When thinking about your childhood, you are sure to think about some kind of snuggly stuffed animal. From giant teddy bears to extremely fluffy leopard plushies, every child is sure to have had some sort of stuffed animal in their lives at some point. But the question becomes, how long do those comfort objects stick around? This question compelled me to send out a survey to the high school student body to get their responses on the matter. 

Just a couple of days in, and 80 responses later, the polls that came back were shocking. Out of those who responded, 91% still had stuffed animals in their rooms. (Granted, it is highly possible that stuffed animal lovers were more likely to respond.) At any rate, when asked why they kept them, most of the student answers came out the same: sentimental value. Just keeping a little raggedy doll or plushie was enough to keep us reminiscing on our childhoods. By just some of the students’ descriptions of their stuffed animals, you could tell how much they meant to them. Among the cutest were, “A hazel colored teddy bear, named Travis, with a red bow tie on its neck.”, a Wall-E that went missing, yet was then soon found by the student’s dad, and a flag bear that was given to them by their great grandpa. I know that personally, as a senior, I still have all of the stuffed animals from when I was a child. I keep them in my room so that I can look at them and remember the memories that I have attached to each one. From my big, tan stuffed dog named Flashy (from when I was afraid of the dark) to my newer squishmellow named Holly, each one represents a different part of my life. 

I didn’t mean this next question in a way that would make fun of or tease any of the students, but I honestly wanted to know: How many of them still sleep with their animals? Once again I was shocked at how many did. More than half of the students who responded admitted that they still sleep with their snuggly plushies every night. Some claim that they use them as pillows or as decoration for their room and just don’t move them at night. Others just needed that bit of familiarity of the animal or of the loved one that gave it to them to help put the students quickly to sleep. 

Finally, I was curious as to which stuffed animal was the students’ overall favorite? Of course, there were the few (27%) who no longer have stuffed animals and responded with a quick “doesn’t apply to me,” but some others took the time to write out why that particular stuffed animal was their favorite. Among them were life-sized teddy bears, squishmellows, foxes, bunnies, monkeys, cats, Wall-E, and dogs. Even though this question was just meant to be the fun one, I think it was the one that some took the most seriously. 

Once the survey was all said and done, it turns out most high school students still have these pillars of the past still with them. Not only due to their level of cuteness and how good they are at being decorations, but also because they were gifted to them by people really important in their lives. Just because we are a bit older now doesn’t take away from the fact that we still love our childhood stuffed animals and the flurry of memories that they bring us. So… yes. High schoolers do still have stuffed animals, and I’m pretty sure that they aren’t going away any time soon.