Taking a lovey to daycare...

Abinormal

This school year, Tegan has been alternately taking either her monkey (she calls him "ee,ee") or her baby doll to daycare every day. Sometimes she wants to take both, but I've been making her choose one or the other, since I don't feel that she needs both at daycare. I have a feeling that she holds onto either which ever one she takes almost the entire day. The other day, baby even came home with some lunch residue on her clothes.

I can't shake the feeling that I probably should be discouraging her from taking the "lovey" to school with her. I know they're a comfort for her and I don't think she holds onto them the whole time every single day, but it's in her hands when I drop her off and in her hands when I pick her up. She's pretty attached to her stuffed animals and babies at home, as well. I'd say she has a baby or stuffed animal in her arm, roughly 75% of the time. Is this something that's completely normal and I should just leave it alone or am I doing her harm in not forcing her to leave the loveys at home?

liza0828

I don't see the harm.  Totally normal IMO.

amykins1283

Our daycare has a policy of only allowing loveys at rest time and not during the day because they are such a distraction.  Liam has a "sock puppy" (like a sock monkey but a dog) that he loves to cuddle.  He sleeps with it and takes it with him when we go to stores and stuff but I haven't let him take it to daycare yet and he hasn't figured out that he can so I'm kind of just not encouraging it either way.

You could ask daycare to only let her have it for naps.  She might be a little upset about it but if you have clearly defined boundaries and stick to it she'll be fine with things after a few days.   

shihtzumomma

I don't see the harm, and I let DD take her lovey to school. It makes me feel better to know that she has something there that comforts her in case she gets scared or sad. Since I work at the MDO, I peek in every once in a while during the day and she isn't always holding it. I think she gets busy with something else and drops it sometimes. But it wouldn't bother me if she did hold it all day long, if that's what she wants to do to feel more comfortable out of her element. She almost never carries it around at home and only uses it to sleep.

sunandsand

We call DS Linus (from Charlie Brown) because he drags a blue blankie around ALL DAY...I'm fine with it for now...if he still wants it in kindergarten, we'll talk. 

g8trkim

Grant is pretty attached to his lovey too, and if he doesn't have it he often has another stuffed animal. But we don't let him take it to daycare. I don't want it to get ruined. Plus without it he won't suck his thumb so much.

Angela814

sunandsand:

We call DS Linus (from Charlie Brown) because he drags a blue blankie around ALL DAY...I'm fine with it for now...if he still wants it in kindergarten, we'll talk. 

DD1 would take her blankie to kindergarten if she could.

I don't see any harm in having a lovey. At our daycare, the older kids (preschool age I guess) only get them at nap time.

newenglandmomm

I let my daughter take her elmo to school everyday. The first few weeks after she started (she was 14 months) they allowed her to hold Elmo all day. I eventually asked them to have her put Elmo away after a bit just so she could do something else and actually play with kids instead of just her Elmo AND because all the kids thought her name was Elmo.

We still bring Elmo in but now when we walk through the door she gives it a kiss and hug and puts it in her cubby. She only gets it at nap now and sometimes during the day. The teachers dont mind when she has Elmo with her bc it doesnt get in the way of anything shes doing bc she will put it down when its time to paint or play and bc she doesnt care if someone else happens to grab it off the floor (which as a dc teacher this is the number one reason why most teachers dont want outside toys or alot of loveys in school) 

melody921

I think it's totally normal. At that age, i had a stuffed animal I carted everywhere. DS takes his monkey to school, but the teachers only bring them out at nap times because they don't want to start a war with other kids grabbing favorite toys from home.

sugarland726

I think it's totally normal, but if I were DCP I wouldn't allow kids to have it outside of nap time. Other kids can take it, it can get messy, plus it creates a constant association as opposed to being a sleep aid. DD has a lovey at home and at daycare, but she doesn't take it out of the crib at either location.

benkari

I hate when kids bring toys or lovey's to my day care because they are the point of constant fighting because it is something that is not a shared toy.  I put things up until nap rime and let them have it then.  I do the same with my kids so it is fair.