Stuffed Animal Attachment

emwaiting

My son is almost 19 months old and never wanted a paci or his thumb for the first 6 months.  Around 6 months he became attached to a stuffed animal and then would suck his thumb only at naps or night time while he had the stuffed animal.  We have one stuffed animal that stays in his crib and then another in his daycare bag that she only gives him at nap time.  Well the past couple weeks he has been sooo much more attached then normal to them.  I'm not sure what triggered this and if it is just a phase or what.  Normally in the morning when I would get him up he knew that his bear went back in the crib and he would throw it in there and be fine.  Now he wants nothing to do with giving it up and wants to take it all over the house. He does know when I say we need to get his shoes and coat on to go bye bye he will take it right back to his room and throw it in his crib. 

Thoughts on this?  Do I go through a weekend of misery now while he is young and take them away from him or do I just wait it out until he is older and hope he understands more and will give it up on his own??

Thanks

rspalding001

So my personal take on this is to not be too extreme. Test out taking it away if you think its important and see how it goes but if you think he is not ready just wait a while. I think that as they get older they will be more ready to let go of their attachment objects naturally and it wont be such a fight. Our daughter (16 months) just recently started developing an attachment to her blanket and wants it in the morning after we take her out of her crib. I personally think it might be helpful when we transition her to a toddler bed so Im not discouraging it just yet. I think that after we make the transition to the toddler bed Ill probably reassess and decide if the blanket is an unhealthy attachment, but for now I'm letting it be what it is.

MrsStanger

DD is attached to a paci and dog dog. we simply explained to her that dog dog needs to stay in the room to keep her bed ready and warm for her. she is just about to turn 2 and im not concerned about her attachment issues. most days she will listen and leave him there. other days she insists he is with her and I don't fight it.

emwaiting

Thanks for the advice.  We are expecting #2 in about 10 weeks so I'm also kind of wondering if some of this is because he is starting to notice mommy is getting a bigger belly and us trying to explain that baby will be coming.  Who knows at this age!!  I think my biggest annoyance with it is the thumb going in his mouth at times.  He used to only do it when he went to sleep but if he is carrying the bear around then sometimes he will have the thumb in or he will want it when he gets up in his high chair and so he won't eat as well.  I'm going attempt to be patient and see if it is just a little phase he is going through.  I know it isn't hurting anything just trying to see what will be the best transistion for everyone.