My son is two and loves his blankie he has to have it all the time, we try to not let him take it in to public places but sometimes it is not worth the fight. When should we try to weed the blankie out.
This may or may not be helpful, but when our little guy wakes up, we have him "say bye bye" to his blankie, and leave it in his bed. This way, we never lose it, and he doesn't drag it around everywhere. For us, it's no different than food stays in the kitchen, blankie stays in the bed. He is always welcome to go crawl in for a few minutes and cuddle it if he feels the need.
My son is 3 1/2 and although he doesn't have a blankie, his choice of lovey is a raggedy stuffed dog affectionately named "Wags". Wags has had SEVERAL surgeries - we replaced his nose, fixed holes, etc. He has been washed so many times that he is pathetic looking. You can absolutely say that I am embarrassed when my son takes him to the store, mall, friends houses, etc., but I have decided that he can take Wags to college with him if he so chooses. It makes him feel safe and comforted and I don't think that I should be the one to decide to "take" Wags away. I know a lot of you Moms are saying - why not replace Wags with a clean new Wags? Well, he was a gift from my MIL from FAO before they shut their stores down and try as I might , I can not find an exact replica of Wags. We have about 30 other dogs...but at night or when he is sick -no other stuffed animal will do...Just Wags. So J. - I say let him take his blankie on his first date, to prom, to college or even to his first job if it makes him happy! I talked to my pedi because I honestly think that Wags may be a health risk! My pedi said - pick your battles - this is not one worth fighting! He basically told me very nicely to get over it...and he is right. My bigger fear now is him losing Wags somewhere!
Both of my girls- 6 and 19 months have a blankie- and yes the 6 yo still uses hers. Sometimes it drives me crazy to see it hanging from her face (thumb sucker too) but it is so important to her! We tried "leave it in your bed" and "dont take it in public" but they didnt work for us. I feel that eventually she will give it up or start to be embarassed by it that she will leave it in the bed. But, when I see how special these things are to my girls, I cant bear to take them away. Good Luck!
Perhaps I am a 'freak' in this way but......I had the same pillow from the time I was VERY young (probably about 3 or 4) until I was about 30. It wasn't until I was pregnant with twins that I decided to throw it away! I agree with the previous responder, pick your battles. In my family, this isn't one worth fighting. Good Luck!
