Dad writes book to tackle teddy seperation

Teddy Goes For A Swim, which tells the story of a boy and his favourite soft toy, Billy the Bear, has been written by father-of-two, Adrian Johnson, and is illustrated by award-winning children’s author Steve Smallman.

The book has been published by British home appliance brand Belling after research showed that seven in ten parents said their little ones had suffered tears and tantrums when it was time for their favourite soft toy to be washed.

The illustrated rhyming book is being given free to schools across the UK and is also available on Apple iBooks.

Mr Johnson said: “Many parents struggle to get their children’s favourite teddy in the wash and it’s something myself and my wife have seen first-hand with our two, as well as with friends of ours.

“We know parents who take out the teddy at night, put it through a quick wash and then tumble dry it before slipping it back with the sleeping toddler. Others have bought a second teddy double so there’s always a clean one on rotation.

“We did some research on behalf of one of my agency’s clients, Belling, and it seems it’s a pretty common scenario, so we decided to create a fun tool to help parents and children alike and the rhyming book was born.

“In the book, the boy and Billy have lots of fantastic imaginary adventures and sometimes get in a bit of a mess, meaning Billy needs to embark on his biggest adventure – a swim through underpants and sock-infested seas in the washing machine.

“We hope to show that if it’s okay for Billy the bear to be washed, it’s going to be fine for other children’s favourite cuddly toys, too.”