is it a right idea to give a blankie/teddy to an infant for comfort???

I would like to know if anyone introduced a blankie/toy/doudou/security blanket to their babies or did they just pick it up them selves...

i have been thinking about it, but after a comment from a mum i know which was " your baby should bond with you and not a toy or dummy"

I had a pink cat i hugged every night when i was young and i turned out ok...
is it hard to "wean " them off it or should they do it themselves??

anyone with expierences at this???
my boy is 7 months has a dummy at bed time only..............

Our first two didn't have a comforter as such other than a dummy, but they do have special toys they snuggle with occasionally. Our third child is a thumb sucker and has a blankie. This came about by accident as I just used the same throw blanket for her whenever she had a day sleep and she just became attached to it and now has it for both day sleeps and takes it to bed with her and it gets put in bed beside her - even in summer LOL.

Do you think he needs a little extra 'comfort' in bed with him? I don't have a problem with it, but if they do get really attached to whatever it is, it can be a problem sometimes in that they wont settle at all without it kwim?

The boy my mum looks after likes to take a muslin wrap to bed with him. Personally, I'd think this is harmless, it is something that's really portable and you can have lots of them so there's no issues about washing. He sleeps over at my folks house at times if mum looks after him in the evening and I think he goes to sleep without too much fuss. As a kid I was really attached to being at home for sleeping, so I'd reckon if I were attached to something like that, a blankie or something, I may have been more relaxed when I wasn't at home? Who knows...
Anyway, from what I've heard (on this forum I think) the washing thing is REALLY important. If the thing they're attached to is one of a kind, taking it away to wash can be a real challenge - and if you think about it, they are likely to suck it (because that's what kids do) and pheweee, that'd be a right stinker after a while :lol:

I think some children just do or need it. Livvy grabbed hold of a pink satin pillowcase when she was 5 months old and she was hooked! She sucked her thumb and 'sucky' the pillowcase was for bedtime. It was wonderful because she had no problems settling at all. She relinquished sucky when she was 7 and its now in her box of treasures to remember always. I also had one when I was a child, same as my brother and it was a wonderful comfort.

Jo

My DD still takes her "mermer" blankie to bed with her and I'm fine with that.
She's had it since she was about 7 months old but I wouldn't say she became really attached to until she was over 12 months.
It was especially good when she started daycare - she could take it with her and she found tremendously comforting and it really helped her sleep while she was trying to settle in.
I'm all for comfort objects, if it makes them feel better why not?

Yasin has a blankie that he loves. It was his wrap when he was a baby and he's still using it.
I found it really usefull because when he's a bit stressed out (like his first day at childcare) it helps him cope and when I want him to go to sleep it's a great trigger. I give him blankie and he will start to wind down straight away.
Luckily for me blankie is actaully 3 blankies because I had a pack of 3 so I can rotate them and if 1 got lost it wouldn't be a catastrophe.
If your bubba only has one blankie it might be worth cutting it in half and hemming it so that you can rotate it for cleaning and so that if one gets lost it won't cause so much drama (if you lose one you cab cut the remaining one in half lol).
He also uses a dummy at bedtime.
Now that Yasin is older he's expanded his range of comfort objects - now he has ted bear and quack quack and I have to say goodnight to them every night.

DS didn't, and I even tried to get him to.
He was never a dummy, or a blankie, or special toy kinda kid.

however, now he has taken to putting his hands down people's tops (mine and other people's) and we've been told its a security thing and its likely becuase he missed out on the whole blankie/dummy/toy thing.

my little niece just has a "rag" - basically an old spew rag or a small hand towel - doesn't matter what type, just so long as she has something to snuggle up to - she's even stayed here and stolen a face washer from the clean washing and gone to lay on the couch for sleep! her big brother was a "tag" boy - you could give him anything to snuggle to go to sleep, as long as it had a soft tag on it! he'd lay there and just rub the tag on his face til he fell asleep - even now (he's 5) - he'll sit there watching TV with a tag rubbing on his face!

i don't see it as a drama at all - if it gives them comfort and helps them settle in unfamilar environments, why not?

I still have my teddy bear from when I was a baby (and still sleep with him for comfort!) I don't see that its a problem. Your child will still bond with you, and you can use it for leverage later. I'll be offering my child something, if they take it they take, if not, ah well. Your child will still love you and bond with you, I think the comfort object would make it easier to be settled where-ever you are. :D

Oscar has humphrey - (from humphrey's corner) which is a little elephant that is holding a flannel sized blankie. He's been pretty inseparable from it since he was about 3 months old. It's great for when he gets upset or in a tizzy and he can sleep anywhere as long as Humphrey is there. we have 2 so we can wash it as he used to suck is nose as it was really grose. Will doesn't have anything yet that he's especially attached to apart from his dummy (bugger) but we are trying to get him attached to something so we can get rid of the dummy. (Oscar didn't have a dummy).

Julie x

My eldest had a dummy for bed only and he hardly ever sucked it. He twirled it around with his hands. We took it away at 2 and a half.. Our second son has a blanket which he has named a night night. We used to use it as a blanket for when ihe was in bed and we have 4 of them but he wants this particular one and he carries around the house and sleeps with it every night. We don't allow it out of the house unless he is sick and we are going to the Drs or something or if we are staying away overnight somewhere.

I think if a child finds comfort in something then let them be, Just set rules as such.. As in dummy in bed only or no taking it out of the house ect.

Mya has a stuffed dog called scruffy. She loves it to death...........u can tell how loved it is just by looking at it lol. I have to wash it like every third day, she drags everywhere with her.
Iv thought about trying to take it away & have even tried to, she kicks up the biggest stink!

Marnie has a pink elephant blankie who we call Ellie. She has had it in her cot since birth and absolutely loves it. She doesn't have any other comforters i.e. dummy, thumb etc. We decided before she was born that we would definitely not use a dummy and thought a blankie would be a lovely comfort for her - which it is. We bought it at Best & Less. We wash it every other day - and she does protest but I try to throw it in the wash when she is playing with something else- Marnie puts Ellie back in the cot when she wakes up from her sleep.
Hope this helps.

Aidyn has his blankies - it used to be his wrap when he was a newborn, and he grew very attached, so I cut it into quarters for him. He still sleeps with it these days.
More recently he has become attached to a beanie baby toy ( an owl) which he got for his birthday... owls are his favourite animals, and this toy now has as much status as his blankies... so I think its possible to introduce a cuddle toy at a later age as well!

I personally cant see anything wrong with them, as it adds to their feeling of security and is comforting for them :)

When Cooper was 7 months, I did something that I wasn't sure would work, but after a few nights of trying it, he loved it....

He cuddles a shirt that I have worn, and he loves it because it must have my smell on it. The moment I put him in his cot, he reaches his arms out for it, and cuddles and chews on it til he is asleep. It is just so very cute, and whenever he is a little distressed and I give it to him, he calms right down. I don't generally this(as it's really only a sleep thing), but if I give to him when he is playing in the lounge room, he will crawl around with it in his hand or his mouth!

Every day I give him a new 'old' shirt that has been worn. But now I also tie a large knot in it, because one day, when I gave him my shirt, I went and had a shower and he was crying and carrying on, and I just thought he would eventually go to sleep, and let him cry for about 5 minutes until I got out of the shower. Then when I went in his room, he had somehow managed to put the shirt on and was trying to pull his head thru one of the sleeves, and couldn't - so it was around his head and he couldn't see!! I was so upset that I didn't know! So now the knot also is good because he cuddles it like a doll...so very cute!

lol.. thats so cute !! dont feel bad mum2boy .... i had a similar experience i

I have tried to give him one blankie kind of thing every time he goes to bed and ive even slept with it to give it my smell....

nixon wants nothing to do with it !!!
oh well ... i guess its up to him if he wants it or not ...
thanks for your suggestions !!

Mum2boy thank you for that idea! :)

I'm going to try that for Toby. He's waking up alot at night just wanting to be cuddled...which is cute but I'm not getting much sleep lately and everyone is suffering for it. That might be worth a shot!

I introduced 'raggie' - a square of fabric to my daughter when she started childcare and still took day sleeps. It helped us no end - I worried that she would not be able to self soothe without me around. And I thought it would make the transition easier for her.

It's worked for us. Personally I have no objection to a comforter and thumb sucking (which my daughter does for sleeps).. I'm sure if i had not of introduced one with my scent on (I initially slept with it) then at some stage she would have found a fav teddy etc for herself.

Moving to General Baby & Toddler Discussion

From personal experience I belive there is nothing wrong with confort items! Shayla who is now 5 has ' dolly ' who is as old as she is down to a few days. she is an old rag doll who is easy to throw into the washing machine for cleaning, as shayla is getting older now she has recently discovered that she dose not absolutly need her there when she sleeps of a night although she makes sure dolly is never far away. Jackson who recently turned 3 had two security items a dummy which he gave up by himself and a knitted blanket which started the size of a cot blanket which we have managed to reduce slowly over the years to a knitted square about the size of a tissue ( very easy to take any where) i have no doubt he will give that up to when he is ready.

good luck kel

My DD#1 had a dummy until she was 3 years old.
My DD#2 wouldnt even look at a dummy, but has "tweety' - a soft toy that goes everywhere with us.
Both loved there two comfort items...it made them smile, it made them happy, it obv comforted them when they had it near......no harm done by it IMO.