Many of us probably remember having a favorite toy we couldn't stay away from during our childhood. Yet, despite our wishes, we had to spend some time apart.
The girl in today's story experienced this exact thing. She had a beloved doll but couldn't bring it to daycare. Luckily, she also had an amazing and creative mom who made sure this doll had a fun day even though she wasn't allowed at the daycare.
More info: TikTok
Seeing a child being separated from their beloved toy isn't the most joyful thing to witness
Image credits: Polesie Toys (not the actual photo)
Like with this girl who had to leave her doll behind because her daycare didn't allow outside toys
This OP had quite a challenge when her daughter wasn’t allowed to bring her toy to daycare. As she later clarified in the comments, apparently, there’s a daycare policy that doesn’t let kids bring outside toys. Usually, these policies are applied to avoid sharing-related conflicts between children.
So, when OP’s daughter wanted to bring her beloved doll but couldn’t, she threw a tantrum. So, the mom figured out an ingenious way to calm her girl’s nerves down.
She asked her daughter to give the doll to her so she could take care of it. And, well, let’s just say she surely took good care of it. While many would have simply taken the doll and maybe left it in the car, this mom took the toy to her work.
There, she didn’t just throw it on her desk, in her bag, or somewhere similar. She gave the doll a full office job experience. Literally. And she took pictures of it.
Luckily, her mom came up with an ingenious idea on how to calm her girl's nerves down
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
Later, she showed these pictures to her daughter. They were of a doll working at a desk, getting coffee, attending a meeting, and even going to the toilet – quite a realistic portrayal of work at the office, isn’t it?
The girl was ecstatic to see her beloved toy having such a productive day. She couldn’t stop smiling and laughing at her doll’s antics in the office.
This move earned the video’s author the “Best Mom” honor in the comments. People praised her for her creativity. They also pointed out that she gained her daughter’s trust by respecting her toys.
She brought the doll to her office job and took many pictures of it enjoying work there
Image credits: tiara3787
Later, these photos made the girl very happy that her doll had such an adventure
Some even shared stories of how their parents respected their toys. After all, toys tend to be kids’ comfort objects. Children look for security and comfort in these objects any time they feel like they need it. And someone respecting a thing that clearly means a lot to them can stay in their memory for a long time. Netizens who shared stories like that are proof of it.
In fact, comfort objects are beneficial not only for children but for adults, too. Objects like cuddly toys stimulate the release of oxytocin, which is dubbed the love hormone. The release of it helps to reduce anxiety and stress, and who doesn’t want that, right? That's why there are many people who keep their comfort objects despite being full-blown adults. And there's nothing wrong with it.
Toys, no matter how old you are, also provide way more things than just comfort. For example, board games exercise people's minds, give them a chance to socialize, and stimulate their brains in many other ways.
They can also be a hobby for a person. This can be in the form of collecting vintage figurines or any other type of toy. Like Marla Mogul here, who has the largest collection of wind-up toys in the world.
Image credits: Fox (not the actual photo)
But it doesn't have to be a collection -- it can just be for the sake of enjoyment. Someone who enjoys vehicle mechanics can appreciate remote-controlled vehicles. Or maybe someone can enjoy doing LEGOs or puzzles while watching TV. Just as there are many types of toys, there are many ways to enjoy them.
Probably the biggest challenge an individual has to overcome if they want to enjoy toys is the stigma that it's not a mature thing to do. After all, toys are typically marketed toward children, so playing with them as an adult can seem immature. But this is a stupid take, as it's proven that a denial of play can be damaging to mental health. And, well, there are already many things in our world that can damage a person's psychology, so maybe we shouldn't create additional ones?
Coming back to today's story: it’s sad that the girl couldn’t bring her comfort toy to daycare, but the policy avoiding children's conflict kind of makes sense. Also, not only was sharing-related conflict avoided, but the girl surely obtained a core memory of how her mom kept her promise and even made it fun. And that's what childhood should be — fun. But maybe grown-up life can be just as fun. We simply need to stop stigmatizing toys and the joy they bring.
Watch the video here:
People online praised the mom for doing such a nice thing for her daughter and even shared stories of their parents doing similar things
