Cross Breeds

How do I get rid of my Daughter obsession with stuffed animals?

My Daughter is turning 13 this year and she has a strange overactive imagination. You see every time she comes home from school she hugs and kisses the stuffed animals and talks to it for about an hour then studies with the stuffed animals...(Yes.. She is failing from school) So.. How do I get rid of my Daughter obsession with stuffed animals without making her sad or angry?

Public Comments

1. Take her to the zoo and let her find out how smelly they really are
2. She's lonely,leave it be.She'll grow out of it,but right now it sounds like the stuffed animals are giving her the wrong answers.
3. Trying to control her will backfire and she will hang on to them longer. If this is her way of dealing with stress, sadness or loneliness, let her have it. What if you take away her only coping method? Then what will she do? Can you please spend some special time with her, like take her for a bike ride, or play tennis, or go see a movie. It sounds like she is lonely and sad. Good luck.
4. Without out having he evaluated by mental health specialist how do you know what she's doing is bad for her. Forget about judging it abnormal or normal. It may be normal for her or it could be a sign of something more serious. You are doing her a disservice if you just arbitrarily decide she must stop this behavior.
5. Gently suggest that she do something else and don't say "something else" but be specific. Like say, why don't you forget about your stuffed animals for now and do your homework. You need to get better grades maybe if you don't spend so much time with your stuffed animals you can get better grades. Don't yell, threaten, or insult, that will just makes things worse. She could be having trouble at school friend wise so she is using the stuffed animals to compensate. Maybe she is lonely, maybe having trouble making friends, maybe being picked on, so she uses the stuffed animals as an outlet. Or she could have a very over active imagination or something else-who knows. Usually girls are thru playing with stuffed animals by 13. You could also make a rule-no playing with stuffed animals until your homework is finished.
6. Some children just need a way to express themselves and this may be her healthy way to do just that. Maybe you can try encouraging her that she can talk to you about things too. It may even help if she could talk to a counselor. I'm sure she will grow out of it over time but if you're worried, I would let her talk to a counselor or psychologist to ease your mind.