5 Year Old and His Blankie

My boys are 7 and 9 and still have their blankies/lovies. They still sleep with them most nights, and even sometimes take them on camping trips and sleep overs. I see nothing wrong with it, they will pack them away when THEY are ready.

I think you should give it back to him IF he still wants it, he is only 5. Kids are kids for such a short time let him be comforted if he needs to be.
My son is 11 and he still sleeps with his blankie! I am really hoping he gives it up soon but he needs to make that decision. He still takes it out to go to sleep and hides it under his comforter when he has a friend sleep over and I cringe every time hoping his friends don't see it and tease him.

I don't see any issue with a child of any age having a blankie. My daughter has a blankie still and she's 12! She still likes to cuddle with it and we don't have any issues with it.

In fact, when she goes over to a friend's house she folds it and stuffs it in her pillowcase. That way she can still sleep with it and none of her friends will know! I assured her that they also have blankies and stuffed animals that they sleep with.

I would give it back, but not make a big deal about giving it back. Just place it on his bed. He will give it up on his own, in his own time and his own way.

I dated a guy who was 28 and he STILL slept with his blankie from when he was a baby! Not cuddled with it, but it was still in his bed. I have to admit that when my hubby isn't home I like to sleep with a stuffed animal. I don't see any issues with it, unless someone is dragging it to work in their briefcase!

Speaking as an adult who had my blanket taken away as a child...Give it back to him. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate my mother and I'm not permanently scared but that blanket was a great source of comfort for me. I loved that blanket. What's the harm?

I wouldn't give it back. Not stirring up trouble! You could make it into a pillow and give it to him when he goes off to college.

I'm with Cheerful. Don't make an issue of giving it back, just put it in his stuffed animal pile, or fold it and put it in his pajama drawer. Just have it appear in his room somewhere. He'll put it away himself, when he's ready. Life is stressful enough. Don't we all wish we could snuggle with a blankie or teddy bear sometime?

If he hasn't asked for it, he doesn't need it. He has outgrown it. Let it be.

I'm not sure why you felt the need to "break the habit of him having that blankie." He's only 5!

My son is eight. He sleeps with a bed full of stuffed animals and a few blankets and most of his friends and cousins do, too. In fact, right now, he's relaxing after a morning of basketball camp by watching tv with his favorite bear. He's a well-adjusted, friendly, social kid, with lots of friends; he does exceptionally well in school and is involved in all kinds of sports. I add the above only to let you know that he's a normal kid and that having his stuffed animals and blankies has not hindered him in any aspect of his life or made him "baby-like."

One of our older sons put his animals in his closet when he was done sleeping with them. He's 19 and in college, but his animals are still there as you walk into his closet.

If your son still has other blankies in his bed, I don't see what the difference is if his favorite one just "reappears" one day while you're doing laundry.

If it survives his childhood intact, there is no guarantee that his future wife will even want it for your grandchildren. Let him use it until he decides he's ready to let go.

Don't feel guilty about it, and don't worry that his blankies will cause any negative effect on his development. He's still a little kid, and it's okay to let him be just that.

Hope that helps!

J. F.

i wouldn't have advised taking it away, but since you have i would tend towards the leave it away.

I feel like giving it back makes it into an even bigger deal and an even bigger external comfort. Its a good skill to be able to soothe yourself in several different ways instead of being locked ridgedly into one way. So DS did great by finding something else even an alternative blanket.

I also feel like you took it away for a reason and that reason will still be there if you give it back.

if you are going to do it atleast, do it sublty as someone else said just leave it in the back of his drawer or under a pile of stuffed animals. but be prepared for it to be a bit of an obsession for a while.

My 10 yo still has his "piggy blanket" (it has pigs printed all over it) that he's had since he was a toddler. He only slept with it, never "dragged it around". It's still in his room, on his bed, and he usually asks me to tuck him in with it if he's had a bad day. My 13 yo daughter still has her Teletubbie blanket she's had since she was a toddler too. She sleeps with it on her bed as well. I don't think they really "need" them anymore, but its a comfort to have something they have had so long with them at night. You said your son was starting to give it up on his own. Maybe wait a few more months and then say, "oh, look what I found! Do you want to keep it on your bed at night?" That way he's a little older but can still keep something around that makes him feel good without dragging it around everywhere.

I would have it subtly reappear.. Like they said, folded with his stuffed animals.

Our daughter did not carry her blanket around with her, because we told her, we were afraid it would be lost and then she would be really sad. So she never took it out of the house.

She was very aware, if it left the house, there was a chance things could be lost. This made her more careful with her things.. She is still cautious about her special things.

My son is 13 years old and still sleeps with his blankie he came home from the hospital in. It was gift from my aunt and was super soft. It stays in his bed, he doesn't carry around or take it to sleep overs but he loves sleeping with it. He has a corner of it that he holds on to in his sleep. It has holes in it but he still sleeps with it. I see no harm in children having blankies!! My son is a quarterback for his football team in middle school, plays basketball and track. He was also Althlete of the Year at his school. So tough guys can have blankies, no harm in it. Give him his blankie back !! Hope this makes you feel better about your decision.

I wouldn't have taken it away either, but since you did and he hasn't ask for it, don't stir things up by offering it back just because he looked so sweet with it. You can't go back. Instead of hiding it in your closet, I would put it in a storage box with whatever you have of his that is worth saving - his baby shoes, his home-from-the-hospital outfit, whatever you have. It would not be good if he was in your closet (playing hide & seek or whatever) and he found it hidden away - it makes you look sneaky and may make him feel betrayed. If he finds it, just say he seemed to be done with it but you wanted to save it as a souvenir. If he asks for it, I'd give it back - he won't take it to the prom or anything! You aren't creating a problem dependency. There's nothing wrong with comfort, and sometimes our boys feel they can't express their needs for comforting. But at this point I wouldn't give it back because it's really about what YOU want to see and not about what he needs or wants.

Why don't you ask your son if he wants his blankie back? You could say you found it? He may be ready to move past it. My son is a year older than that and, trust me, if his blankie still goes everywhere with him- there would be no putting it on a closet and imagining he'd forget about it. I'm in no hurry to discourage the blankie. He reminds me of Linus from the Peanuts cartoons- he sucks on his fingers, he has a blankie, and he's probably the most secure-in-himself little kid I've ever met. So, why don't you ask your son what he wants to do about it? He could give you a better answer than any grown-up who doesn't know him.

It sounds like he is done with it so leave it where it is. If you give it back to him now he may remember it and resume carrying it around. There is a very cute children's story about a blankie called "Owen" by Kevin Henkes.

My 6 year old can't fall asleep if he doesn't have his froggy pillow, which he has slept with every night since he was in the NICU.

My sister is 33 and still sleeps with her baby blankie. She even took it on her honeymoon. Be glad he's forgotten about it!!