How Do I Break My Son of His Blanky?

It's actually good for children to have a "lovey" that brings them comfort. Your son is quite young, so like a lot of the other moms said, just limit where it can go...like only in the house, or only in his room. My son still hauls his baby quilt (I made him before he was born) to Grandma's house, or the hospital (he had pneumonia for Christmas).

Surely your hubby has some favorite thing he keeps...like an old jersey from college or a mug with his favorite sports team on it. Compare his item to your son's. Tell him if he can have a special item, so can your son! :-) You'd be surprised how well those analogies work with men!

I forgot to post the following link to a great online article that explains why "lovies" aren't the end of the world! :-)
http://preschoolerstoday.com/resources/articles/lovies.htm

1 mom found this helpful

Oh! S.....

I am so sorry that your husband is not accepting of the fact that this is a viable comfort mechanism to his son. It took me years to get my daughters father to understand this. But thru her need and my tenacity he is finally comfortable with it. My daughter is 17 yrs. old and still carries that blanky with her.....It has been mended more than you could imagine. I have no suggestion other than...don't give up with hubby. One day he may just come around!!!

A.

try snipping a little bit of it off every day. After a few weeks it will be so small that he wont even want it. I used to tell my son,"boy you must be getting bigger, or is the blankie getting smaller?"

My kindergartner still has her blankie (which is of course named "Blankie" and for some reason is of the feminine gender!). She understands that Blankie is her responsibility, and she is the one who has to keep track of her. She sometimes sneaks her into her backpack for school, but understands she may not take her out, but she says sometimes she slips her hand in her backpack to pet her. I figure as long as she has ownership of the responsibitly of keeping track of it, that's fine. I will probably not allow her to take it to first grade, because it will probably be a pile of shreds by then!

BTW, my neighbor has an EXTREMELY bright son who is in the 7th grade, and he still sleeps with his blankie at night, and takes it on sleepovers.

when we took my daughter's pass away, we gradually took places she could take it too. like she couldn't take it out of the house. then it couldn't leave her room. then it couldn't leave her bed. finally she didn't need it any more. There may also be a reason why he likes the blanket. if there is a reason why he needs it don't take it away, just limit where it can go. hope this helps.

Both of my youngest boys, ages 7 and 6, have blankies. I don't mind them having them. They don't take them everywhere but they do use them around the house. I think it is good that they have something that they can cuddle with while sleeping or even sitting around the house. I don't have any suggestions for getting rid of it. I say let him keep it as long as he wants.

My son has a night night, it's just an old ragedy pillow that my mom bought me for my dolls when I was little, and he just fell in love with it. I think if you take away his blanky he will just find something else to get attached to. Explain this to your husband, when your son is ready he will give it up, but don't force him to give it up. I would definatly not let it leave the house unless he is going to stay the night or going for a long period of time.

I am a mother of 4 ranging from 24 ( he's out of the house), then an 18 year old daughter, (who by the way STILL sleeps with her blanky) and tein 6 year old boys who both have blankies!! I HAD A BLANKY!!! They, in their own time, will put them away! Let them have whatever they need to make them feel secure while they are still exploring the strange place we call home! They won't be DAMADGED by them only nurtured!

Maybe if you and your husband don't make a big deal out of it, your son will evenually drop the blankie. But on the other hand, I was fortunate that my daughter dropped it about 1 year old. I did have to take her binkies away. I cut the nipples off of them so she could see and she would try to suck on the stub. Once she got tired of that not working, she was broken from her binkie. Maybe you can incorporate something to that effect for your sons blankie. It'll be a tough few days but it will be worth it in the long run. I'm not saying cut up his blankie, but maybe you can figure out something more creative so you can still keep it as a keepsake. (I'm a keepsake freak LOL). Good luck and God Bless.

I personally wouldn't worry about taking it completely away from him. He's still so young and then to take it away and bring a new baby in the house might not be the best. I would let him keep it because it's already going to be a big change with another sibling and this way he has something that's comforting to him. My son is 8 and still has his blanket. He doesn't use it every night but sometimes he just wants it to feel comfortable and safe. If it's such a big deal to your husband then I agree with the other moms about only allowing it to go certain places or not out of the house. Congrats on baby #2!!

My son had a toy that he had slept with since he was born. We made a rule once he got older that it stayed in bed because it would get torn up and then he wouldn't get to sleep with it. We made sure we had things to keep his mind off of it for a couple of days and he did just fine. He is 7 now and it's still on his bed. He doesn't hold it anymore but it sits on the headboard.

I have twins that are three and both love their blankets. We keep one in the car for each of them in case they get sleepy there and one at home for each of them. I used to let them carry them everywhere but no the rule is only in the car and at home. We also used to have big ones that they could completely cover up with but I phased them out by introductin little ones. I don't think I'll ever take them away, I'll just make it to where they can only have them at bedtime. I still like to cuddle with things once in a while when I go to bed so I see nothing wrong with it. It's better they have that then wake up in the middle of the night crying cause they are scared. If they have something there to comfort them they are much better sleepers.

My son is also 3 1/2 and LOVES his "blue". It started getting to the point that it was always filthy because he was dragging it around everywhere. It is also falling apart, so now we have a leave it in the bed rule. It never leaves the house unless he's staying the night with grandparents, and he's allowed to snuggle it when he watches cartoons on Saturday mornings. Kids that age still need a little security, so I can't see a good reason to take it away.

I don't know when a good time is. My ywo year old has a kitty she takes everywhere. We try not to let her take it into places to eat or stores or anywhere it could get lost - bedtime would be hell. We just tell her to leave her kitty in the car so it will be there when we get back. So far that has seemed to work. I don't think we will ever try to take it away from her. Maybe if she were 15 and still carrying it around we might have words, but I think it is a secrutiy thing. They feel safe when they have something they know. I don't think it is a big deal you might just slowly decreese what places you let him take it in.

Children take comfort in routines. Once you have a routine settled, trade the blanket for something new every day.

Say he drags it to the table for breakfast tell him he has a choice, put the blanket back on his bed and get a toy to play with at breakfast or you'll take the blanket back to his bed and he can eat without any fun. Then when there are times that he isn't playing with it or doesn't have it attached to him then kiss him and take it back to his bed and tuck it in on top. When you see him with it offer him a new car if he takes the blanket back to his bed. One day you can offer him a rug that has roads for his cars if you can put the blanket away, stuffed in the linen closet away. Or it can go in the washer and stay there all day cause it's wet.

It will take some time but he will eventually get over it. Tell your husband that if he wants the boy to go cold turkey then your husband will need to be the one that stays with him 24/7 until he gets through the dt's, you'll be napping afterall you're pregnant and hormonal. Plus this would be the ultimate leverage if you want your husband to give up something like drinking or smoking. You could say that the child is addicted because dad is addicted. You're not going to force either one of them to quit an addiction but HE needs to set a good example.

My son is 4 1/2 and still attached to his blanky. We don't take it places anymore, but he has to have it at nap/sleep time. I think it's kind of cute! It doesn't bother me. I figure he'll let it go when he's ready.
A.

Hi. I dont have any advice on how to help get the blanket away in a good way.

Only just taking it almost away. Or tell him You can use it at night or try to get a book. I think sesame street has one bye bye blanky * maybe it was passie I am not sure but I am sure their are some books that are out thier...

My sister is 39... Her son is 16... THEY Both still sleep with their baby blankets... Her son's is in shreads!!!! It is nasty!!! SHe took hers to the hospital when she had her daughter!!!!

It needs to get under control.. Lots of people think Oh... Not a big deal let them have their blanket.. or passies... It can get out of control..

Good luck!!!

I have a 3 1/2 year old the is really attached to her stuffed cow. We never let it leave the house, but at home it is her best friend. She's takes care of him and snuggles with him all night. I think it is ok, if we took it away it would probably cause some trauma. I think it is ok for her to still have. She's still young.

If you really want to ease him off of it, maybe set some boundries to ease him off slowy. Only have it at bedtime or something. Hope this helps!