Is Slumberkins Closing? What the Founders’ Letter Says and What Families Can Do Next

Is Slumberkins closing? Not officially: on October 26, 2026 its founders wrote that the business may need to wind down and that current inventory may not return, but no closing date has been announced.

Slumberkins, the emotional-learning brand behind plush creatures and feelings books for kids, shared a letter from its founders on October 26, 2026. They wrote that the company, as it runs today, is no longer sustainable, that they are selling through existing inventory, and that this may be the last holiday season with Slumberkins as families have known it. They also hope to continue in a smaller form.

Here is a careful summary of what the letter says and does not say, what it means for families who own Slumberkins, a safe-sleep note for parents of babies, and simple ways to keep teaching feelings at home either way.

Is Slumberkins Closing? The Short Answer

If your child has a Slumberkins creature they love, nothing about this news changes what that creature means at home. The stories, the affirmations and the bedtime rituals you built around them are yours to keep. What may change is whether you can buy a particular creature, book or replacement in the future.

This page sums up what the letter actually says, what it does not say, and how to keep the emotional learning going whatever happens to the company. We will update it if Slumberkins shares more.

What the Slumberkins Founders’ Letter Says

The letter, titled “Slumberkins Is at a Crossroads: A Letter From Our Founders,” was published on the Slumberkins blog on October 26, 2026, under Kelly Oriard’s byline and signed from both founders. In it, they explain:

• Where they started: two moms, educators and therapists who started Slumberkins about 11 years ago to make emotional-learning tools accessible to every family.
• What changed: growth brought investors and bigger expectations, the way families shop has changed, and the economics of a product-based business have changed. In their words, Slumberkins “as it operates today, is no longer sustainable.”
• What they are weighing: difficult decisions about the future, including the possibility of winding down the business as it exists today.
• What they hope for: a simpler, more focused Slumberkins, possibly with fewer creatures and collections or different ways of getting their stories to families.
• What it means for shoppers: they need to sell through existing inventory and cannot guarantee that current creatures, books and collections will return. They write that this may be families’ last holiday season with Slumberkins as they have known it.

The founders are clear that they are sharing this to be transparent with their community, not to pressure anyone into buying. The full letter is linked in our sources below, and it is worth reading in their own words.

What Has Not Been Announced

Because news like this spreads quickly, it helps to be precise. As of October 28, 2026, the letter does not:

• give a closing date or say the company has closed;
• say the Slumberkins website will go offline;
• say which specific creatures, books or collections are being discontinued;
• describe any change to orders, returns, rewards points, gift cards or educator memberships.

If you have an open order, a gift card, rewards points or a school membership, the most reliable answer will come from Slumberkins directly through the contact options on their website. We have not seen any statement on those topics, so we will not guess.

What It Means for Families Who Already Own Slumberkins

For most families, the practical impact is small and very personal. A creature does not stop working because the company that made it is changing. Here is how to think about it:

If your child notices the news (older kids sometimes hear about it from friends or school), keep it simple: the company that made their creature is going through a hard time and may change, and their creature is still theirs. That is a small, real-life chance to practice the very skill the brand taught: naming a feeling, such as feeling disappointed, and knowing it will pass.

How to Keep Teaching Feelings Without the Products

Slumberkins built its products around social and emotional learning. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as the process through which children and adults learn to manage emotions, feel and show empathy, build supportive relationships and make caring decisions. None of that depends on a specific toy. These everyday habits do the same work:

• Name feelings out loud: narrate your own (“I’m frustrated the store is closed, so I’m taking a deep breath”) and your child’s (“You look disappointed that playtime is over”). A growing feelings vocabulary is the foundation of everything else.
• Keep the affirmations: if your family used a Slumberkins affirmation at bedtime, keep saying it. You can also write your own: short, present-tense and true, such as “I can do hard things” or “I am loved just as I am.”
• Read stories about feelings together: any picture book where a character feels big emotions gives you a natural way to ask, “Have you ever felt like that?” The library is a good place to start.
• Make a calm-down spot: a quiet corner with a soft cushion, a few books and a picture chart of feelings gives your child a place to reset, not a place for punishment.
• Use a comfort object at the right age: for toddlers and preschoolers, a favorite stuffed animal can be part of the calm-down routine during the day and, after the first birthday, at bedtime too (see the safety note below).
• Repair after hard moments: when you lose your temper, coming back to say “I’m sorry I yelled, I was frustrated” shows your child that feelings can be big and relationships can still be safe.

These ideas line up with how the parenting approaches in our guide to parenting styles describe warm, responsive parenting, and they pair well with the boundaries side covered in our page on permissive parenting.

A Safety Note: Stuffed Animals and Baby Sleep

Many Slumberkins creatures are plush, and a lot of families use them at bedtime. That is lovely for toddlers, but it is important for babies to follow safe sleep guidance. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises keeping soft objects and loose bedding, including pillow-like toys and other toys, out of a baby’s sleep area because they can raise the risk of suffocation, entrapment or strangulation. The AAP’s parent guide also says there should be no stuffed toys in your baby’s bed.

In practice, that means a bare crib or bassinet for the first year: a firm, flat surface with a fitted sheet and nothing else, with your baby on their back. Our guide to when a baby can have a lovey explains why we recommend waiting until at least 12 months before any comfort object goes into the crib, and our safe sleep environment checklist walks through the full setup.

Before the first birthday, a plush creature can still be part of the bedtime routine: cuddle it during the story, let it “say goodnight,” then place it on a shelf outside the crib before your baby is put down to sleep.

Comfort Objects for Toddlers: Using Them Well

After 12 months, a familiar stuffed animal can genuinely help some children settle. A few tips make it work smoothly:

• Keep it simple: one small, well-made comfort object is easier to manage than a crib full of toys.
• Make it part of the routine: the same order every night (bath, pajamas, story, cuddle, lights out) helps the object become a cue that sleep is coming. Our toddler bedtime routine guide has a step-by-step version.
• Expect attachment: comfort objects are common and normal. They often help most during transitions, such as a new sibling, a move or starting daycare.
• Plan for separation worries: if bedtime gets harder around 18 months to 2 years, our guide to separation anxiety in toddlers covers what helps.
• Keep fears in proportion: a comfort object can sit beside a small night light for a child who is afraid of the dark.

Where Betteroo Fits

Betteroo is a baby and toddler sleep app, not a toy company, and nothing replaces the creature your child already loves. If the bedtime routine was where Slumberkins mattered most in your house, our free two-minute sleep quiz builds a gentle, personalized sleep plan around your child’s age and routine, including how to bring a comfort object into it safely.

Related Betteroo Guides

• When Can a Baby Have a Lovey?
• Toddler Bedtime Routine
• Separation Anxiety in Toddlers
• Types of Parenting Styles
• Permissive Parenting
• Safe Sleep Environment Checklist

The Bottom Line

Slumberkins is at a crossroads, in its founders’ own words: the business may wind down, current products may not return, and the company hopes to find a smaller way forward. It has not announced that it is closing.

For families, the most useful response is a calm one. Keep the routines and affirmations that work, decide whether a backup or gift matters to you while items are available, keep plush toys out of the crib until at least 12 months, and keep naming feelings together. Those skills were never really inside the toy.

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