Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear

Parisian Parents Seek Solace in the Teddy Bear Trust

December 2008

Parisian parents welcome the Teddy Bear Trust for addressing children’s anxieties when being admitted to the hospital.

The Teddy Bear Trust will seek to be able to hand out a free teddy bear to every child who’s admitted to a hospital in Paris. The teddy bear will bring comfort to the child, while doctors and nurses can also use the teddy bear as a proxy when explaining the illness and medical procedures to the child. Also, the teddy bear can act as a substitute parent or comrade when the parents aren’t able to be at the hospital, or when it is occasionally too hard to be there to comfort a perhaps seriously ill child.

Psychologists have applauded mr. Bjorn Stiedl, Danish repeat entrepreneur and businessman, for having come up with the Teddy Bear Trust (Foundation Ours en Peluche). After the idea was first aired a couple of months ago, Parisian parents have heard rumours of the Teddy Bear Trust, and are beginning to ask healthcare workers if they know anything about it, and if there is a teddy bear for their child.

Mr. Stiedl comments that, “this clearly shows the need for a project such as this. For a child, being hospitalized is not only about getting well but about getting through the entire experience unscathed. And trust me, a one-month hospitalization for a five-year-old is virtually a life-long experience. Having a teddy bear to share the experience with may very well be more efficient than God knows how many pain-killers”, Mr. Stiedl concludes.

Patrick, father to a 4-year-old daughter who has been in the hospital for three weeks suffering from Meningitis, was thrilled about the idea: “Thank God my daughter is getting better, but having had a teddy bear comrade in the past three weeks would have been ideal. She has been going in and out of consciousness, and it wasn’t always that her mother or I could be here. We have three other kids and live in the suburbs outside Paris, and it’s not really advisable to travel between Paris and home after nightfall. And if she was awake at night, there was no-one to look after her. With the Teddy Bear Trust, there could have been”, Patrick finishes.

The Teddy Bear Trust expects to be able to hand out the first teddy bears before

summer.

About the Author

John completed junior high in two years, instead of three and moved on to High School at the age of thirteen. There he met the limits to his intellectual abilities. He found that students could study harder and accomplish more than he could "understand- once-and-remember-forever.”

What are some healthy things you can feed a teddy bear hamster?

i have a two month old teddy bear hamster her name is Lola soo far all i feed her is seed mix from the pet store and the regular hamster food they give you.... what else can i feed her other than pet food?

Seeds and Nuts: You hamster will likely enjoy nuts and seeds. These are wonderful treats and will be included in many commercial pet mixes. You should take care to avoid feeding too many nuts or seeds to a dwarf hamster. Nuts and seeds are highly fatty foods and may cause a condition known as "heat" in a dwarf hamster, which can result in loss of fur. One or two nuts every other day is probably sufficient if your hamster is a dwarf.

Green Vegetables: Green vegetables are another favorite treat of hamsters. Feeding a small slice of cucumber (which is also good source of water) or a piece of lettuce from time to time will be appreciated. But be careful not to overdo it. These should not be fed more than once every 2 or 3 days. In the case of lettuce, too much can cause liver problems in hamsters so feed this treat sparingly.

Avoid Sticky Treats: In feeding your hamster you should also consider the consistency and texture of the food you are feeding. A food like peanut butter or honey may seem like a nice treat to you or I but they are sticky and could become trapped in hamster’s dry cheek pouch. In general you should not feed sticky foods that could adhere to the inner lining of the pouch. Should the cheek pouch become impacted as a result of eating something sticky, the only person who will be able to remedy it will be your veterinarian. In any case, any foods you use to supplement your hamsters diet should only be given sparingly. A treat every other day is probably okay but too much or too often may result in health problems. Diarrhea, gastritis and liver problems can all result from feeding too many treats too often. All foods should be fed at about room temperature. Allow any cooked vegetables to cool before feeding, also make sure any cooked vegetables are free from spices, oils or any other seasoning. Any food from the refrigerator or freezer should likewise have time to acclimate to room temperature. Once your hamster has had a chance to eat the fresh foods be sure to clean up any uneaten portion. If left in the cage for more than an hour or so the food will begin to rot, which will cause the cage to stink and may pose a health risk to your little friend(s).

Note On Dwarf Hamsters: The foods listed below are generally acceptable for all hamsters, but dwarf hamsters are especially prone to diabetes, as a result you should generally avoid feeding fruits and vegetables with high levels of glucose (sugar) if you have a dwarf. If you do decide to feed your dwarf a fruit or a vegetable with high amounts of sugar (such as corn, carrots, bananas, mangos, etc) be very sparing with the amount and the frequency.

Hamster Approved Foods:

Alfalfa Apple (No seeds) *
Banana *
Broccoli Cantaloupe Carrot *
Cashews
Cauliflower
Celery
Cheerios
Cherries *
Chestnuts Corn *
Cottage
Cheese
Crickets
Cucumber
Dandelion Leaves
Grapes *
Green Beans
Hay
Mango *
Mealworms
Peach
Peas
Peanuts
Pear *
Pistacios
Pumpkin Raisins *
Raspberries
Raspberry Leaves
Spinach
Strawberries
Sunflower Seeds
Turnip
Walnuts
Water Chestnuts
Yam *
Zucchini

** = Be sure to remove the pit from any fruit or vegetable that has one, they could be problematic should your hamster attempt to ingest or chew on them *** = All foods should be unseasoned with no salt, sugar, oil or spices added.

Other foods may also be acceptable to feed to your hamster. This is not a comprehensive list, merely some common foods that can be fed to your hamster. If in doubt about a certain food it is always better to err on the side of safety and avoid feeding it to your hamster. You can ask your veterinarian about the food in question later.