A woman knitted a life-size replica of her teenage son because he wouldn't hug her anymore Credit: Club Geluk
Marieke’s sons have nicknamed her ‘smother mother’ (Picture: Club Geluk)

A mum left bereft when her younger son hit puberty and refused to cuddle with her anymore has come up with the obvious solution.

She decided to knit a life-size replica of him and now she cuddles that instead.

Marieke Voorsluijs, a textiles designer from The Netherlands says the life-size knit took about two months to make and she had both her sons’ blessing.

‘My son is reaching puberty. We used to cuddle all the time, but those days are becoming scarce,’ she explained in an article for Bored Panda.

A woman knitted a life-size replica of her teenage son because he wouldn't hug her anymore Credit: Club Geluk
(Picture: Club Geluk)

‘Now he’d rather hang with friends, play with his phone and listen to his iPod,’ she writes. And while she accepts that this is ‘exactly according to nature’s plan,’ she missed the hugs.

So, in consultation with her son, she came up with a way of giving him his personal space while indulging her ‘smother mother’ tendencies.

Behold her knitted son. He also likes junk food.

A woman knitted a life-size replica of her teenage son because he wouldn't hug her anymore Credit: Club Geluk
(Picture: Club Geluk)

And picks his nose.

A woman knitted a life-size replica of her teenage son because he wouldn't hug her anymore Credit: Club Geluk
(Picture: Club Geluk)

Marieke, who is well known for knitting replicas of everyday objects (she also does hams), says she and her (real-life) sons had a great time working together on the woolly doppelganger.

A woman knitted a life-size replica of her teenage son because he wouldn't hug her anymore Credit: Club Geluk
(Picture: Club Geluk)

And during the process she even managed to get in a few cuddles with the real thing ‘without him even knowing it’.

Check out more of Marieke’s real-world knits here.