We started giving this bear to our daughter when she was around 6 months old so she could self soothe. She hasn't been without it since, and will be 18 months in a few days. I love that the ribbon is sewn on, so she can feel it & we don't have to worry about it coming off. She loves silky things. She LOVES her "Bo". It is machine washable (at least from what I remember on the tag that now is blank from my daughter rubbing it so much) but the fur has matted down after 1 year & 3 machine washes/dries. My mother in law washed it & didn't put it in a pillowcase or anything, so that may have helped. We are going to get her 1 or 2 more as backups, but this one has held up very well. She carries it in her teeth & swings it around & overall abuses the poor thing, but when it's night-night time, she squeezes it so hard & loves all over it!