Weening off Blanket

Let her have it! Limit it to bed only, and take it only to locations where she will be sleeping. at home it stays in bed only.

My almost 5yr old is a blanky addict too, and is just now at almost 5 to where he can sleep without it if we forget to bring it to Grandma's. We limited his to the bed only at about age 3, and now that he's bigger he doesn't need it as much.

My 3 year old is a blanky addict, he is starting preschool so we knew we had to start weaning him from it, we started just leaving it upstairs and not getting it until he asked for it, then we started not taking it out with us on short trips. He now mostly uses it only at bed and nap. I have a 9 year old who will be 10 in October who STILL has her blanky at bedtime... I do not see the harm in allowing a child to have a cherished comfort item as long as there are reasonable boundaries. If you can sew and it is a large blanket cut it into smaller sections and hem the edges, or since she is 4 now, maybe just start having blanky for nap and bedtime only...sure you may encounter some tantrums but I bet she adjusts quickly. Lots of luck.

I have to agree with the other responses. I think the security blanket phase is however long the child has it. And I'm no doctor, but it seems like weaning them is premature and will make them latch onto something else or pick up a bad habit like biting nails, sucking thumb, etc. I think it is sweet and adorable and, yes, quite annoying at times. But I see the comfort it brings my son and have watched many times as his whole body relaxes when he is given his blanky. I am sure I could wean him but I don't think I would want to. He seems to need it right now. Is it possible to get her an additional blanky and if she notices to explain to her that the other blanky is taking a bath or that they are taking turns being with her?

You've got the blanky--we've got bug. My son is 7 and "Bug" still needs to be nearby, if not IN, bed at night. After an MBE (missing bug episode), I bought a duplicate bug online, but he was not fooled. It is now New Bug and the original is Old Bug. Only Old Bug would ever do.
I've read it's healthy for kids to have a comfort object like that, so why wean?
Just take good care of blanky. Establish a "spot" for the blanky.

We tell our daughter her blankey can only stay in her room. It drives her crazy, but we stick with it. We dont want to take it away from her at bedtime, but we dont want a battle if it's lost so it stays there. She has other blankeys that are allowed to go to Grandmas, which she's satisfied with.

In my house there's no age limit. My 3...all boys....to this day still enjoy their blankey's. My daughter in-law took hers on their honeymoon! I'm 56 and still have mine.
I will amend that there aren't issues with not having it. I'd say stick to your guns, give any excuse without lying, and eventually your sweetie will learn to survive without it.
I never had to wean my kids off theirs tho. But my oldest reaches 27 tomorrow and would still rub the outer satin (about all that's left of it; the actual blankey got used and washed so much it's like in disintegrated tatters) while watching a movie.

I remember sleeping with my blanket at home when I was little. You get to the point where you don't take it places with you . I don't see any harm in letting her have for as long as she wants. My son is almost 4 and still sleeps with his lovey at night.

My daughter is 7. She still has hers. I'm 31 and I still have mine (of course, it stays in my room). I don't really care if my kids have theirs forever. My daughter is old enough that she knows she is ultimately responsible for it and if she leaves it somewhere, she doesn't get it back that night.

And yes, it's a rough few nights, but sometimes they have to learn that if they want it, they must remember to bring it.

Its not ridiculous to have the blankie for sleeping. However asking for it every hour is, and driving to Grandma's house to get it is as well.

I'd start by saying that the blankie needs to stay in her bed at all times, she's allowed to have it only at naps and bed time. Set a firm boundary about not whining about not having it the second she wants it. Decide what you think is a fair consequence for continued whining, and when she starts give her a warning, and then if she persists institute the consequence. Be firm and consistent. You might need to make the consequence worse if it doesn't seem to make an impact. Lastly, if she still is making a huge deal over it, let her know that the blankie will be staying with you for a day and she will have to live without it because she cannot stop whining/asking for it. Then just prepare yourself for her to throw an absolute fit, but DO NOT GIVE IN!!! She can have it back after that day, but she'll have a new respect for you, that you follow through. Buy some ear plugs if you have to. (my husband finds them very helpful with infant crying).

Kids need to be prepared to live with disappointments, and its our job as parents to prepare them for that. This is just one area (leaving it behind at Grandma's) where we can teach them.

Best wishes!

We had that problem with a stuffed animal and at about that age when she started to go to school we explained that Elmo needed to stay home and help mommy, then we started to say something similar if we went to the store it either had to stay home or in the car. She is now 10 and still sleeps with him but he stays at home in bed. Good luck

Well I can tell you my daughter is almost 8 and still has her 2 blankets. There have been many nights when the blankets have been misplaced and the whole family is running around looking for them so she can sleep. I guess to me it is not a big deal. If it makes her happy then it makes me happy. I feel that as she grows then she will slowly grow out of her blankets. I have a very close friend who is very successful and still has a blanket that she likes to snuggle with. I myself like blankets with the silk on the edges. I guess what I am saying is there are worse things our children could be doing.

My 9-year old still has her blanky and she doesn't like to sleep without it. She doesn't take it with her everywhere, but she won't sleep unless she has it. I was worried too for a time when she became extra attached to it and wanted to take it everywhere (and she was 8), but she was going through a tough time.

A little over a year ago (age 7) she had a friend sleep over and she hid the blanky. That was the first time I've seen her sleep without it. Your 4-year old will give it up when she's ready--probably when she's embarrassed to have her friends know!

I still have my doll that I dragged around to the ends of the earth. It's up in the attic. I don't need to sleep with it anymore thank goodness! But it's possible that we NEVER give up our lovies!!

my 9yo daughter still likes to sleep with her stuffed animals though she isn't picky about which one, my 5 yo son still is fiercely attached to his one frog but sometimes switches it out for another he used to drag it EVERYWHERE but now it is mostly for sleeping or when he is REALLY tired, my firend's 11 yo still brings her doll and blankie when she stays over and her 5 yo son also still sleeps with his blankie, my other friend's 2.5 yo has a lovie but is only allowed to use it for bed, my friend still has her lovie and sleeps with it everynight even though she is married and a M.......basically I'm saying to my experience most kids have something they are attached to, I wouldn't take hers away but I might try not taking it to the store and things, tell her you don't want her to lose it but if she is staying the night or will be napping while out bring it so she will have it to sleep with.......you could try finding an exact copy of her blankie (not always easy) then you have a backup, I know how frustrating it is to have to get it in the middle of the night or franticly(sp) retracing your steps in a store or mall because you didn't notice it being dropped but the security your daughter feels from her lovie is worth it, she will give it up when she is ready, and I would guess with a little work you can get it down to sleep time only so that chances for losing it are diminished

My older cousin had a blankie also. They kept cutting off a couple inch strips at a time. As the story goes, he did go to school with it, for a while, but by then it was just a small square and it fit in his pocket.

Don't worry. They usually "outgrow" the need to have it all the time before kindergarden. My first dd was the same way, but interest in it slid when she was about 5. We've had to drive crazy places to get it too. lol.
My 2nd dd can't go without hers either but I think it's adorable. I worry more about hers since it's handmade and we can't buy a backup, but I'm sure she'll be fine.