Are you a lover of JellyCats? If so, are you a proud parent who boldly show off your display, or are you a secret lover who keeps them under your bed in case anybody significant comes over? These furry little creatures have stolen the hearts of many, yet some women are still embarrassed to admit that they enjoy cuddling their teddies at night. Emily Hawtin shares her experiences with collecting toys in her twenties, and discovers whether collecting teddies in your adult life should be considered a crime, or if it is merely an attempt to hold onto the joys of our youth?
Confession time: I am a twenty-two-year-old woman, and I cannot go to bed without Fergus the Frog.
Before you ask, Fergus the frog is not a euphemism for my boyfriend, unfortunately I am referring to my JellyCat frog.
Now I understand that making sure I have my teddy bear at night should not be at the top of my priority list, considering that I often skip washing my make-up off before bed, and doze to sleep whilst my £180 retainers collect dust on my bedside table.
However, even with the cacophony of my pores screaming, mixed with the irritated grinding of my dentist’s teeth, I still put all my important adult priorities aside to make sure that I get the most important thing straight.
Which is, Ricky the Rain frog, Timmy the Turtle, and Fergus the Frog have got to be on my bed at the end of the night, otherwise I will be ransacking my entire room until I find them.
I realise I may have already jeopardised my sanity, and therefore should continue listing off all my other prize possessions which include: my favourite Alice in Wonderland book, a frog and tadpole tea set, a Disney princess water bottle, a colouring book with colouring pens, five JellyCats, and six Lego Harry Potter sets.
But I haven’t always been so open about my child-like possessions, especially around attractive men. For instance, the time I brought a boy back to my house after a night out. He was a psychology student, so I was trying to recite theories concerning Sigmund Freud to impress him, when he turned to me and said: “You actually are really mature”. As I tried to conceal my amusement, I was suddenly reminded of the beady little eyes of my two froggy friends, who I knew were in my bed waiting for our arrival. What made the situation even worse was the fact I hadn’t just left them on my bed, I had positioned them to be hugging each other and neatly tucked up into my duvet!
So, when our Uber parked outside my house, I sprang out the vehicle and told him I was desperate to use the bathroom. I unlocked my door, ran upstairs, spotted the culprits, and abruptly karate kicked them off my bed. Whilst he awkwardly stood in the hallway listening to the entire ordeal. The next day the boy ghosted me, shock, and Fergus has never looked at me the same again.
But whether you are a shy or proud toy collector, it is common for adults to indulge in ‘child- like’ hobbies. PoundToy discovered in 2021 that nearly seven million people in the UK still cuddle a teddy at night, and a further 14 million own their childhood teddy bear.
So, if you are like me and love your JellyCats do not panic, because we are not alone.
24-year-old shop assistant Grace Knight from Leeds is a proud owner and Instagram content creator for JellyCats and says: “The feeling of loving teddies has never changed for me.
“Once I went to this club called District in Leeds and took my blue Axolotl JellyCat with me. This event had attracted a huge emo crowd, and I remember thinking to myself, ‘I am the youngest person in here, surrounded by loads of cool alternative people, and I’ve got a JellyCat hidden in my bag.’
“But there was something so therapeutic in bringing my JellyCat with me, and I think people get so caught up in adult life that they forget the pure joy that comes from acting a little childish sometimes.”
I guess that is one bonus for collecting JellyCats in your twenties: you can take them clubbing with you and not have to worry about them creepily asking to buy you a drink.
But are our furry JellyCats only useful as clubbing partners, or are they a way for women in their twenties to embrace and remember their childhood?
Jenna Macdonald, a 24-year-old shop owner of the Fluffy Bottom Babies store in Nova Scotia, Canada said: “Most of our customers that buy JellyCats are young women, and it brings me so much joy to watch them come in and get excited to buy one.
“People are actively looking for different ways in which they can heal themselves through self-care, and I think a huge part of self-care is engaging in things that bring you joy, such as JellyCats. I think we’re in an age now where there’s more awareness on maintaining that creative aspect of our inner child into our adult life, to support our mental health.”
The Oxford Dictionary defines our ‘inner child’ as a persons supposed true self when concealed in adulthood, so regarding JellyCats, are they secretly allowing us to embrace our true inner child that we try to hide when we get older?
Dr Sarah, Alsawy- Davies, a 35-year-old Specialist Clinical Psychologist says: “I think that it is down to the individual’s intention of why they’re collecting them. One of the problems attached to it is if people are doing it for a trend, and are doing it for validation, because this reinforces a defence mechanism. As their inner child gets to avoid any form of rejection which it might have feared.
“However, people who want to embrace the playful side of it, are subconsciously getting in touch with their child self the moment that they’re able to show acceptance. It’s not directly related to a child’s healing work, but if it’s done with the right intention, it can be supportive for the development of the adult prefrontal cortex. As we see people who can engage in things that are more playful have healthier brain development, and therefore are able to regulate their emotions a lot better.”
Well now we know JellyCats are good for the brain, it’s time to ditch our fears and live with our Stanley the Shrimps and Otto the sausage dogs peacefully.
Neave Speirs, a 22-year-old JellyCat Instagram creator from North Hampshire said: “At times I admit I have been ashamed of collecting JellyCats, but my inner child cannot help but come out when a new JellyCat arrives.
“I suffer with a lot of mental health conditions and when I have down days that consist of me being bed bound, just having them on my bed has helped to ‘soothe’ and bring comfort to me when I feel low.”
Well, that’s another bonus to add to the list: JellyCats sit on your bed, listen to your worries, and won’t judge you. So how can we enjoy our hobbies, and not feel embarrassed for collecting toys in our twenties?
Dr Davies added: “When you’re feeling anxious that people are going to judge you, trace that feeling back to the first time you felt it as a child. How true was what was going on in that moment, was it a reflection of you, or was it something that you innocently witnessed from someone else?
“The moment that you can get into that space and get a sense of what happened, you can forgive that inner child for holding onto the message that you should fear judgement.”
So, whether you purchase JellyCats to dangle off your rearview mirror, or to cuddle in bed, there is no denying the magical feeling that you get from embracing things you loved as a child.
I experienced this in December 2023, when I went to visit my grandmother during the Christmas break. My grandmother’s house holds a special place in my heart, as I spent the majority of my childhood there. My parents both worked long day shifts when I was a child, so my nan took on a motherly role and picked my sister and I up from school, cooked our dinners, played with our teddies, and was a huge influence on my childhood.
I was sitting in her living room that day, whilst she smoked a cigarette in her kitchen, when I spotted the old storage cupboard that used to hold all our toys.
“Nan, do you still keep all of mine and Sandra’s toys in the cupboard?” I asked.
In a puff of smoke, she replied absentmindedly, “Yes duck, it’s all in there I think.”
I slid open the cupboard door, and sure enough it was like I was transported back to my eight-year-old self.
I gasped as my eyes glanced over all the plastic cups, saucers, and food that were still stored in a picnic basket, in perfect condition. It was as if the cupboard was omnipotent, and had defied all rules of ageing, as each toy I had once used had been left in its position 14 years later without even a blanket of dust coating them.
‘Nan’, I cried, ‘Why have you kept all of our old toys?’
She came and kneeled over me, “Because one day I knew you would want to come back and look at everything you once loved as a little girl.”
The feeling of pure happiness that I felt beside my Nan that day encouraged me to continue to collect JellyCats, build Lego sets, and even start up my friendship with Fergus again.
As it made me realise that there is nothing more magical and comforting than the feeling of being a woman in your twenties and embracing the things that you once loved as a child.
Expert insights:
Dr Sarah Alsawy
Dr Sarah Alsawy is a Clinical Psychologist Clinical Psychologist Trauma Bond Specialist
