The first cuddly toy is given to newborn babies and I know a lady in her eighties who still has her teddy bear (balding, tatty and missing an ear,) received on the day she arrived in the world.

Children usually have far too many cluttering up their beds, shelves and floorspace,and when you have a prune once in a while, will happily ditch those that aren’t absolute favourites, only to deliberately choose more when they peruse boot fairs or school fetes.

There is always a favourite though, and nobody in the family needs to ask as we all know the key cuddlies in each others lives.

To a child a cuddly toy becomes a friend, a hug, a recipient for anger, a sponge to soak up emotions, a guard and a comforter.

Older children still enjoy hugging the cuddly toy (in private at times of stress or misery) and like the comfort and familiarity of feeling there is a faithful unjudgmental friend (like a pet.)

For adults the toy has the comfort and familiarity of a childhood buddy and this becomes more valuable as the decades past.

Choosing a cuddly toy for a baby is a great privilege. Read more here.