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Eight-year-old son plays with stuffed animals
My eight-year-old son still loves to play with stuffed animals. Any time he gets allowance money, he wants to buy a new Beanie Baby. He thinks nothing of taking a stuffed animal with him when he goes out and about, whether it is accompanying me on an errand or going to a friend's house. An adult acquaintance of ours made fun of him the other day because he brought a pink Beanie Baby bear with a red chiffon bow along with him when we were out the other day. My son is a normal child and is actually very bright. Please tell me if this is normal. My mom says I should pack up all his stuffed animals except for a few that he loves the most, and that I should tell him he is not to play with them outside of our home or bring them anywhere ever again. I'm not sure what to do about this.
I’m so curious to hear how it turned out being that this is 10 years later. My 8 year old is into the same things, and my husband isn’t that keen about it. I say let him be, but the pressure from my husband is ridiculous!
4 Comments
Oh gosh, really. Both of my sons were very into stuffed animals and had various little toys that they pretend played with and talked to, etc. They are 14 and 13 now and athletes, good students, normal kids. Yes, you are on the right track. Your husband is not. Let the little boy be a little boy. good luck
Thank you!
Hi Jenniferlynn1313,
I had composed an answer to you and when I tried to send it, something went wrong...probably because I haven't visited the MedHelp website in quite a while. So...wow, you're right...it HAS been 10 years since I posted the question about my then 8-year-old son playing with stuffed animals. He recently turned 18, graduated from high school this past June, and is getting ready to leave for college in September.
I believe my son was about 9 years old, which would have put him in 4th grade, when he seemed to be a lot less interested in his stuffed animals...so it must have been sometime in the year following my original post. He had a really hard teacher that year, so a lot of his life and time were taken up with homework and school projects. The teacher knew he was smart and expected A LOT out of him, and looking back, maybe that caused him to grow up and take a step away from some of the things he had held dear as a younger child. After reading the responses I received from the others here on MedHelp, I remember that I made sure not to make a big deal over his stuffed animals, and I honestly don't think his dad ever made a big deal out of them either. We just let it go, and like I said, he began to turn his attention to other things when he was 9 years old or so. He and his friends played board games, watched too much TV (the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon were big favorites as I recall), and enjoyed sleepovers at each others' houses. As time went on (age 11 and preteen years), he became interested in popular music, watching Southpark (which I did not like and still do not like), watching music videos on his computer, skateboarding and riding his Ripstik, riding ATVs and dirtbikes with his dad, social media and his cell phone (again, ugh!) and playing the saxophone. His dad also began teaching him how to drive the car around age 10, so that was something else my son enjoyed in those days...driving the car on country roads with his dad!
I think he grew up normally. In school, he tended to be friends with the more "cerebral" boys, but he had friends from many different social groups. He began to pull away from us around age 13 and a half, which was normal, I was told, but still hard for his dad and me. He played soccer up through his Sophomore year of high school. He was in GATE in 3rd grade and in advanced classes throughout the rest of grade school as well as junior high, and was in AP classes all through high school. He was at the top of his class in high school, was Class President and a member of the National Honors Society, and was accepted to 7 of the 9 universities he applied to. He chose to get a job at the age of 16, still works at that same job, saved his money and bought himself a new car (he made the down-payment and makes the payments every month). He is more of a man at the age of 18 than many of the so-called "men" I knew when I was in my mid-twenties. He is much, much more together than I was at 18, so much so that it is like we came from different planets. I would choose his planet any day of the week!
Interestingly, he has told me that he prefers the company of many of the twenty-somethings he works with to that of people closer to his own age. Also interesting was that in high school, although he had friends of both sexes, he tended to have more close female friends than male friends. When I asked him why this was, he replied that a lot of the guys he knew were "just jerks." He didn't say this in a rude or condescending way, but in more of a matter-of-fact way.
I agree with Specialmom...you're on the right track, and let your son be a little boy. Do what you can to get your husband to back off regarding the stuffed animals and other toys of that nature, because soon enough, the time will pass, and as your son gets older, he will develop other interests. It really does seem like it was just yesterday that I was asking my question on MedHelp, and now here I am, nearly 10 years later.
I seem to have written a book here...sorry about that!
I had composed an answer to you and when I tried to send it, something went wrong...probably because I haven't visited the MedHelp website in quite a while. So...wow, you're right...it HAS been 10 years since I posted the question about my then 8-year-old son playing with stuffed animals. He recently turned 18, graduated from high school this past June, and is getting ready to leave for college in September.
I believe my son was about 9 years old, which would have put him in 4th grade, when he seemed to be a lot less interested in his stuffed animals...so it must have been sometime in the year following my original post. He had a really hard teacher that year, so a lot of his life and time were taken up with homework and school projects. The teacher knew he was smart and expected A LOT out of him, and looking back, maybe that caused him to grow up and take a step away from some of the things he had held dear as a younger child. After reading the responses I received from the others here on MedHelp, I remember that I made sure not to make a big deal over his stuffed animals, and I honestly don't think his dad ever made a big deal out of them either. We just let it go, and like I said, he began to turn his attention to other things when he was 9 years old or so. He and his friends played board games, watched too much TV (the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon were big favorites as I recall), and enjoyed sleepovers at each others' houses. As time went on (age 11 and preteen years), he became interested in popular music, watching Southpark (which I did not like and still do not like), watching music videos on his computer, skateboarding and riding his Ripstik, riding ATVs and dirtbikes with his dad, social media and his cell phone (again, ugh!) and playing the saxophone. His dad also began teaching him how to drive the car around age 10, so that was something else my son enjoyed in those days...driving the car on country roads with his dad!
I think he grew up normally. In school, he tended to be friends with the more "cerebral" boys, but he had friends from many different social groups. He began to pull away from us around age 13 and a half, which was normal, I was told, but still hard for his dad and me. He played soccer up through his Sophomore year of high school. He was in GATE in 3rd grade and in advanced classes throughout the rest of grade school as well as junior high, and was in AP classes all through high school. He was at the top of his class in high school, was Class President and a member of the National Honors Society, and was accepted to 7 of the 9 universities he applied to. He chose to get a job at the age of 16, still works at that same job, saved his money and bought himself a new car (he made the down-payment and makes the payments every month). He is more of a man at the age of 18 than many of the so-called "men" I knew when I was in my mid-twenties. He is much, much more together than I was at 18, so much so that it is like we came from different planets. I would choose his planet any day of the week!
Interestingly, he has told me that he prefers the company of many of the twenty-somethings he works with to that of people closer to his own age. Also interesting was that in high school, although he had friends of both sexes, he tended to have more close female friends than male friends. When I asked him why this was, he replied that a lot of the guys he knew were "just jerks." He didn't say this in a rude or condescending way, but in more of a matter-of-fact way.
I agree with Specialmom...you're on the right track, and let your son be a little boy. Do what you can to get your husband to back off regarding the stuffed animals and other toys of that nature, because soon enough, the time will pass, and as your son gets older, he will develop other interests. It really does seem like it was just yesterday that I was asking my question on MedHelp, and now here I am, nearly 10 years later.
I seem to have written a book here...sorry about that!
Thank you SO much for taking the time to provide such a detailed update! Your son sounds like a great young man.
My son is my oldest, so everything with him is a first for me in the parent realm. He sounds a bit like your son already on many levels. :)
I appreciate all the support, and will continue to support his love of stuffed animals.
My son is my oldest, so everything with him is a first for me in the parent realm. He sounds a bit like your son already on many levels. :)
I appreciate all the support, and will continue to support his love of stuffed animals.
Thank you to everyone who answered me. I sent answers back to all of you but I guess I must have done it privately because none of my responses are posted here!
yes - shame on the adult- ALTHOUGH There is that way to look at it, but my son was similar- he loved the pink and purple mermaids, everything pink - and we all see where I am going with that idea- my son's friends were making fun of him at age 6 I think it was- and we did let him keep buying "soft pretty toys"- our other issue was that dad had just run away with a blonder cuter sweeter female- a "FRIEND" of the family's and my son still got to go visit them all- and pretend to be a sweet new little family- you can imagine the scandal in our town- we were already in the spotlight so to speak- and our nanny would even try to discourage the softy- girl like toys- I thought they were a comfort- I guess dad did too- he bought him anything he wanted (out of guilt I thought)-
WELL- In steps big brother- 18 my eldest son and told me the way real life ugly playground talk goes- not the pollyana stuff we want it to be- and my son would be labeled soon if he wasn't already- so our solution was to ask the boy if he was ready to give it all up- he spoke to him seriously and sincerely from already growing up in a little town and seeing the playground whispering from his earlier days- he actually understood and agreed- and we were in Christian counseling then, and they said to save back a few memories and we thought about it and chose not to- we set a date and marked it on the calendar- it was about a month away- the big brother went thru the closets and toychests- and left all the masculine toys- star wars- legos- nothing pink, purple or soft stayed- we donated them to the niece's girls. The replacement was something the boys decided together - a Super Nintendo console- that gave them a chance to bond and get the baby boy out from momma's softness- ??? just another view
WELL- In steps big brother- 18 my eldest son and told me the way real life ugly playground talk goes- not the pollyana stuff we want it to be- and my son would be labeled soon if he wasn't already- so our solution was to ask the boy if he was ready to give it all up- he spoke to him seriously and sincerely from already growing up in a little town and seeing the playground whispering from his earlier days- he actually understood and agreed- and we were in Christian counseling then, and they said to save back a few memories and we thought about it and chose not to- we set a date and marked it on the calendar- it was about a month away- the big brother went thru the closets and toychests- and left all the masculine toys- star wars- legos- nothing pink, purple or soft stayed- we donated them to the niece's girls. The replacement was something the boys decided together - a Super Nintendo console- that gave them a chance to bond and get the baby boy out from momma's softness- ??? just another view
What is normal? Some 8 year old's like superheroes, some don't. Some like board games and puzzles, some won't sit still long enough. My first grader still loves to watch Kipper, Max and Ruby, and Bob the Builder. He won't even consider anything with the slightest bit of violence or complicated relationships that might make him squirm. He plays mostly with the same trains, cars and tractors that he has since he was 2 despite our giving him newer and more "age appropriate" toys.
Peer pressure and teasing from the other kids will eventually shift your son's attention to other things besides stuffed animals. He doesn't need to be pressured by adults to give up his stuffed animals, which, by the way, are not just a game to him but comforting in their familiarity as well. If you don't want to encourage him, fine, try to direct his interest elsewhere, but don't discourage him or make him feel it's wrong. I say shame on that adult who made fun of him, that was very unkind.
Peer pressure and teasing from the other kids will eventually shift your son's attention to other things besides stuffed animals. He doesn't need to be pressured by adults to give up his stuffed animals, which, by the way, are not just a game to him but comforting in their familiarity as well. If you don't want to encourage him, fine, try to direct his interest elsewhere, but don't discourage him or make him feel it's wrong. I say shame on that adult who made fun of him, that was very unkind.
OMG. Please do not listen to your mom. Let him be. He will get past it and you have to let it be without shaming him.
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