Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

inews.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 85 posts

Re: Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

#71

Post by friedegg »

kkoncevicius wrote: post #37

It might seems like a simple feel-good story for some, but it's more than that. I didn't imagine how much children learn and cope through toys until I had my own kids. Example 1: when my daughter was 2 she got a fishbone stuck in her mouth. I gave her lots of bread and water so that something would force the small bone to go down. After 5 minutes the issue was resolved and she immediately jumped to her teddy bear and…

I had several eye surgeries related to my congenital cataracts as a kid, including one where I had to wear an eye patch bandage for a few weeks. I remember being given a Mickey Mouse doll with a circular band-aid over the same eye, similar to my own. I peeled it off right away. Maybe I was a cynical kid.

Re: Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

#72

Post by sweetheart »

nitrogen wrote: post #69
aledalgrande wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, that's a cynical take if I've seen one.

Perhaps, but the parent post was right to notice that headline wording choice has an effect on emotion, and can be manipulative. Human interest stories aren't always chosen and conveyed with the interest of the reader or the subject in mind.

IMHO, saying that "Dad makes teddies" is simply a manipulative form of "Man makes toys" is just drawing arbitrary lines on the spectrum of the descriptiveness of language. It primes the reader for a more light-hearted, cute story, rather than a factual retelling of a series of events. Evoking emotional !== being manipulative. It _can_ mean that, but just because something tugs at our heart strings doesn't mean we are being manipulated.

Further, why not consider that "Man makes toys" is just a manipulative form of "Dad makes teddies"? Sure that primes us just as much as "Dad makes teddies", just in the other direction, no?

EDIT: Rereading this it sounds like I'm coming at you, or the OP, but I'm not :) Just thinking out loud in response to your comment!

Re: Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

#73

Post by renewiltord »

heywherelogingo wrote: post #58
kkoncevicius wrote: post #37

It might seems like a simple feel-good story for some, but it's more than that. I didn't imagine how much children learn and cope through toys until I had my own kids. Example 1: when my daughter was 2 she got a fishbone stuck in her mouth. I gave her lots of bread and water so that something would force the small bone to go down. After 5 minutes the issue was resolved and she immediately jumped to her teddy bear and…

"a simple feel-good story" - am I the only one who feels manipulated? It could have been eg "Man makes toy bears...". When I see something like "Dad makes teddies..." I stop reading. Give me the details, and I'll draw conclusions on my own, thanks. Related, I struggle to find objective media; I thought The Economist would be hard nosed objective economics - nope, had to unsubscribe; I figured the FT must be the answe…

Why is "Man makes toy bears" superior? It doesn't sound any more objective.

Re: Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

#74

Post by dkdbejwi383 »

renewiltord wrote: post #73
heywherelogingo wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"a simple feel-good story" - am I the only one who feels manipulated? It could have been eg "Man makes toy bears...". When I see something like "Dad makes teddies..." I stop reading. Give me the details, and I'll draw conclusions on my own, thanks. Related, I struggle to find objective media; I thought The Economist would be hard nosed objective economics - nope, had to unsubscribe; I figured the FT must be the answe…

Why is "Man makes toy bears" superior? It doesn't sound any more objective.

Exactly, it should simply state “Homo Sapiens specimen manufactures inanimate objects”

Re: Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

#75

Post by dkdbejwi383 »

hellbannedguy wrote: post #28
pomian wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Inventiveness. Decision for action. A startup. Not following or depending on big business to make what you want, Imagination. Design and production. Sounds like hacker news to me!

Let's hope it's not a Start-up, or if it is, it's a honest 501c3. My father went in for a routine hernia operstion. He had great insurance. Covered 100% of every overpriced procedure. He was recovering at home, and was just going through the bill for no reason. He noticed $690 for "Psychological Positivity therapy". That explained the Teddy Bear, and flowers, none of us sent him.

Thankfully in the UK we have the national health service.

Re: Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

#78

Post by newbamboo »

I love these kind of stories on hn. As entrepreneurial minded people, it’s common to think a lot about markets and opportunities. It’s hard to come up with ideas that will be viable.

But these stories serve as a good example of how, if you think about doing good and helping out others, the market for that is wide open. There is no end to opportunities. And often, by focusing on improving the world rather than making f—— you money, you end up being greatly enriched, financially but spiritually as well. It’s as though there were some greater force that recognizes efforts to do good and bestows upon these people great rewards, wealth, plenty. Doing good is anti-fragile.

Re: Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

#79

Post by sharken »

nitrogen wrote: post #69
aledalgrande wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, that's a cynical take if I've seen one.

Perhaps, but the parent post was right to notice that headline wording choice has an effect on emotion, and can be manipulative. Human interest stories aren't always chosen and conveyed with the interest of the reader or the subject in mind.

The headline can be misleading, but reading a few of the top comments and how they relate, makes me think that this is a great story.

More teddies !

Re: Dad makes teddies with health conditions to help children with medical disorders

#80

Post by Wistar »

Many years ago, perhaps in the mid-90s, a friend of mine proposed starting an outfit that made "Boo-Boo Bears," teddy bears that had casts, crutches, and other injury-healing themes intended for hospitalized children.

Then he discovered Hanna-Barbera owned the BooBoo Bear trademark and he gave up on the idea. I always thought that it was a good idea upon which he gave up too easily.

Post reply on HN