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Home › Articles › Development › Blankets and Other Creature Comforts

Blankets and Other Creature Comforts

Toddlers and Security Items

By Jacqueline Bodnar

Pages:  1  2  3  

Finding a Middle Ground
Because of the conflicting nature of expert advice and parental intuition, many questions arise as to the limits to which parents should let their toddlers go. Most guidelines coincide with the child's first year of school since the majority of "security" behaviors raise concerns of social acceptance. Social acceptance from an early age, as most experts agree, is an important contributor to proper social development.

The beginning threshold for physical concerns – such as the orthodontic concerns outlined by the AAP – also coincide with the normal age at a child's first year of school. Behaviors up to the age of a child's first year of school should largely be ignored; anytime after that, and a parent may need to set distinct boundaries.

"Most of the time, toddlers will outgrow the need for these [security] items, so it isn't necessary to take them away," Dr. Kennedy-Moore says. "If they do need to be taken away, it's better to approach it methodically rather than going 'cold-turkey."

As Dr. Kennedy-Moore suggests, security items should not be removed from a toddler without a prior "warm-up" period. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests several methods for dealing with over-dependent toddlers:

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