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Stuffed Animal Safety
What Teddy Isn't Telling You By Renee Roberson
When Christi Wood of Huntersville, N.C., was preparing her daughter's nursery, she found a plush stuffed bear that perfectly matched the bedding and d袯r of the room. She placed it in the crib, never knowing how attached her daughter, Anderson, would become to the bear, nicknamed "B."
Today, Andersen is 3 years old, and "B" travels everywhere with her. Her mother often finds it difficult to get the bear away from her daughter for routine cleanings. As a result, "B" is often covered in paint, food particles and sometimes even dirt.
Kate Haggerty of Sarasota, Fla., has a similar situation going on in her household. "Tedda means more to my 3-year-old son, Jack, than his entire family put together, including me," she says. "But it's an odd love-hate thing he has going on with the toy one minute slobbering all over it, the next attempting to flush it down the toilet, rubbing it in the dirt, smearing it with his dinner, wiping his snot on it or hurling it in the ditch."
Many parents offer their babies stuffed toys as "loveys" and sometimes don't realize how attached the children will become to them. Trips to the grocery store, park and out to lunch often result in a well-loved, but ragged and soiled toy. Couple that with the fact that most children love to sleep with their lovey, and most parents find themselves wondering when they'll ever get a chance to launder the toy in the washing machine.
But no matter how difficult, parents should get in the habit of routinely washing their child's stuffed toys if possible because germs and other bothersome allergens may invade your child's bedroom otherwise.
Experts such as Stanley Fineman, an allergist at the Asthma Allergy and Asthma Clinic, recommends washing stuffed toys at least once a week in hot (130 degrees Fahrenheit) water, especially during cold and flu season.