need or protection?

Honestly i was thinking about the use of teddy bears, if it was just a human need to cuddle for warmth, protection or ectra , or if it was the fact that the bear is a totem that the child empowers to protect themselves from nightmares or anything else that goes bump in the night. i honestly believe its both. but i would like to to hear others opinions on this matter.

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It depends on the child. If a security blanket would do the same thing, then it doesn't matter if the connection with ancient therianthropy practices isn't there even in a bland modern way. Other times, it does matter if it's some sort of animal because while the child's empowerment is necessary, it doesn't "stick" to all forms. I consider that a largely subconscious process, what protection and empowerment will stick to.

So, I'm with you on it being both and perhaps something else.

It's an interesting theory. However, since we also see this behavior in primate young in zoos, such as chimps and gorillas, that are being raised without a parent, it seems more a matter of having something warm to cuddle with. Typically zoos provide them with a warm and fluffy toy and they cuddle with that as a surrogate for their parent. Since it is unlikely that they are empowering it or thinking of it as a totem, I find it unlikely that the very child of human primates would do so either. I suspect that like the apes, the human child finds it simply a source of warmth and comfort.

Older children, ones who may have been exposed to the idea of animal guardians, might view their toy in a different fashion, but I would not expect that sort of behavior much before the age of 8-9. The brain of the human child does not deal well with non-concrete thought before that.

There is a movie about Freddie Krueger escaping the television or something like that and goes after the people involved in the movie and their families. This one little boy believed his teddy bear would protect him from "tthe man with the bad hands" so much that Krueger couldn't get past the bear. Just a note.

A similar fictional description of the power of belief can be read in Stephen King's novel It . This horrible nightmare clown basically terrorizes this group of kids until they defeat it with the power of their imagination. Then they have to do the same thing as adults, but can't at least not that way.

But the Turtle cannot help them : (

A lot of it is psychological. I, for one, am a little afraid of the dark and have been since I was little. Also, I cannot sleep alone. I always have to have another person or a pet or a doll at least in bed with me, otherwise I can't fall asleep or stay asleep and it's easier for me to get nightmares. There are times where I will wake up because a doll has fallen out of bed and there have been times where I would sleep alone one night, have a bed to myself, and sleep terribly but the next night have someone else with me and be nearly falling off the bed but getting good quality sleep. And just for the record, I'm 18. It's been like this since I was little. But I have used dream catchers to help with nightmares too and they work. I know a lot of it is psychological, but, other than that, I can't really tell you. Dolls do become a part of your family though I can tell you that. There are dolls I will never grow too old for or giveaway.

so it kinda boils down to the power of belief, for most of it. though i will admit i have a couple stuffed animals i could not part with as a child. though i will say that i never thought of it as protection or as something to cuddle with thanks to my upbringing i rarely had nightmares.

At least you didn't really have nightmares.

i didn't really dream often either

Everybody dreams. Well, most people anyways. And if you don't remember dreaming, it doesn't mean that you don't dream. It just means you don't remember. Those who cannot dream generally have terrible sleep...