Carrying plush animal in public as a child vs as an adult

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I run around with a Rocket Raccoon stuffed animal backpack and anyone that says anything is always positive about it. "That's so cute!" I used to take my elderly Timon plushie places with me at 20. People had something negative to say, I had a come back something along the lines of "He's much better company than judgmental pricks like you." If someone did say anything it was about how cute he was so I never had to use comebacks.

But as a child, if I brought a stuffed animal (even a small one) to school, it was always a big deal to the teachers. Even if I just sat it on my lap as I listened to the teacher talk and did my school work. I had an IEP for my little Timon plush that was my comfort item but most of the time he just chilled in my pocket or my backpack. Still, teachers hated that. I had a school bus driver threaten to take them away and never give them back. He even stopped the bus for quite a while in an effort to make me give in and hand it over. I don't think so dude. You just told me I wouldn't get it back so what makes me think I'm going to hand it over. Eventually, you are going to have to take everyone home so you can't sit here forever. When my parents found out what had happened, I told them as soon as I got off the bus...in tears. Both of them blew a gasket but dad was ready to beat the man up or something. We only lived about half a mile from the school bus driver and my mom had to watch my dad more than me because she was worried she was going to go down there, beat him up and get arrested or something. My dad had quite the temper and anger problems, but you don't mess with the daughter of a US Marine like that and expect to get away with it so easily.

People always told me that as an adult, I wouldn't be able to bring stuffed animals in public with me. No big deal, when I was an adult I simply brought REAL animals with me. I took my bearded dragon everywhere and even got a service animal letter from my psychiatrist for her. The law for service animals was different back in the early 2010's and it was such a small town, I never had to show it. I became known as "the girl with the lizard". More people knew my bearded dragon on first name basis than they did me. "How is Pippin today?" Pippin really helped my social anxiety but that's another story. But no one gives me crap about my Rocket Racoon backpack or the few times I took my elderly Timon plushie to the fabric and grocery store...no one gave me a stink about it. As a child, it was as if bringing a stuffed animal in public was akin to contraband. Adulthood is nothing like I expected. I LOVE being an adult more than I ever liked being a child.

Using threats to force a young child to give up their toy (comfort item) is very wrong even to an NT child and it can emotionally traumatise the child. Why did the bus-driver so badly want you to hand in your comfort item? Was it interfering with his job? No. A small child holding a toy is not illegal nor is it harming or offending anyone.

When I was 4 I took my teddy bear to school because he was a comfort item (he still is but he lives in mine and my boyfriend's bed). Other children took toys to school too. We even had a "Teddy Day" every year when we were aged 3-6, where everyone comes to school in their own clothes and brings a teddy and we'd all have a teddy bears picnic and other fun games. Good days.

Sadly carrying a teddy about as an older child or an adult is considered socially unacceptable. Nice people will compliment the teddy to be polite. But if I turned up for work tomorrow with my beloved teddy tucked under my arm, I don't think I will be socially accepted any more, as everyone at my work are guys and would probably be honest with me (take the piss of course).

Elderly people, especially those with dementia, can take a teddy out with them and it be socially acceptable. I remember when I took my grandmother to the hospital for an appointment, she was in a wheelchair and had Alzheimer's, and the nurses at her care home actually asked her if she wanted to take a soft toy with her to the hospital. She said yes and she chose her favourite soft toy. Having a soft toy or a doll is actually good for people with Alzheimer's and can help them to not get stressed when confused. Like autistics, people with Alzheimer's can experience sensory overload.

I like stuffed animals too, but sadly they are all in storage right now. I used to carry them to school and other places when I was child too and had incidents when they were taken away. I stopped carrying them around when I couldn't take the judgements from others anymore.

As an adult I would carry a stuffed animal around if I was at an anime convention or something like that, but it's been almost a decade since I been to one. If it were more socially acceptable or if it came back as some kind of fad I would probably try to pull off an old plushie backpack or something like that.

For the past couple years I’ve been very attached to a stuffed tiger shark I got at the Shedd Aquarium, and I always bring her to any events that are likely to be stressful, as a comfort object. I actually get negative comments more often when I have my service dog than I do when I have Lilia (the shark), I was very surprised.

Y'all are lucky to be female.

Hmmmm would say I kinda got lost in your post. But I've got to admit having a bearded dragon is pretty awesome. Beats lots of other options for anxiety I would think.

Bringing a stuffed animal that is a heating pad for physical comfort is probably socially acceptable because of its purpose. Bringing to work an ordinary stuffed animal for emotional comfort is considered babyish and people will laugh.

I remember when I was about 8 or 9 my mum would no longer let me take my teddy bear out with me. She said I was getting too big to cart my teddy about. But she did let me take one of my South Park plushies out with me. I suppose different toys have different social standards.

I had a girl friend who never went anywhere without a large purse. Her comfort items included books and souvenirs, but she could have been hauling plush without attracting attention. Some people have bags for their live pets, who know to hide until their human indicates that the coast is clear.

I'm 45 and I have smaller and bigger plush toys. There is one that hangs on the side of my purse. It looks like an accessory. Thankfully nobody ever said anything bad about him, but you can add some other fluffy fur/fake fur balls next to it, so it would look trendy.

Or if you have a bigger purse, a larger plushie could fit in and you can sneak peek or bring it to the restroom to hug time

Oh I actually had a plush toy in the office in my thirties, but I worked with younger boys and they liked to throw it around as it was a ball. I had to threaten them.
I guess it depends on the culture and the age of your co-workers how they would handle it.

It's a good thing I have dolls and stuffed animals small enough to hide in my purse or a bag.