Should I cull the teddy bears?

[mynameisntlouise]

My almost-2 year old has been gifted numerous soft toys in his little life. A few Jellycat ones when he was first born, small little baby soft rattly ones, snuzzly blanket ones etc etc. His Nana got him a teddy every occasion she could fathom in the first year, she bought him a great big Harrods Xmas bear, a Macy's bear back from her trip to NYC. I got him one myself for his first Xmas. Now I've got a newborn and he's already received 5 teddies (3 from Nana...).

The thing is, my older son has never really bothered with them and they're taking over the bedroom. Would I be a monster if I 'thinned out' the collection before he develops any affection to them?

Which ones would stay and which would go? It's the Macy and Harrods bear which I'm leaning to.. they're really big. What if my mum asked after them...?

I would put a few in the loft if you have one, just to see if he misses them.

If your DM asks you could always say they were sick on it and you are trying to clean them?

This is going to sound terrible but I hate soft toys. DS has no interest in them, they take up space, they aren't fun to play with.

I'd shove them in the loft if you have one.

When this current situation is over, give to charity shop or see if a children's ward would like them. Useful later for giving to tombola etc at school though!

Yes, soft toys are so annoying. They have no play value at all but dd at about 4 developed a huge attachment and they must all share her bed. Cull ASAP!!

I'm supposed to be moving house soon, lockdown permitting, and I had been decluttering/organising so I had less to pack. I guess I could stick them all in bin bags in the loft and then they're ready to just load into the moving van and I can think about it on the other side...

There's a few I probably put more sentiment on than my DS, and I'll keep a few the newborn has been gifted because literally everything he has is hand-me-down and it'll be nice for him to have his own baby things.

They'll definitely be going to a charity shop or something if they do go, most are like new, some have tags on! I could send those ones into nursery for raffle prizes, thank you for the suggestion!

It sounds sensible to thin them down and a good opportunity as you will be moving. I got rid of ones DS really showed no interest in when he was a similar age and he didn’t really notice. I did tuck away in a baby box one sentimental one from a great grandmother that he showed no interest in. If you get rid of the big ones (and I would want to!) you will probably be best being honest with your mum and saying they take up too much space. As they are so large it won’t be easy to hide their absence and probably more hurtful if you make something up. You could keep one or two special smaller ones from her.

In terms of play value, it really depends on the child. My son (after showing little interest until he was about 3) plays lots of imaginary games involving his and they become many different characters. Likewise I remember spending hours playing with mine and creating stories. But that doesn’t mean you have to keep huge amounts. Fewer soft toys can make them more fun.

We got loads when my son was born and immediately sent half to the charity shop, we don't need that many so someone else might as well get use out of them.