# 51% of adult men have their childhood cuddly toy & 28% sleep with it - Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 13, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871 "2016-09-13T16:54:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/41 "2016-09-14T14:04:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Those were gone decades ago. > > But yes, a few lady friends have given me a plushy or two and I keep them on the shelf. > > I dont know ANY guys who still have their childhood cuddly. :dubious: Have you ever asked them? Would you expect them to tell the truth if you did? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/42 "2016-09-14T14:48:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s a normal part of the process. Basically, the whole point of these things is that they’re something the kid has control over. Makes sense, it was just a little jarring to see in practice. I would have expected him to “grow” out of it: leaving it on the bed when he’s watching TV but still having it at night, etc. He just went from 100% to “get that thing out of my sight”. I’d hand it to him at night and he’d just pass it over and drop it off the far side of the bed. Of course, much of my own reaction is no doubt the mourning of part of his childhood ending so abruptly after five years. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/43 "2016-09-14T14:48:58Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yeah, I don’t even remember what “childhood cuddly toys” I had, if any. Same here. I have a vague memory of a rabbit, I think, but I’m not sure. There’s no vivid memories of going to sleep with a stuffed animal. And there is no way in shit this stat is remotely accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/44 "2016-09-14T14:50:37Z")
If I had a specific one I forgot about it when I was a little kid and have no recollection. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/45 "2016-09-14T14:54:50Z")
My brother had a teddy bear and I’m pretty sure he’s around somewhere amongst his kids’ stuffed toys. The bear stands out as he still wears his hospital bracelet he got when my brother had his tonsils out. I’m a lady type and I happen to still sleep with my childhood bear. But I think when you have boobs, teddy bears et al do more to prop you up physically than emotionally. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/46 "2016-09-14T15:11:49Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If I had a specific one I forgot about it when I was a little kid and have no recollection. Quite possibly not. My older son never had one despite several attempts to find something he’d connect with. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/47 "2016-09-14T15:18:19Z")
I still possess the teddy bear that I got from my Grandmother when I had my tonsils removed at age 3. (I’m in my early 40s). It now lives in the bed of my 3 year old son, I haven’t slept with it since I was ~5. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/48 "2016-09-14T15:28:51Z")
I still have 2 stuffed animals from my childhood, a dog wearing a beret and a teddy bear. Both are in pretty miserable condition and currently live in a cedar chest with other lifetime memorabilia. I’d be afraid to let my grandson play with them for fear they would disintegrate. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/49 "2016-09-14T17:21:14Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Have you ever asked them? Would you expect them to tell the truth if you did? Unless they keep it in their secret hideaway shelf. I’d see it in their room, no? In fact some do have some plushies. Newer, given to them by friends. And, I run with odd ducks, D&D players, SCAers and the like, admitting this would not be much of a stretch. As we can see here, a decent minority still has theirs, but due to it’s fragility _no one_ still sleeps with it. I call bogus on the poll. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/50 "2016-09-14T17:26:14Z")
I still have my childhood cuddly toy, a stuffed anthropomorphic elephant. But haven’t slept with it since I was a small child, or any other toy/stuffed animal/etc. I have it in my den along with a lot of books and interesting/odd/quirky items like a parking meter, drive-in movie speaker, my Kramer poster, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/51 "2016-09-14T17:30:04Z")
OH, and I have a mink teddy bear my wife gave to me when i went on a 3 month business trip. So, yes, i do bring him along on a long trip. So, here’s a man who gets AARP ads in the mail and will admit to sometimes sleeping with a plushie. I dont even know what happened to my favorite from childhood, it got tossed out in a move, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/52 "2016-09-15T00:27:39Z")
I don’t recall ever owning a stuffed toy. I did know one guy, in his 30s and married, who slept with a teddy bear, but I don’t think it was one he’d kept from childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/53 "2016-09-15T00:57:16Z")
My first thought was “Is this a whoosh?” As far back as I can remember, I’ve never had any stuffed animals or ‘blankies.’ I was more into books, games, dump trucks, erector sets, that kind of thing. Even if I had, I think I would probably have replaced them with a more fleshly and warm substitute once I reached adulthood. Now, I _have_ had girlfriends who slept with stuffed animals, so I guess you could call that indirectly doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/54 "2016-09-15T02:38:18Z")
I also thought the thread was a whoosh. the closest thing I have to my youth is the family afghan my mother knitted when she was pregnant with one of the kids. It sits in a vacuum storage bag because I don’t know what to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/55 "2016-09-15T09:37:02Z")
I don’t recall having a cuddly toy as a child. I might have had one, before I was 5, but none I recall in my memory-life. I have no problem sleeping anywhere, anytime. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/56 "2016-09-15T11:02:10Z")
Male, 55. Yes, and no. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/57 "2016-09-15T11:02:15Z")
I’m 60 and yes, I still have my teddy bear from childhood. I’m not quite sure why it has survived but once my children were born it became a valued family item again. The bear has taken pride of place in Christmas photos. I don’t sleep with it. One day there will be a grand child who can have it. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/58 "2016-09-15T14:18:41Z")
My eighteen year old son regularly purges his room - he brings it to the basement and dumps it for me to find a home for. He’s a skateboarding, hat wearing, weightlifting future construction worker. On the top shelf of his closet is Joe the Bear, a stuffed gorilla (that may have had a name), and Mouse (who was named Mouse - his sister was the create namer - she had a stuffed llama named Potato - Potato is on my shelf now). All other stuffed animals and remnants of his childhood have been purged from his room. I just went up to check - he’s purged again - but in the far corner of his top shelf of his closet, his stuffed animals are sitting - carefully placed. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/59 "2016-09-15T14:31:37Z")
My mother made a point to save “bear” after childhood, tucked him away somewhere for years and re-presented him to me when I got my own child. “Bear” is too fragile to do cuddly duty these days but sits in a place of honor on the bed in the guest bedroom ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871/60 "2016-09-15T14:49:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > As far back as I can remember, I’ve never had any stuffed animals or ‘blankies.’ I was more into books, games, dump trucks, erector sets, that kind of thing. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. My younger son is as much into cars, robots, construction machinery, dinosaurs, blocks, bugs, etc as any kid but still has/had both a stuffed animal and a blanket. Besides, his stuffed animal of choice was a dinosaur. What could be manlier than that? 😃 Edit: Remembering back, my own stuffed dinosaur often ran destruction duty, rampaging through my doomed army men. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-of-adult-men-have-their-childhood-cuddly-toy-28-sleep-with-it-really/765871.md?page=4)