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Bear Hugs

The Return of Care Bears
By Carma Haley Shoemaker

A lot of young parents remember having their own Care Bear and how wonderful these treasures were. They weren't just toys – they were our friends. They offered lessons, values and a really cute play buddy. Well, Care Bears live again!

Care Bear Reunion Tour
Thanks to one man, Jay Foreman, president of Play Along Toys in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Care Bears are alive and thriving again. They promise to be just as hot now as they were then. But what are Care Bears?

"Well, everyone knows what a teddy bear is and what it is for," says Foreman. "It's a toy, a companion and a comfort to kids. Care Bears are a special type of teddy bear because each one has its own personality that reflects an emotion such as 'Tenderheart Bear,' 'Cheer Bear' and 'Bedtime Bear.' It is easy for children to relate to these emotions and understand them. Each bear also has its own unique color. A consumer would purchase these for a child because a Care Bear is a wonderfully simple toy that expresses tender emotion to a child and is soft and cuddly!"

Meet the Bears!
Some of the Care Bears characters include:

Tenderheart Bear – Color: brown; Symbol: heart
Tenderheart is the organizer, arbitrator and unofficial leader of the Care Bears. He has the power to inspire others to follow his lead, whether its the other bears, hearts, flowers, bees or trees.

Wish Bear – Color: turquoise; Symbol: shooting star
Wish Bear is the somewhat naive dreamer of the group, feeling that things will always be what you wish to be. At times she is annoyingly optimistic. However, her power to make things change by just wishing often backfires making matters worse.

Secret Bear – Color: golden orange; Symbol: heart lock
Secret Bear is the mime of the group. He prefers to act out everything in a comical Harpo Marx fashion. Secret Bear uses pantomime, distorted expression and even charades to get his message across. Secret Bear is the confidante of each and every Care Bear, having the power to guard secrets like no one else.

Bedtime Bear – Color: blue; Symbol: moon with a hanging star
With Bedtime Bear's sleepy eyes, he ensures everybody gets enough sleep. It's his job to bring sweet dreams to all his friends. Whenever you see him, he is always sleepy.

Cheer Bear – Color: pink; Symbol: rainbow
Cheer Bear is the Care Bear cheerleader. She is spunky and totally optimistic. She has the power to get the adrenaline flowing and the spirit to win almost anyone.

Forest Friend Bear – Color: tan; Symbol: bear and a rabbit with a tree
Forest Friend Bear is the friend to all creatures, large and small, as well as all things in the forest and beyond. It is his job to protect the forest and all those who dwell there, or even just those who are visiting.

Good Luck Bear – Color: green; Symbol: clover
Good Luck Bear is the Care Bears' mascot. He's a happy-go-luck sort of guy, trusting, and believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that luck will turn everybody rosy.

Harmony Bear – Color: purple; Symbol: three hearts or music notes
Harmony Bear is the musical bear, an upbeat bee-bopper who is always jiving to the latest beat.

"I would love to have a Tenderheart Bear," says J. Michele Bodkin, a writer/photographer from Madison, Miss. "I love that they are coming back. They were everywhere when I was a teen. I did not personally have one, but babysat for numerous kids that did. I would love to get them for my children, as they would be helpful as far as explaining that emotions and feelings are a part of everyday life."

Bears with feelings and that share emotions? Can a child's toy really do that? If you even have to ask that question, then you've never owned a Care Bear. "The Care Bears message is one of caring, sharing and feeling," says Foreman. "Those are always positive emotions and sentiments. Of course without positive reinforcement from the parent, the toy is only a cute piece of plush. However, each one comes with an explanation of the emotion, which the parent can share with the child."

A Life Lesson
We've all heard that children learn what they live. So incorporating a caring toy into a child's life could only have positive effects. However, are these effects and lessons taught long lived, or do they live just long enough for a Care Bear to wear out?

"I would say [the effects of the lessons taught by the Care Bears] is up to the parent and the child," says Foreman. "The message is timeless as long as it is learned and lived. I have to assume that a lot of old Care Bears are coming out of boxes and attics now that we are re-launching this line. As every one reemerges, the lessons are recalled."

"I can remember when I first received my Good Luck Care Bear," says Rose Grace, a nursing assistant from Boulder, Colo. "I was getting ready for a competition and was really nervous. So one of my best friends gave me a gift and told me it would bring me luck. It was my Good Luck Care Bear. I still have him, packed up with my certificate, ribbon and trophy from that competition that I won."

Closing the Generation Gap
A great product and brand is one that has potential to be multigenerational, one that kids, parents and grandparents are all familiar with and can embrace. Care Bears are surely that. "Since this is the 20th anniversary, there are arguably three generations that are familiar with the brand," says Foreman. "That is a great head start. There is also a real market for toys that parents and kids can both identify with and have had shared experiences with."

"I'm already sharing my stories with my girls," says Grace. "I'm working on the collection so my girls and I can turn to the Care Bear that holds the feeling or emotion we need when we need it."

A Star is Re-born
Reactions to the Care Bear reunion tour have been nothing but positive and exciting. "We get a tremendous amount of positive feedback," says Foreman. "It is mostly expressing the delight in the re-launch and the trip down memory lane. In addition, we get a lot of feedback regarding how happy young mothers are that they can share one of their all-time favorite toys with their kids!"

Learning With Care Bears

While the Care Bears are great as a child's toy or friend, they can also be a creative teaching tool. Parents have a variety of games or activities they can do with their child, while including the child's Care Bear pal, that hold a lot of learning value.

A few activities and games include:

  • Expressing or understanding feelings – Care Bears are designed so each one represents a single emotion or feeling. Parents can use the related feelings or emotions to help their child understand what it means to be cheerful, wishful, loving, etc.
  • Teaching colors – Care Bears come in a rainbow of colors and are a perfect visual aid to help a child practice and/or learn their colors.
  • Teaching shapes – Using the shapes on the bellies of the Care Bears is a fun way to help a child learn them. From the star, moon, rainbow and heart, parents can use a 'best friend' to help a child master a task.
  • Learning symbols: Symbols are all around us – street signs, books, billboards and even on television. Using the creative pictures on the Care Bears bellies is a great way to teach a child what symbols are and why we use them.

Want to see more?


About the Author: Carma Haley Shoemaker is an iParenting contributing editor living in Virginia. She is the mother of three.

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