National Teddy Bear Day 2025 🐻 - What was your favourite teddy or toy as a child?

Rosie_Scope

National Teddy Bear Day

Today is National Teddy Bear Day!

Teddy bears were named after US president Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. And it's not the nicest story to begin with!

It all happened back in 1902. After having no luck shooting bears on a hunting trip, Roosevelt's attendants tracked down a black bear with their hounds and tied it to a tree for Roosevelt to kill. Roosevelt refused to shoot it as he felt it wasn't sportsman-like to do so, but still ordered the bear to be put out of its misery. A political cartoon of the event was later printed in The Washington Post, and several copies spread across the country.

This caught the eye of a man called Morris Michtom. He created a stuffed bear cub toy and sent it to Roosevelt. He put another in his candy shop window and labelled it 'Teddy's bear'. After getting permission to name it after the president, the bears started being manufactured and sold all across America. It became so popular that in 1907 he was able to found a new toy company, the Ideal Novelty Toy Company.

At the same time over in Germany, toy company Steiff had just started selling a similar toy bear with moveable limbs.

Toy teddy bears spread in popularity over the world and became a symbol of childhood that's lasted over a hundred years. It's amazing how just one political cartoon could have such an unexpected impact!

Now over to you! Did you have a teddy or soft toy growing up? Have you still got them?

Or if you weren't so into teddies, I'd love to hear what your favourite toys were as a child! Always fun to hear what people were into ☺️

I had a bear, but my favourites were a little rabbit and a dog. I've still got them, but they live safe in my cupboard rather than my bed these days!

🐻

Holly_Scope

Love this! I never knew the teddy bear was named after Roosevelt! Very interesting.

Chris75_

When I was a lad, all we got to play with was coal! (Only at Christmas though).

Mary_Scope

Mine was called Shaggy, after Shaggy from Scooby Doo as he had a green outfit on 😄

Chris75_

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1066300#Comment_1066300

But not because he was a stoner? 😂

Mary_Scope

Hahaha @Chris75_, i was only a child so i had no idea of this until I was older with hindsight😄

Bluebell21

My teddy bear was just called Ted.

BrianMcFaddenfan24

I used to have a red and white teddy bear that I'd had since I was 18months old, but when me, my two sisters and our brother moved in with our late dad, I accidentally left her at our old house. She was called Strawberry.

I have a few other teddy bears now. One of which is a lil pink girl teddy bear who I called Angel-Evelyn. The Evelyn part of my teddy's name is after my late nanna.

Holly_Scope

I don't a teddy from childhood, but my best friend bought me this duck teddy for my birthday because it was the closest thing she could find to a duck billed platypus which I've always had a bit of a fascination with for some reason. 😅

Her name is Wilma ☺️

Doglover2

I was an Arctophile (Teddy collector) for many many years until it started to get out of hand.

My very first bear ,given to me on the day I was born is now unrecognisable as a bear, he had a hard life,poor boy.Then my late staffy ripped him to bits, so unlike him,he never did that kind of thing before or after.

So i collected Steiff, Merrythought, Dean's bears, and many artisan ones.i also have an elephant bought for me by my great grandad. Hes still in tact.

I rem the Roosevelt story well. As he was named teddy the bears began life as "Teddy's bears".

There's nothing like Bears, (Dogs too) whether they be soft stuffed toys or the real thing.

durhamjaide2001

thank you for sharing this I have never been a fan of teddy bears even when I was younger which is part of the reason why we realised I had autism.

kreacher

i have a teddy bear called big ted, i'm sure i named him after big ted on playschool, he's getting old and a bit holey but he's still cuddly, had him since birth