Security Blankets

My 19 month old son has a new best friend.  It’s green and brown, fuzzy and dirty most of the time.  It’s a blanket I received as a baby shower gift way back before he was even born.  Now he can’t go anywhere without it.  He even cries when I have to pry open his tight, little fist and take it from him so he can take a bath.  He drags it around by the corner with about two feet of blanket cascading behind him picking up whatever is on the floor and ground.  He looks like Linus!  He’s always liked sleeping with this blanket in particular.  But just recently, over the past few weeks, he has become simply obsessed.  This is new behavior for him.  He wouldn’t even take a pacifier as a baby so I never imagined he’d need a security blanket.  But he does…so I did a little research.

According to wikipedia a security blanket is any familiar object whose presence provides comfort or security to its owner.  Doctors have actually done research on security items.  Among other findings, researchers showed that security blankets are appropriately named, they actually do give security to the children attached to them. Along with other positive benefits, having a security blanket available can help children adapt to new situations and aid in their learning.  Dr. Richard H. Passman’s research also points out that there is nothing abnormal about being attached to them.  About 60% of children in the United States have at least some attachment to a security object.

Good to know.  But how long will this phase last (it is a phase, right?)  According to my research, you shouldn’t try to break your child of the “habit”.  Experts say children form a bond with the security object, it’s an actual attachment and is important for emotional development.  They say attachments give a child working models for all subsequent relationships in life: This is my friend, who comforts me when I am distressed and shares happy moments with me. These relationships apparently provide a secure base that allows the child to explore the environment and gives them a feeling of mastery over their activities and surroundings.  The experts contend as children get older they’ll probably be ready to venture out without their blankey from time to time. 

In the meantime, I’m frantically searching for a “copycat” blankey just in case we lose his, or for times when it desparately needs to be washed (and these days that’s every day!).  Now that I’m assured Cruz’s love for this inanimate object is perfectly normal, I can relax and enjoy how incredibly cute he looks with his blankey.