Share your stories about your children’s favourite toys with Munchkin Nursery Steriliser - £100 voucher to be won

[CeriMumsnet]

Whether it’s a cuddly bear or a favourite blanket, young children become very attached to certain toys and comforters. Many parents will know the struggle of keeping these toys clean - particularly when they get taken on outdoor adventures or when your DC won’t let them out of their sight, even at mealtimes! With this in mind, Munchkin would like to hear your stories about your children’s favourite toys and comforters, and how you navigate cleaning them.

Here’s what Munchkin UK has to say: “Life with a little one is always going to be messy, but luckily the Munchkin Nursery Steriliser means that in just five minutes you can make sure toys, blankies and soothers are clean and ready to use, meaning you can spend less time cleaning and more quality time having fun”

Which toys were your DC particularly attached to and what’s the weirdest place/situation your child insisted on taking them? Did you experience that heart sinking feeling when you realised the toy they’re attached at the hip to had been left behind or lost? How did you rescue them? How did you keep their favourite toys clean, and did you experience any washing related disasters? What distraction methods did you resort to when your children’s favourite toys had to be taken away to be washed?

All who post on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £100 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

[hannahbjm]

My daughter loves teddies, any teddy. She has over 100 and will not let me get rid of any! I also am not allowed to wash them as they smell different! I do spot cleaning and an anti bacterial spray when she is at school haha!

[AR2012]

Teletubbies Po, she adores po. So much the coating is coming off the face.

[minkeymonkeys]

My daughter has a teddy called Bonbon (that was his name on the box) my auntie gave it to her when she was born. He is now 15. Very floppy as he has been through the washing machine so many times. And earlier this year he lost his little tail- thanks to our puppy.

[farhanac]

Had a monkey which we had to take everywhere to avoid tantrums

[barricade]

Our little one is attached to our range of meerkat cuddly toys that have built up, in particular the baby Oleg. Would prefer to take the toy every where if allowed, but has been convinced that the toy might get lost, so now willing to leave the toy home to be machine washed and cleaned.

[pinkjjf27]

My little girl had a teddy that she called Glidey ( no idea where name came from) it went every where including down the loo a few times. She used to feed it and get it covered in food. I used to have to creep into her room and get it washed and then dry it on the heater while she was asleep. We went to the zoo and she dropped in an enclosure it was covered in pooh and soaking wet my daughter was beside her self, the staff were so kind got it out hosed it off and wrapped it up . when I had my next child, I always make sure we buy two of the same teddy so we can have one in the wash.

[Nikita90]

My daughter has 2 jelly cat snuggles which she adores and sleeps with everynight and reaches for when she is tired! She would take them with her everywhere if she could - she took them to the beach once! They always look a bit grubby as she never wants to part with them, but I try and chuck them in the washing machine when she is at nursery!

[katieskatie82]

my son's favourite toy is his buzz lightyear. The dummy fairy brought it for him in exchange for all of his dummies! haha

[Cornishlassuk]

My sons nickname from a young age has always been boo so when we found a lovely panda with the word boo embroidered across the tummy we knew the toy was meant for him.
He takes him everywhere and the most important place boo went to was hospital when my son had to have teeth removed. The relief and comfort it gave to him when he came around from the anaesthetic was amazing to see and in that moment I knew this toy would stay with him forever

[Tkw2014]

We bought an extra of my daughters favourite toy so that she could have one and one in the wash - at the moment she doesn't know there are 2 but we have to be really careful to hide the other one!!

[Hettie2017]

My little boy has a favourite soft toy, a very cute monkey. He sleeps with it every night and wants to cuddle him if he gets scared or upset, it’s very sweet.

[pfcpompeysarah]

My son had a teddy bear with patches on its belly and bottom when he was a toddler and he loved it, he carried it everywhere and it had to go in bed with him every night, I dreaded losing it!

[sweir1]

My little girl has a favourite teddy - Benjy from Peter Rabbit

[SurroundedByIdiotsEverywhere]

My daughters favourite toy is a stuffed Dalmation dog that I won for her on one of the grab machines at the seaside... It goes everywhere with her including to bed, so in the evening when she is sound asleep is the time to put her in the washing machine when needed! ;0)

[MBirch]

When my daughter was a toddler, she became attached to an empty moisturising bottle. I don’t know why, it was a particularly plain bottle and from memory it was unscented. We couldn’t go anywhere without it, I wouldn’t of minded, but every time we went to the shops it looked like she had picked something of the shelf and we were walking out without paying for it. I felt really self-conscious and couldn’t help walking really weirdly past the security guard on the way out.

[user1496053440]

The favourite toy was a little cuddly Giraffe called Raffey. We never lost it but I did my duplicates just in case! Although, they were never fooled by new Raffey.

[buckley1983]

My son was never too particular about soft toys until we bought him a little cuddly tarantula toy (yes really!). Spider (or 'bider' as he used to pronounce it!) was one of his first words - it was so cute, we ran with it & he genuinely did love that little toy - it came to France on holiday with us & he would grip it by one of its 8 legs as he toddled around! There were a few times when I went into a blind panic when he couldn't find him, but he always turned up fortunately :)
Luckily it was machine washable so I would whip it away when it got too grubby & set up some train track (always a winner) when spider had a bath!

[ThemisA]

My youngest loves a very old heirloom rabbit which has never been washed - eek!

[blimby]

My daughter had a soft toy lamb. It went everywhere with her and now she's 16 and still has it!

[owl5454]

DS has a soft rabbit, that I think we got from ikea when he was 3/4 we knew quite quickly we needed duplicates. I stick "him" in the washing machine while he is at school and then panic about how to get it dry quickly.

[angela121262]

Her blanket, I had to wash it when she was in a deep sleep because if she woke up without it there was hysterics

[sophiefx]

My little girl absolutely loves her play kitchen! It's a lifesaver to get 5 minutes peace to do house work. She has learnt to cut using her play knife and has learnt so many vegetables!

[yoeydavis]

My one-year-old has got lots of toys but rarely plays with them. He prefers the remote controls, my phone and anything else he can get his hands on.

[Unsurechicken]

My youngest is just one and her favourite toy seems to be the people from happy land! She’s more than happy throwing them back in to the box and walking around kicking them or putting them under cushions

[Helsbells68]

My daughter had a little tykes hard hat and wore it constantly, we often had to remove it from her head after she had gone to sleep.