Neighborhoods organize teddy bear hunts to keep children entertained during the pandemic

Around the world, in countries experiencing lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, neighborhoods came up with a joint solution to help children cope with the isolation: giant teddy bear hunts. The initiative was inspired by the popular children’s book “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”. People are placing teddy bears on windows or their front yards so kids can walk around their neighborhood spotting as many bears as they can. It is a fun activity that children can enjoy while maintaining social distancing and keeping safe.

The place where the idea originated is unknown but it has been replicated in countless cities around the world. In Melbourne, Australia, for example, Melissa Kleynhans took to Facebook to ask her neighbors to adhere to the initiative, so her son Jacob could go on her bear hunt. After only a few hours, more than 100 people had replied with photos of their teddy bears sitting on the windows, waiting for Jacob to spot them. “We've got beanie bears, a teddy bears' picnic in one window, a bear that is 58 years old that one woman put out. She doesn't have kids and it brings this woman so much joy", Melissa explained.

In the United States, schoolteacher and mother Beth Gibson was also “searching for scavenger hunt-type activities that our kids could get out of the house to do while still socially distancing” when she found out about this idea. In her town, she says there are so many teddy bears that it would take a week of driving around to be able to find them all. To her, this idea was very important, not only as a way to keep children entertained, but also to bring a sense of community. "I knew the kids would love going around to find stuffed animals, but I also knew people in our community would participate even if they had no kids, just to put a smile on their faces. It makes you feel like there are people that have your back", she says.

Adapted from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-25/coronavirus-bear-hunts-around-the...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52108765