Stuffed Animals, as Opposed to Toys

     I have been asked why I chose to make stuffed bunnies for children instead of making toys, or writing a book; the reason is almost relatively simple. Most children, especially those in failing health, are naturally drawn to animals. Common house pets in particular have been known to hold significant sentimental and therapeutic value to their respective owners.
     While toys and books are excellent gifts as well, my aim in this project was less to provide entertainment, and more to evoke calm and soothing feelings in people. While books are capable of producing the same effect, they are not very practical for my own use. Toys also are more likely to cause excitement in a child rather than calm.
     In a journal titled "Psychosocial and Psychophysiological Effects of Human-Animal Interactions: The Possible Role of Oxytocin" by Andrea Beetz and others on Frontiers in Psychology, the effects of human-animal interaction (HAI) are summarized as follows:

• – improvement of social attention, behavior, interpersonal interaction, and mood
• – reduction of stress-related parameters such as cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure
• – reduction of self-reported fear and anxiety
• – improvement of mental and physical health, especially cardiovascular health.
  Limited evidence or very few publications exist f or positive effects of HAI on:
• – reduction of stress-related parameters such as epinephrine and nonepinephrine
• – improvement of immune system functioning
• – improved pain management
• – increased trustworthiness of and trust toward other persons
• – reduced aggression
• – enhanced empathy and
• – improved learning.

     While these effects were tested only with living, breathing animals, stuffed animals can play their part as well! Stuffed animals can have the same effects on children, improving both physical and mental health. Furthermore, real animals pose health problems themselves, even domesticated ones. A person with a weak immune system typically cannot come into contact with most animals anyway.

     Now that the benefits of animals has been established, the benefit of bunnies themselves can be discussed. While not every child loves bunnies, there are few people who hate them. A bunny is a safe animal. Cats and dogs, on the the other hand, often elicit stronger emotions. Most people will say that they either hate cats and love dogs, or love dogs and hate cats. For these animals, there is a higher chance of finding a person who hates one of the two. Most people are "okay" with bunnies. I am also "okay" with that. 

     My decisions may or may not have also been influenced by simple convenience. However, that was not the point.