Does your toddler have a "lovey"? Do you let him/her carry it around?

jetgrrrl · September 2010

DH and I are having a bit of a conflict over DS's lovey, which he has recently learned to reach into his crib to carry around with him (he has also only recently learned to walk, so previously, he didn't really have any way to carry it around!). DH feels that we're "creating a dependence" by giving him a lovey at all, and he doesn't want him taking it out of his crib. From what I've read on transitional objects, they can be very helpful especiallly for toddlers who are coping with the excitement and scariness of the independence walking gives them. I think it's fine for him to have it around the house or long trips in the car (I would try to avoid taking it on short trips). DH basically doesn't want to have to worry about losing the lovey and replacing it, etc. or to have a 4-year-old dragging a grungy scrap of a thing with him every where he goes. Where do you come down on this?

mountainkimi · September 2010

Our 18 month DS has a lovey. He sleeps with it and carries it around the house, but mostly keeps it upstairs and inbetween our bedrooms. The only time it leaves our house is if he is going to sleep elsewhere overnight. Otherwise we do not take it anywhere. We don't want to lose it!

DS knows that his lovey stays in his crib when we leave for the day. It is always there waiting for him when he comes home at night. We have had no problems with this. He puts him back in his crib every morning when we get ready for "school" and says bye to everything in his room.

heatherlane · September 2010

We have two loveys that are currently equally loved. I sleep with one, J sleeps with the other. When his needs to be washed, I give him the one I've been sleeping with and cycle it that way.

He takes one to daycare. He also has alternate loveys that are similar at my parents' and MIL's houses. They seem to be fine subs for now, so although we do let him pull it out of the crib and walk around upstairs with it, daycare is the only place it really travels so far. Not sure how we will handle attachment in the future.

It's kind of funny that he's finally taken to one, b/c during his crawling stage his security toy was a plastic bat. He took it everywhere in the house. We literally called it his security bat and it was his 2nd word.

katypresson · September 2010

DS has a lovey - it's his blanket. He pulls it out of his crib right when he wakes up and will carry it out to the living room or down the hall but then drops it along the way and I end up picking it up and putting it on the couch or back in his room/crib. He does take it to FIL's house everyday ..it helps him sleep better/longer for naps.

I don't mind it one bit and neither does DH. I think it's completely normal and we can easily replace it whenever it gets nasty. I already have 3 and rotate them as needed. He's not picky about which one - we have 2 thin summer ones and 1 thicker winter one. He chews on them all the time and pulls it over his head to sleep.

They're the Aden & Anais blankets. My son has expensive taste in his lovey!!! Wink

Belle15 · September 2010

DD has a lovey that she sleeps with. She's fallen asleep without it, but she definitly loves it. It's one of those teddy bear heads with a mini blanket. She doesn't really walk around with it. Once in awhile she'll pick it up and bite it's head...She's teething.. I certainly don't take it everywhere. I will take it if I know i'm going to the store and she's tired or if we'll be out late. I just stick it in the diaper bag though so if she gets fussy i'll give it too her. But..she also has never take a pacifier or bottle.