Why Talk to Stuffed Animals?

Imagination & Two-Way Play

Our communication wheels foster imaginative play with stuffed animals and lets them “give something back” to create unexpected storylines.

A Gateway to Empathy

Stuffed animals can give us practice in understanding and caring about the feelings of others.

Emotional connections are easy with stuffed animals. People can be difficult to work with—they can be unkind or impatient or judgmental— but stuffed animals are always there for you.

Stress Management & Comfort

Critical Thinking & Interpretation

Responsibility

Dealing with Disappointment

Some answers won't make any sense. But, maybe these odd answers DO have meaning in a poetic or metaphorical way. Deciphering messages is excellent mental practice, fostering creative and critical thought.

Stuffed animals can’t move on their own, so they need help completing tasks. Stepping up and helping them creates a small—but real—sense of responsibility.

Stuffed animals can give odd answers, and quickly change their minds. But people can be confusing and hard to understand, too. Stuffed animals can give us practice in learning to cope with these frustrations.

"Why not just install a chatGPT chip in a stuffed animal and talk to them that way?"

Electronic stuffed animals are fun, too. But they don't foster imagination in the same way as "analog" options do. They don't require intellectual engagement, and they don't demand that we use our creative thinking to interpret meaning. Essentially, they "do the work" for us.

With our communication wheels, you can easily engage with your own stuffed animals, and create an entire imaginative realm with toys likely already on hand.