A Giant Stuffed Animal Encourages Imaginative Play

If you've never had the pleasure of having a giant stuffed animal or two, you don't what what you're missing. From about the age of three when children become aware of their environment, complex thought processes enable them to plan imaginative play. A giant stuffed animal can become a very important part of childhood play.

'Found' toys like pots and pans and a wooden spoon make a great drum set, crawling into big boxes is also fun, old sheets and clothes no longer used are great for dress-up, and flour and sand, when mixed with some spoons into water, make a fantastic enjoyable mess. But, manufactured toys like toy tea sets, play furniture, and of course, the giant stuffed animal, fulfil an entirely different part of a child's imagination, one that should be encouraged as much as possible. While they are the perfect friend and comforter, a giant stuffed animal also invokes an entire series of make-believe adventures - some that can go on as long as a child wants. Just look at Calvin and Hobbes the famous comic strip of a six year old boy and his plush tiger. They do everything together from sledding to wagon riding to pranking Calvin's 'nemesis' Suzy. They even have an 'exclusive club' called G.R.O.S.S., which means Get Rid of Slimy Girls. Hobbes the tiger, isn't real of course, but he sure comes alive as far as Calvin is concerned.

Dolls are part of the core-group of long-standing toys which have a long and diverse history, all of which led to the eventual creation of the soft toy. Before the mass production of dolls ever began, they were made from any number of materials, which is still true today. Some of these included bone, pegs, cloth, and even wooden spoons. In different parts of the world, dried leaves and grasses are materials used quite effectively in doll making; in Indonesia, for example, palm leaves are dried and then woven to produce cream colored dolls and then they are painted in bright colors. The corn doll, which was traditionally English, was originally made from the dried leaves of the wheat plant. Children were also taught the art of straw-plaiting so they could make their own dolls. In 1901, in east end London, for example, a child made a doll from a shoe. It was simple in design, with the sole of the heel of the shoe acting as the face. The rest of the shoe became the doll's body and was wrapped in ragged cloth. To make the eyes, nose, and mouth, nails had been hammered into the heel and worn tacks which attached the heel, became the hairline.

Even Margarete Steiff, the creator of the teddy bear, began making felt dolls in 1894 (the teddy didn't come along until 1902). Her felt dolls were made from off-cuts from a nearby factory in Giengen, Germany. A range of dolls were produced with large flat feet so they could stand up, including girls and soldiers. Her company later went on to produce human-like hedgehogs which came in four different sizes. They were called Micki and Mecki. They had hedgehog heads made of rubber, smiling faces, and human-like bodies made of felt.

Who knows where the soft toy would have been had it not been for the creation of dolls. Although, given the creativity of a child's mind, it's quite likely they would have figured something out. While kids don't really care how their giant stuffed animal came to be, their imaginations, on the other hand, are sure lucky they have the privilege of dreaming up what will come next for them.