Torturing a soft toy

[justbinthefeckinbyebyebox]

Sorry for this in advance!
Is it ever acceptable for a primary school child to cut the eyes out of a teddy bear to use for other purposes?
I need some prospective but I'm horrified!!!

There are loads of YouTube videos where they repurpose bits of old toys and make new things. They are usually hideous but quite harmless. I try not to let my daughter watch random YouTube things but she watched them once on holiday and was asking to cut her dolls hair, repaint their faces etc

FibroFighter81

If she pulled the eyes out of her teddy to replace the actual eyes of a murdered family member then yeah, pretty suspect.

If however, she took them out and sellotaped them to a sock puppet, then kudos on her ingenuity.“

This. Can’t possibly answer without context.

@MRex

What age so you think a child can be ‘not very nice’?

Behaviour can be problematic at any age, that is very different to a fully formed character acting with good or bad intent. Labelling kids as "unpleasant" will alienate them and cause further issues. A child cannot be held responsible in law until age 10, and some believe psychologically that is still too young to have a full understanding of intent and consequences. I wouldn't like to pass judgement on someone's actual character until they are an adult personally, I would call bad actions what they are, bad behaviour. (Or in this case it might not even be bad behaviour, just a different view of what's acceptable in crafts.)

If she was cutting up someone else's toy to upset them YANBU. But there is nothing wrong with repurposing toys or altering them imo. I don't think that deliberately encouraging children to have reverent respect for or huge emotional attachment to possessions is a particularly good thing tbh. When my dc got a bit fed up with an old cuddly toy, we usually gave it to the dog, who chewed it up in about 5 minutes.

@MRex,

Thank you for answering the question.

I think that you are at a very extreme end of the spectrum when you would judge a 15 year old murderer’s behaviour as problematic and not make a judgment on them as a person.

I think ‘not nice’ adults start being ‘not nice’ a long time before their personality is fully formed, which some would say does not happen until 25.

@TheReluctantPhoenix - sadly writing kids off at a very young age is exactly how so many get drawn into gangs. If you're told you're a bad kid every day, what's the point in trying? I think 10 is a fair minimum, but for any child the background and circumstances are even more relevant than for adults, even at 15 they are still children and more about to change.
I'll return the question, at what age do you write kids off as "unpleasant" / "not nice"? It must be below 6 for the OP's example, so 5 year old? 3 year old? 1 year old?

[quote MRex]@TheReluctantPhoenix - sadly writing kids off at a very young age is exactly how so many get drawn into gangs. If you're told you're a bad kid every day, what's the point in trying? I think 10 is a fair minimum, but for any child the background and circumstances are even more relevant than for adults, even at 15 they are still children and more about to change.
I'll return the question, at what age do you write kids off as "unpleasant" / "not nice"? It must be below 6 for the OP's example, so 5 year old? 3 year old? 1 year old?[/quote]
The op didn’t tell the child she is unpleasant. Do get off your high horse. You’re very patronising.

Children can be unpleasant. Whether you say it’s an unpleasant child or unpleasant behaviour is neither here nor there. The op didn’t call the child unpleasant to anyone so it’s a moot point anyway. Or are you there thought police too and don’t believe op is even allowed to think the unpleasant child is unpleasant in the privacy of her own mind?

Gangs. Ffs.

Some of the replies on this thread are ridiculous. I've seen multiple dolls with their hair cut off, drawn on, etc. It means nothing other than a bit of creativity/experimentation is happening. The context is important. You don't point out anything to suggest concerning behaviour.

I used to cut my teddies, take stuffing out and put it into other teddies. I had a few baggy teddies and a few overstuffed ones! I also scalped nearly all my barbies and my little ponies. Weird af but I'm nearly 38 now and definitely not a psycho maybe just a little odd 😂

Eyes for soft toys can be bought from most sewing/craft shops or ordered off the internet. There is no need to cut up a toy to get some.

What? I think it's fine. It's a toy! Not a real animal.

You're being really dramaric and assigning a sinister motive tk what was probably innocent childish behaviour. If she wanted to use the eyes for something else then why shouldn't she remove them from her own toy? If other children were upset their parents maybe need to sit down with them and explain that soft toys aren't living creatures.

@AnitaB888
Eyes for soft toys can be bought from most sewing/craft shops or ordered off the internet.
If you feel the need to tell a bunch of adults this, why would a 6 year old be expected to know? As well as having the cash and transport/ credit card needed to buy them.