Simply Taty:

Animals have always had a way of capturing the spirit and imagination of our children. Whenever a child gazes upon a stuffed animal, their eyes glaze over and the hypnotic effects can be seen immediately. Using stuffed animals can engage them in ways that simply talking or showing cannot. So what are a some of the most popular shows that feature custom stuffed animals as hosts or characters?

Sesame Street:
Well, this is usually the first one that comes to mind. Though they are technically muppets, for the sake of this article we’ll refer to them as custom stuffed animals with human-powered animatronics. In this fantasy world set in Sesame St., a NY-style place, giving a more urban setting to which most children are accustomed to. Both stuffed animals and people live here, an example of what peaceful coexistence can provide for humanity. This show is full of great information for our children to absorb, such as numbers, the alphabet, and even issues dealing with morality. The stuffed animals, from a giant bird to even a woolly mammoth, all figure out their problems together.

Mr. Rogers
While Mr. Rogers lived in a world based in reality, he often would board the trolley and travel to the “neighborhood of make believe” where a whole host of  stuffed animals played and learned together. From Henrietta the cat, to X the owl, all the animals lived and loved from their own places, just trying to figure out the best ways to take of situations that our children might face on the playground or at home. A great show that we all probably watched as children, it still hooks children with the bright colors and dancing custom stuffed animals.

Lamp Chop’s Play-Along
Shari Lewis created Lamp Chop as a side-character for an earlier sitcom. When children saw the personalized stuffed animal merrily singing simple songs that the children could participate with and sing-along!

Zoboomafoo
Created by the Kratt Brothers, long known for their conservation and outreach projects for animals in the wild, this custom stuffed pet was a lemur that was goofy and informative about animals and their ways of life. Long arms swinging from tree to tree was his style, and this caught children in a trance as they switched from his plush version to a real lemur that looked just like him!
There are many more shows featuring custom stuffed animals, all adding to a child’s imagination and of what they can do with furry friends. Watch a couple of shows with your child and engage them with their own plush pet. You might be pleasantly surprised at what your child will come up with!