When To Toss Old Teddy Bears

It’s time to toss those old teddy bears in the trash, but you aren’t sure. Tossing away a treasured item is never easy but sometimes it has to be done. Hopefully you will be able to find the easiest way to determine whether or not it is time to retire your teddy bears.

Many times a parent will try to toss out old teddy bears just because they are doing a bit of spring cleaning. Wait! Make sure this isn’t a teddy bear that your child carries around everywhere with them or sleeps with every night. For some children a teddy becomes more like a security item, which is fine as a young child. However, once they get too old you may want to either explain to the child they can’t take him everywhere with them. While it is fine to keep them in their rooms or on their bed it is inappropriate to carry them outside the home.

Another sign it is time to say good bye to teddy is if he stinks. Smell the teddy bears in your home. If they have an odor you can try several things before having to toss them in the trash. First, try to vacuum him. It could be just old dust or tobacco smoke causing him to stink up the room. If your child ate around him or got water on him he could be molding from the inside out. Try cleaning his fur either in the washer or by surface washing it. If this still doesn’t work try opening him up and taking all the stuffing out of him and replacing it with new stuffing.

Last, if the teddy bear is torn beyond repair and you just don’t feel like paying someone to fix it. A child will always hold their teddy bears in the heart and if given the chance they’d never leave their hands, it doesn’t matter how dirty and smelling they become.