[sak9645]

My daughter was totally obsessed with stuffed animals. She had an amazing number of them. They all had names. They all had stories.

One day, Brownie would be crying because he had to go to the doctor for shots. Another day, Brown Bear would hit Doggy Woof Woof. On another day, a group of animals would go to school and learn to write.

Becca always knew fact from fiction. She never tried to convince other people that the animals were real. But she was extremely happy when someone would play along with her fantasy and ask something like, "Did Brownie get over her cold?" or "Doggy Woof Woof looks sad today. What happened?"

At times, Becca used the animals to think out -- or signal -- her own concerns, like going to the doctor or dealing with a problem with another child. But at other times, she simply was enjoying creative play with her animals.

Interestingly, Becca is now 13, and STILL loves her animals. She doesn't have fantasies any more, but she gets very mad if the dog steals Strawberry, the most recently added bear in her collection, or Wrigley, the squirrel she got in Montana. She still likes to cuddle up with them, and still sleeps with them in her bed.

Becca is about the most balanced 13 year old around, and totally age appropriate in every way. She is very mature in her behavior, and very advanced in her schoolwork. But she loves those animals, and my assumption is that she'll take several of them -- including a few that date from her toddler days and are raggedy and noseless -- off to college with her.

Most of Becca's girlfriends also have stuffed animals they love, name, and so on. And when Becca was about 11, I discovered, because of a school overnight trip to New York, that many of the boys also still had favorite stuffed animals that had to accompany them. But Becca probably had the most serious obsession with her stuffed animals of any kid I have ever met.

Sharon