1, 2 or 4 kilos: which weight suits you?

The packaging shows a number: 1 kg, 2 kg, 4 kg. But how does that actually feel, such a reassuring weight in your arms or on your lap? Here you can read how the usual weights compare with each other and which weight suits you. How to choose a weight using two simple starting points is explained in how heavy should a weighted stuffed animal be?

How do 1, 2 or 4 kilos feel in your arms?

A comparison with things from your kitchen cupboard helps:

• 1 kg is a 1 kg bag of sugar, or about a 1-litre carton of milk.
• 1.5 kg is about a 1.5-litre bottle of water.
• 2 kg is two bags of sugar.
• 4 kg is four bags of sugar side by side.

Try picking up a bag of sugar and holding it against your tummy for a minute. Then put it on your lap. You will notice straight away how differently weight feels in your arms compared with lying on your body. In a stuffed animal, the weight is spread across a soft shape. That is why a 2 kg stuffed animal feels softer and less concentrated than two bags of sugar. The weight you carry when you pick it up is the same, though.

Which weight suits whom?

What follows are starting points to help you on your way, not fixed rules. The same condition applies to every weight: you can always lift the stuffed animal and push it away yourself.

Around 1 kg is a light stuffed animal. This weight can suit children aged 3 and over, people with little strength in their arms or hands, and older people. It is also handy for adults who often take the stuffed animal with them. For children, the starting points by age are in which weight suits your child?

Around 2 kg is a common weight. For many adults and older teenagers it is a pleasant, calm choice: you clearly feel the weight, but you can still move the stuffed animal easily. For younger or small children, 2 kg is often too much.

Around 4 kg is heavy for a stuffed animal. An adult who wants to feel the weight clearly can consider it for use at home, for example on your lap on the sofa. Only choose this weight if you can lift it and push it off you without effort, even when you are tired. We do not recommend this weight for children.

Is a heavier stuffed animal also better?

Heavier is not necessarily better. Research on weighted stuffed animals themselves is still in its early days, and heavy and light stuffed animals have not yet been compared with each other. The idea that heavier works better comes from weighted blankets. With blankets, there are signs that the weight makes a difference. In an American study of people with chronic pain, a 6.8 kg blanket scored slightly better than a 2.3 kg blanket on some of the measurements. In a Swedish study of adults with sleep problems and a mental health condition, a 1.5 kg blanket was the light comparison blanket, alongside a blanket of 6 to 8 kg.

That is about blankets that cover your whole body. You hold a stuffed animal or place it on a small part of your body, so you cannot simply compare the two. So feel free to choose a weight that feels pleasant to you, rather than going heavier to imitate blanket research. What is known about blankets and stuffed animals is explained in weighted stuffed animal or weighted blanket.

So why are there stuffed animals of 5 kilos and more?

You can buy stuffed animals of 5, 6, 7 or even 10 kg. Weights like these mainly show what manufacturers offer. We did not find any care organisation that recommends such weights for stuffed animals.

In everyday use, a lighter stuffed animal is often nicer. A heavy one is harder to carry from the sofa to bed or in your bag. You also cannot just lift it off you with one hand, and that is exactly what must always be possible. For weighted blankets, the Dutch aid guide Vilans Hulpmiddelenwijzer warns that pain, for example from a worn hip or knee, can get worse. This can also apply to a stuffed animal if a heavy one lies on a painful knee or hip for a long time.

How do you choose as an adult?

As an adult you have more freedom than a child, and the same two starting points help you on your way: the lightest weight that still feels pleasant, and you can always lift the stuffed animal and push it away yourself. Take your own body into account too. Do you have little strength in your arms or hands, or trouble with your shoulders, wrists or knees? Then a lighter stuffed animal is often nicer, even as an adult. Where and how you use the stuffed animal also matters. You can read about that in how heavy should a weighted stuffed animal be? A long shape spreads the weight differently from a compact one; how shape and weight work together is explained in which shape should you choose?

Do you have a condition affecting your breathing, heart or circulation, sleep apnoea, epilepsy, low muscle strength or fragile skin? Then talk to your GP or an occupational therapist first. You will find more about use by adults in weighted stuffed animals for adults. Other choices around fabric, shape and care are under choosing and using.