When my husband deploys, one of the hardest things is going for days or weeks without hearing his voice. It’s hard for our children, too. He calls me when he can, but is sometimes only able to talk for a few minutes. Last deployment, he was able to Skype with us only twice in 6 months.

During deployment, my children are desperate for anything that reminds them of Dad. They will look at pictures of him, or watch old videos on my phone. We have a few toys that help to remind them of Dad: my preschooler has a Daddy doll to carry around and talk to. The baby has a Daddy quilt draped over her crib, so she can kiss his pictures goodnight. But sometimes I think that what they miss most is his voice.

That’s why I was excited to hear about BeaRegards. They are plush stuffed animals with a recordable voice chip. The beautiful, soft animals come in a variety of colors and designs. You can choose from dogs, monkeys, a penguin, dinosaur, and even a unicorn. And of course there are bears. Military families may enjoy a green camouflage bear, such as the one pictured here. The bears come with options for military uniforms from every branch, either dress uniforms or camouflage work uniforms.

Here is the statement from the founder of BeaRegards:

“In 2004, while on Active Duty with AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command – Hurlburt Field; flying the MC-130P) I was deployed extensively. I had 3 small children that were having difficulties with my continued absence in their lives. I found that recording messages to my children and associating these messages with an item they could physically hold was comforting to them. Thus, the recordable teddy bear for the children of a deployed parent was created; at home for my 3 kids.

Since 2004, my mission has been to get our recordable bears to as many children of deploying military as possible. We presently work in conjunction with Army Family Readiness Groups (FGR)/Air Force Airman and Family Readiness and Navy Fleet/Family support throughout the country. We have supplied our bears to bases worldwide through these support organizations; most recently to Bangor Naval Base in Washington State and to deploying units from the MN Guard (367th Engineering Battalion). Over the past 12 years we have supplied +1000’s recordable plush animals to our military children; several years ago, the National Guard Bureau even sent bears to a deploying unit FRG.  In addition to retail sales, we offer our customers to donate bears to military families as well through our Share the Love program.”

Recording a message into the bears is easy. The instructions are included with the bear. The voice recorder is shaped like a heart, and can record a 30-second message. If the service member makes a mistake, they can record again! It’s a fun opportunity to record a loving message to your children before you deploy. My husband told the kids that he loves them, and added “be nice to Mom!” Maybe that will help during some of their deployment meltdowns. If the service member is already deployed, they could leave a voicemail with the message, and the spouse can play that voicemail to record it into the bear.

Win a free recordable bear from BeaRegards! Perfect for #milkids during deployment. Share on X

When I showed our children the recorded bear, they thought it was amazing! It is so soft and huggable. They are taking turns hugging it and listening to Dad’s voice. Even though he is still home, he will deploy again next year (for the 7^th time!) so this is already a family treasure.

Will your service member deploy this year? Would your children enjoy having their own stuffed animal with a voice recording from their deployed parent? You can visit the BeaRegards website to choose their favorite animals and colors.