Teddies Helping Heal Hearts
Born in Australia, Trauma Teddies have grown, helping to calm injured children the world over – and keeping knitters busy!
New toys come and go, but teddy bears are here to stay. Treasured the world over by boys and girls alike, most children have one at some point, a friend that can comfort them in a way no adult can.
Thirty years ago Richard Hamilton, one-time member of an Australian ambulance crew, witnessed one of his colleagues giving a teddy bear to an injured child. Impressed by the calming effect of such a simple gesture, he related the story to his mother, Vera. Mother and son then asked the Australian Red Cross to equip ambulances with teddy bears for the express purpose of calming a traumatised child.
The Red Cross swung into action and the first Trauma Teddy was born. Norma Elder organised a simple knitting pattern and production began. After careful checking, tens of thousands of trauma teddies are now given out each year in Australia to children left homeless by forest fires, floods or other disasters.
The idea soon spread outside Australia. The British Red Cross leapt into action and now many UK police patrol cars, ambulance and fire-fighting crews are equipped with a stock of trauma teddies.
Michelle Miller, acting inspector at Northumbria Police says, “The response we get from young children when we give them a teddy is very positive. It can be incredibly daunting for young children when they see us, especially if they have witnessed a traumatic incident and the teddies just help us offer that extra little bit of comfort and reassurance for them.”
Trauma teddies are also handed out to nursing homes and children in hospital Accident and Emergency departments.
Samantha O’Connor, a parent from Southend, said, “When my daughter was younger she was admitted to A&E and was donated a teddy bear which meant she was more focused on the bear rather than what was happening to her.”
There are also the countless child refugees, forced to flee war-torn countries with little more than the clothes they are wearing. Trauma teddies are often the first toy these children will own when arriving in a strange country.
Marion Gibson, from Belfast, is a volunteer for the British Red Cross. Her trauma teddies are included in the aid boxes given to child refugees. She was told that the children guard them carefully and cling to them.
“I encourage people when knitting them to please think of the children who will touch your teddy and send your love to that child.”
“The teddies offer that extra little bit of comfort”