Why Do We See So Many Stuffed Animals in Nursing Homes?

Geriatric population and their fluffy toys: let’s understand their attachment. 

“It isn’t real, but I love my kitty cat anyway,” says B., a long-term care resident at Via Carlisle, about Precious, the realistic and robotic cat toy sitting on her walker. They just left the manicure station and are headed to the bingo session. B. isn’t alone in her affection for a stuffed furry friend.

Forbes dedicated an article to the theme in 2019. Yes, you read it correctly: Forbes. As populations live longer and grow older, companies target a new profitable market share: stuffed and/or robotic pets for adults.

But why are people prone to be emotionally attached to toy pets in their old age?

According to Clinical Psychologist Max Genecov, author of the article “Letter of recommendation: Stuffed animals,” published in New York Times Magazine in 2018, pet toys can be considered transitional objects or items that bring comfort in times of change. We go through changes all our lives, but the most noticeable ones occur in childhood and at old age, not by chance, phases when stuffed animals represent comfort to us.

Fake fur pets provide benefits for dementia patients and seniors like B, who let everyone know she is aware that Precious is a toy. Here are some of them:

• Alleviates the need for more human contact: nursing home residents need more hugs and snuggles, and stuffed animals provide a sensory experience.
• Calming effect: dementia patients show less agitation when holding their stuffed animals.
• Self-worth: everybody likes to be needed, and toy pets are an opportunity for nurturing.
• Facilitates connection: the stuffed pet is part of the person’s current world and a great icebreaker to start a conversation.

Although robotic stuffed animals, like Precious, are a trend, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association in 2017 shows that fluffy toys offer the same benefit.

At Via Carlisle, B’s eyes shine when I ask how she chose her pet’s name: “Just look at her: she is Precious”!