The Importance of Attachment Objects

Does your child carry a blanket or stuffed animal for comfort? There’s good reason why small children need their loveys (comfort objects). They are a representation of you! Instead of wondering when your little one will give up her lovey, try figuring out ways to preserve it.  A comfort object helps children of all ages develop self-soothing skills. Because very young children have difficulty regulating their emotions, a transitional object is a conduit to emotional well-being. Blankies become a symbol for the parents or caregiver—they provide safety and joy. The child who bonds with a blanket is attaching to a parent substitute. Babies tend to bond with blankets and stuffed animals between the ages of five and nine months—when they begin to grasp objects and are realizing their separateness from their parents and are moving toward independence. Of course they can bond later to objects when they’re older, but this is the ideal time. When you introduce a blanket and stuffed animals to your baby, be sure to have more than one. Wash and rotate them equally so that baby bonds to them all. Both my sons have a couple of miniature blankets, which they call “Mimi’s”—God forbid if one ever got lost! My childhood blanket is currently stowed away in my keepsake chest—I even took it to college! It tickles me when my sons ask, “Mommy, where is your Mimi?”

For more great parenting tips, check out Kimberley’s book, www.TheGoToMomsGuide.com