Question on young boys

I'm sure kids (girls and boys) differ a lot, but I can verify that my son certainly still slept with his favorite stuffed animal at that age.

Marlys said:

I'm sure kids (girls and boys) differ a lot, but I can verify that my son certainly still slept with his favorite stuffed animal at that age.

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Mine too

But don't tell him I told you that

Yes. My son is 8 and still sleeps with his.

Either is possible, but I think most boys that age would, if they had one.

As with many gender related question, it depends on the individual.

I knew a kid that at 15 still slept with his Cabbage Patch kid doll. And upon finding this out, he was teased by a few other boys until a few of the girls around use spoke up and even another boy said he still slept with a stuffed animal.

I was pretty much done with sleeping with stuffed animals by age five. I still had them, but I didn't sleep with them like I did when I was younger.

I think I've read that kids (as a group; individuals can be anything) have trouble distinguishing between fiction and reality up to about age 8. Therefore, I'd use that age as the average when a child would stop relating to their stuffed animals quite as much.

Michael Davis said:

In a book I'm working on, I have a young boy central to the theme. I'm typing to set his age at about six but my question is at what age would a boy no longer sleep or relate to stuffed animals. My grand daughter is eight and still plays with and sleeps with hers but I think boys are different. Bottom line - would a six year old boy still relate to stuffed animals like a favored toy rabbit. Personal experience would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Just to state the obvious, what applies IRL does not necessarily apply in fiction. While it can be perfectly natural for a six-year-old to sleep with a stuffed animal having a character do so in a novel may register differently simply due to teh fact that you are going our of your way to make mention of it. Something to consider, or dismiss.

I don't find it unrealistic for a six-year-old boy to sleep with a stuffed animal. He seems around the right age to still be doing that.

Then again, I may not be the right person to judge, seeing as I'm nearing thirty and still sleep with my stuffed animals. I just got in the habit of wrapping my arms around something when I go to sleep okay! Stop judging me!

All my boys did until after they started school. I'd be a bit worried about a child who didn't.

Jamesaritchie said:

I'd be a bit worried about a child who didn't.

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I don't see why it would cause you worry. A comfort object can be any number of things besides a stuffed animal, and some kids take to different things to soothe themselves.

To the OP, all kids are different. If you think about it, some adults like to sleep clutching a pillow, so a child may continue sleeping with a stuffed animal for a long time, basically using it as a pillow they can more easily get their whole arm around.

Talking to a stuffed animal or involving it in individual imaginative play would most likely stop around age 8 or 9. (Or at least, that's the age where a kid who still did it would probably hide the fact from his peers.)

The type of stuffed animal can matter, too. A cuddly white bunny might be "for babies" if you ask a seven-year-old, but getting together with his best friend and having their stuffed Pikachus battle to the death is totally cool. (By the way, "that's for babies" or "you're a baby" is a frequent insult for kids to use against each other at that age; they're often trying to show what "big kids" they are.)

My son hasn't hit this age yet; this is strictly me speaking from a teacher's perspective.

I'm 33, and I have a stuffed Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher) a friend made for me sitting on my bed...

Folk of any age can sleep with favourite toys or stuffed animals from childhood. Do whatever the story requires.

I used to babysit for this six-year-old boy whose beloved stuffed animal was an orca. One night before bed we couldn't find it. We looked everywhere, but it was probably in the car or something. He was reallllly upset, in tears. And he was actually quite mature for a six-year-old (he used to insist on making the microwave popcorn for us, even though I was the babysitter).

He's in his early twenties now.... I'm extremely tempted to remind him of it....

Michael Davis said:

at what age would a boy no longer sleep or relate to stuffed animals.

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If by "relate to" you mean "use as ammo to catapult every which way, especially against one's little sister" then my 6 year old boy is still going strong. As for sleeping, he's not really fussed but he likes to have 1-2 stuffed animals in his top bunk. Bonus points if one of those 1-2 is coveted by his sister.

Yep, it's going to depend on the child. I have a 13-yo who still keeps his blankie with him at night.

I don't recall my boys sleeping with any lovies when they were little. Then again, they usually piled into our bed or slept in the big (cool) waterbed together. So I guess they used other people as their stuffed animals. They had their own rooms so I dunno. Somewhere around late elementary school or so they started using them. I don't think little ones like to sleep alone. Maybe that's the reason for the lovies. Sorry if off topic!

Just chiming in with another yes for you. Six was about the age my son got even clingier with his lovies for a while... Lots of stressful things at that age, most notably for my own was the transition to "real," all-day-long school with bigger expectations, more responsibility with chores... Big stuff for a kid, and generally stuffed animals don't demand much.

One of my best friends brings an adorable stuffed lion with him whenever he visits.

He's twenty-eight.

My grandson is six and this is the first Christmas I am NOT giving him a stuffed animal as a gift. He has about 30 stuffed animals and they now hang in a web-type bag above his bed. Up until a year ago he slept with one or more every night, and often carted one to my house when he visited. Here's what happened...

He's in first grade. He hangs out with first grade boys, and older, on the playground. None of them are into stuffed animals - that's 'baby stuff.' He also says the cartoon shows he once enjoyed are 'for babies.' When I ask where he got that idea, he said 'all the guys' say that.

In other words, he's growing up. In some ways it's sort of sad, however he doesn't make fun of his two year old brother's interest in stuffed animals, and sometimes I see him playing with the brother - with the toys - making the lion 'eat' the little brother or tickling him with a stuffed rabbit, etc.

So if a six year old boy still enjoys stuffed animals, I'd say he plays with them only at home, with a younger sibling, or when alone.

And definitely not when he has the 'guys' over to play.

As others have mentioned, it depends on the boy. When my son was six, he would sleep with his baseball glove while wearing a football helmet. He had not the slightest interest in stuffed animals.

My brother had no interest in stuffed toys at all but slept every night with our dog. My son didn't sleep with stuffies either but would take dinosaur figurines to bed with him at that age.

Our eldest son slept with his blanket until he was 10.

Our daughter slept with fuzzy slipper (yes, slipper) until the dog ate it when she was 7.

Sons #2 slept with a truck and green army men until he was 6.

Son #3 slept with a stuffed puppy until he was 7. I think he would have had it longer, but the above mentioned children dismembered it to see what color the stuffing was.

~karen

PS: They all turned out to be normal adults.