It’s natural to want to provide your child with a source of comfort that they can have within arm’s reach to help soothe them, so many parents buy best stuffed animals for their children. They can hug them, carry them around, babble to them, and so much more.
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How We Chose Our Ratings
Honesty is important to us, so to come up with our ratings, we performed an extensive examination of customer reviews and testimonials and combined that with any available information about each brand’s reputation.
Top 10 Best Stuffed Animals for Babies and Toddlers
When you’re looking for a new stuffed animal toy for a baby or small child, consider these cuddle-buddies.
Baby Gund My First Teddy Bear
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Is there a bigger must-have for your baby’s best stuffed animals collection than the classic teddy bear? You can start small with the 10-inch bear, upgrade to 15 inches, or go overboard with the 18-inch teddy.
This Gund looks like a cute little bear in a light tannish brown that’s great if you want a gender-neutral option.
Gund has been in the stuffed animal business since 1898, which marks it as a brand that produces quality materials. They use premium fabric to ensure the bear is soft and one that your baby or toddler will love to hug and keep at their side.
Also, the bear’s eyes and nose come embroidered so that you don’t have to worry about small pieces that could detach and become a potential choking hazard. It’s also machine-washable so that you can keep it clean, sanitized, and safe for baby.
Customers say the bear is well made, super soft, and perfect for cuddling. And new grandparents that had bought the same bear for their children over 20 years ago found themselves rebuying it for their grandkids because they knew it was a quality product.
Aurora World Lil Benny Phant
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Aurora World has more than 30 years of experience making the best stuffed animals. Their Lil Benny Phant is an adorable, super soft, and plush baby elephant.
You can choose from grey, mint, or pink. He (or she) is sitting with a cute expression on his face and with his “arms” tucked between his legs. The toy is about 9 inches tall.
Benny Phant makes an effort to prevent the button eyes from detaching and becoming a safety hazard by doing more than just gluing them on and providing backing through the fabric.
It is machine washable, although many buyers suggest using cold water and the delicate cycle to ensure durability.
Plush Monkey Ollie Bedtime Originals
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There’s something about cute little monkeys that draws kids to them; look at Curious George.
Well, Bedtime Originals knows how magnetic an adorable monkey can be, so they made Ollie, a two-tone monkey that has a chocolate brown body and light tan face, ears, and feet. It also has a tail that curls at the end.
Ollie comes completely stitched, so you don’t have to worry about any parts coming off from the animal and posing a safety threat for your little one.
The monkey is about 8 inches in height, can be washed in the machine using the delicate cycle, and put in the dryer with the tumble dry low setting.
Parents and grandparents say it’s adorable, soft, durable when handled as the instructions say and holds up to being dragged by the tail by toddlers and gnawed on by babies.
Harry the Bunny
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If you have access to the Baby First channel, then chances are you’re familiar with Harry the Bunny. Baby First knows babies and toddlers like their friendly, helpful rabbit that gets his fair share of airtime on the network.
He measures about 15 inches in height, so it is a substantially sized toy.
The adorable Harry plush is wearing a blue sweater and red overalls with a carrot on the front. If your baby or toddler enjoys playing with their stuffed animal, his light beige bunny fur could end up being a magnet for stains, so it’s a good thing he’s machine-washable.
All the body parts are embroidered, so you don’t have to worry about your child possibly eyes or the nose off and putting it in their mouth.
Many customers say that their child loves the Harry the Bunny character and the plush looks just like the one on television. Some buyers caution that the toy is a bit of a lint-magnet and that if you do wash it, you should use the delicate cycle.
Taggies Oodles Owl Character Blanket
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A cute stuffed animal attached to a soft cuddly blanket made with a rainbow of colors? That pretty much guarantees that your baby will want to take the Taggies Oodles Owl Character Blanket everywhere with them.
The Oodles Owl has plush pink corduroy with an embroidered face, and it sits on the top of a multi-colored blanket with a multitude of ribbon loops for babies to play with and grab.
Taggies is a line made by Mary Meyer, a company that has been making toys since 1933 so you’ll be buying from a manufacturer that has a long history of producing quality stuffed animals for children.
The blanket is about 17 inches by 17 inches, has embroidered accents, and is fully lined for added softness.
To wash the blanket, you should use a mesh laundry bag with the gentle cycle and let it air dry.
Parents say children as small as six months and as big as five years old love the stuffed animal and blanket. Buyers noted that it’s very soft, the colors are bright and eye-catching, and the stitching is superb. Babies practice their pincer skills exploring the attached loops and textures.
The owl is the perfect size for hugging, and the blanket’s length makes it easier for babies to cuddle the stuffed animal.
Squishmallow Cat
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The Squishmallow Cat, one of the best stuffed animals, looks like a cat, sort of. It’s cute with whiskers and a bit of calico coloring, with one black ear, one orange ear, and a pale face.
But, that’s where the similarities end because this cat has a shape similar to marshmallow, so it’s soft and squishy.
The stuffing has a combination of spandex and polyester foam that is like memory foam, so the plush is designed to be squished and then springs back.
Babies and toddlers can have endless hours of fun hugging and putting the Squishmallow through its paces and watching it return to its original shape.
If cats are not your thing, you can choose from other Squishmallow animals like a:
- Fox
- Panda
- Unicorn
This plush is machine-washable, and you can use the tumble dry setting in the dryer.
Parents say it is very soft, well made, and super fun for kids. Parents even admitted to stealing the Squishmallow sometimes because it feels like a stress ball.
Gund Baby Animated Flappy the Elephant
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The Gund Baby Animated Flappy the Elephant is Amazon’s number one bestseller in the stuffed animal department. With its long history of making quality toys since 1898, it’s no surprise to find more than one Gund product in a roundup of the best stuffed animals.
The loveable Flappy stands at about 12 inches tall, is light grey, and super soft. One of his legs is marked “sing” and the other “play” so that your child can interact with the toy.
Pressing “play” launches a round of peek-a-boo and makes Flappy’s upright ears flop down to cover his eyes. Pushing “sing” makes the elephant sing the song “Do Your Ears Hang Low” while his ears flap about to entertain your little one.
Due to needing three AA batteries to power the toy, Flappy is not machine-washable, but you should be able to clean his exterior with a moist cloth.
Parents and grandparents fall head over heels with Flappy’s adorableness. Many say that it is guaranteed to make you and your child smile and that the toy is very soft and well made. One downside is that it doesn’t have volume control and a few people think it’s a little loud.
Cloud B Sleep Sheep
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This adorable little white sheep is more than just precious. It also plays sounds to help your baby fall asleep. It comes with two AA batteries, and you can choose from eight peaceful sounds to help lull your little one including:
- Ocean waves
- Heartbeat
- “Twinkle Twinkle”
You can set a timer with an automatic shutoff after two different time settings so that Sleep Sheep can play sounds for either 23 or 45 minutes.
Since you shouldn’t leave stuffed animals in the crib with your baby, the Sleep Sheep comes with a Velcro strap which lets you attach it to the bars of the crib as well as stroller and car seat handles.
If your little lamb gets dirty, you can wash it in the machine but be sure to remove the sound device before you get it wet.
The sheep also has three white noise settings which can help soothe baby to sleep. This little stuffed animal is so popular that it has won awards like the National Parenting Council’s Seal of Approval.
Many buyers vouch for the stuffed animal’s ability to help put babies and even toddlers to sleep. Other positive reviews liked how soft the plush is and the Velcro attachment that allows you to use it around the crib, but not directly in it with the baby.
MerryMakers Pete the Cat
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If you’ve been reading to your baby or toddler, chances are you might have come across Pete the Cat. He’s a cool cat with a positive vibe who likes to help out and has more than 15 million books out there.
A bit of a celebrity, Pete the Cat books have been on the New York Times bestseller list for 200 weeks total.
Although this stuffed toy is safe for all ages, it’s best for kids who are at least two years old since at around 14 inches long. He’s a little big for infants.
This blue cat has one red shoe, one blue shoe, a serene expression, and wears his heart for all to see. Toddlers will enjoy curling his long tail and hugging this super soft plush.
Next time you pull out a Pete the Cat book, Pete can come along to hear about his adventures.
Parents say they liked the quality, softness, and how well the animal holds up if you have to wash it in the machine multiple times.
Baby Einstein Octoplush Toy
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When you’re thinking of buying the best stuffed animals for babies and toddlers, an octopus might not be the first animal that comes to mind, but Baby Einstein’s Octoplush Toy could get you to think outside the box.
This charming blue octopus is more than a cuddly, stuffed animal. First, its bright blue color is sure to snag your child’s attention.
Second, with eight legs to grab, kids will have fun with the variety of options, and babies can practice developing their motor skills and pincer grasp.
But the legs are more than appendages. Each leg has an image embroidered on it, and with a light squeeze, the octopus will tell you what color the picture is and play a snippet of classical music.
Baby Einstein has a reputation for over 20 years for making toys that help babies learn too so this toy teaches the colors in Spanish, French, and English. If you squeeze the Ocotoplush’s head, it will play more music.
This is about 7 inches in height and requires two AA batteries that you’ll have to buy separately.
A lot of buyers said kids ranging in age from three months to three years old enjoy playing with the Octoplush. Children enjoy the clear sounds made by the octopus and pressing the different arms to elicit the different responses.
Buyer’s Guide
When trying to find the best stuffed animals for babies and toddlers, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the adorable options. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you make your selection.
It’s best to avoid any stuffed animals that might have sewn-on parts like eyes, noses, or buttons that could pose possible choking hazards for small children.
Also, a little monkey or bear that rattles when you shake it could be super cute, but you might want to avoid rattling toys because if the beads were to leak out, they could be dangerous too.
One last thing to keep an eye out for is stuffed animals that have plastic parts. Some toys that contained plastic and came from China had phthalates which are chemicals that could pose certain health risks.