Stuffed Animals

News out that a stuffed animal or a blankie helps a kid feel secure and encourages their independence. Nice to hear these cozy objects getting a good review for once. I love stuffed animals.

I've got a pile of them on my bed and same with my son. I've got five teddy bears. Two big ones are the parents -- Mocha's the mom, Coco's the dad. She's light brown, he's dark brown. Their three smaller bear kids are Pinky (yes, pink), Snowy (yes, white) and Kiki, (same brown as Mocha, the Mom). I've had them a long time. I often pack one of them when I travel on business. My bears don't want to miss out on the fun at high tech conferences for instance, (especially Snowy who seems to be leaning towards a degree in Computer Science these days.) I've had colleagues really tease me about this. Screw them. I even have three stuffed Linux penguins -- tell THEM they can't attend LinuxWorld. You don't have a leg to stand on.

Just as China had to face a population boom, if you have kids who love stuffed animals, you can very quickly be in need of a population control program. Here's some solutions -- when it comes to keeping them from becoming a bed-breaking mob and unruly pile, build your bears some furniture, buy some hammocks, or if you're really good, explain to your kids how there are kids without any bears who would really love to have Goodwill or The Salvation Army give them some bears. This altruism rap rarely works, but you can supplement the program by paying your kid $5.00 a pound for bears willing to participate in the relocation program.