New teddy bears to tackle child’s feelings
A LOUGHBOROUGH woman has created a special range of teddy bears which are helping to tackle a whole range of children’s feelings.
Joanna Proud and the team behind Mood Bears recently took the cuddly characters into Leicester Royal Infirmary to meet some of the children undergoing care - and say they received an overwhelmingly positive response.
The 30cm-tall cuddly toys each represent one of five recognised feelings or emotional states - happy bear, sad bear, silly bear, nervous bear and love bear.
It is hoped that in time they can encourage people all to talk, listen and understand our feelings, thoughts and moods.
Joanna, who designed the teddies and coowns Mood Bears with husband Nathan - aims to get the bears into every hospital in England. More than 700 have been sold in just two months.
She said: “They proved so popular that the play specialists in charge of arranging fun activities for the children are now looking to include Mood Bears on their daily rounds.”
She said that adults’ intensive care at the health trust also praised the toys, as some were given to young children who had just lost their mother.
One nurse wrote to the company: “I just wanted to let you know how much of an impact your bears had when I gave them to some children who had lost their mum under tragic circumstances.
“They were given them by the hospital as the last gift from their mum. The comfort and love that these bears gave the children on this last day was immeasurable. I can’t thank you enough for sharing these bears with us.”
Joanna said: “It brought me to tears to hear this. It’s extremely emotional and powerful to think of how I helped those children.”
Mum to Daisy, 15, Eliza, 13, and Thomas, 10, Joanna found the bears a comfort herself after suffering from depression over the past 18 months.
“I don’t feel the best some days,” she said. “But I walk around the house cuddling them. They are so soft and you look at their little faces and they really make you smile.”