WHAT SCIENCE REVEALS ABOUT A CHILD’S LOVEY OR SECURITY BLANKET
Research shows that a child’s security blanket or beloved teddy is actually a good thing. Turns out, blankies and loveys are a tool to boost a child’s confidence level, self-value, and they are even empowering.
Why? Blankets and loveys are a sense of security for children — a way to help them leave their parent or caregiver for the day, to work through the tears of an emotional moment, and to handle those tough transitions that they need extra support with. With that blanket or lovey in tow.
While added focus and being less shy are great benefits in and of themselves, there is even more good news about the advantage of letting children have blankies and loveys. Research also tells us that “their lovey objects are like the first training wheels for telling themselves ‘you’re all right’. With a built-in sense of security, children feel safe enough to take small risks, explore and grow.”
Training wheels provided a safety net which increases confidence and then are shed when no longer needed.
By taking small risks, children will feel free and unafraid to transition to taking larger risks as they grow and change.
The debate about the value of security blankets and other lovey objects has been taking place since 1951, the same year in which the term transitional object was first used by D.W. Winnicott.
Winnicott defines the term transitional object as “a designation for any material to which an infant attributes a special value and by means of which the child is able to make the necessary shift from the earliest oral relationship with mother to genuine object-relationships.”
In simpler terms, this means that security objects:
Empower children
Help children make connections outside of their parents
Help navigate separation for a child
Indicate how children will create human friendships
According to Psychology Today, security objects are “rooted in sensorial elements that lessen the stress of separation, while they soothe and comfort the child.” Each aspect of the item — from how it smells, to feeling the worn spots, to the faded color — is part of the unique relationship between the security object and the child. Not only does the security blanket or lovey act as a comfort, but it has become a physical keepsake of memories and nostalgia.
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