Being an adult child is now a sign of pride in our society. “Men” posting pictures of themselves hugging their custom made plush toys. Bragging about their toy collections, when they don’t have money to pay for basic necessities. And then screaming that it is the governments job to pay for their food, housing, college, and health care. While they spend every penny on Super Space Rainbow Pony Princess toys.
and the other 60% sleep with dogs
I wonder how many are men and how many women? I’m also skeptical as to the numbers…..as always.
I’m sixty years old and i’ve yet to meet an adult that sleeps with a teddy bear.Must be talking about liberals
Bullshit story
I claim BS on this article! The ‘adults’ are either young, lonely women or homos, and there are very, very few homos in the U.S., let alone the world.
Sounds like another one of those consensus numbers that scientist work with now days.
About the same percentage that are morbidly obese. Physically unfit bums.