In a previous post, I mentioned George’s obsession with his blankie. This started a few months ago and has recently peaked in an ongoing power struggle that more often than not concludes with George doing a victory lap around the playroom with said blankie wrapped around his head.
In the beginning, the blankie didn’t leave his crib. It was for sleeping only. The first sign of our current descent into madness was when we would get him out of bed and he refused to put it down. But we were still able to hide it before leaving for daycare or weekend plans, so it was just a matter of transporting it back up to his room. Then he had to start this irritating cognitive development thing where he puts two and two together. That’s when he realized that when the blanket wasn’t in view, it still existed somewhere in the house, and that the sight of one of his parents racing up the stairs with something stuffed under their shirt was a clue as to where it went.
Now he’s onto us. Just try to coax him to hand over his blankie and and he’ll give you a look that clearly says, “you’ll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers.” Trickery is now the only option, and I have a new item on my daily to do list: “steal blankie from George.”
In all honesty, I do understand George’s love for his blankie. I had one myself. Even when I was a teenager, I would put the pathetic little scrap that remained over my pillow at night because I still liked the feel of it against my cheek. Then I left it a my friend, Alyssa’s house right before she left to spend the summer with her father in California. By the time she returned, it was nowhere to be found. I can only assume that its value was not recognized, and someone threw it away. It was a little sad – but I let it go without too much remorse. My blankie had lived a good life – much longer than most.
I think this cuddly object obsession that is so prominent a theme for small children (blankets, stuffed animals, special pillows and the like) is just an early shade of something very basic and human. We live in a chaotic world and we all need something to help us stay anchored. We battle insecurity every day – mainly over where we fit into society. Whether it’s high school, the boardroom or the neighborhood moms group – we often need something tangible to make us feel safe or connected. As teenagers we have strong connections to our friends, at work we get identity from our achievements, and with other moms we define ourselves by our parenting. George just wants his blanket.
Sometimes I think it sounds very appealing to go back to this simple set of priorities. If just holding a blanket made me feel good about myself, I’d drag one around too. But as I’ve grown up, my security blanket has become my family, my marriage and children, my sense of self worth. A piece of fabric is no longer enough. But what I do have is more than enough, and my anchor is just being able to remember that every day.
Great post and even better,a great picture of an extremely handsome little man nestled up in his blankie… seriously he’s just too cute.
Nice post! We’re having the same exact issue with my little one…especially now that we’re on vacation, he will NOT let go of his blanket.
My soon to be ex husband still has his blankie from when he was a baby. He says it’s the one in which he was carried home from the hospital. He still sleeps with it. It’s cute to have a blankie, but not so much when you are in your 30s. I kind if wish his mom would have thrown it away before he was, I don’t know… in college? :)
lovely post! I agree. I just posted about a blankie on my flickr yesterday!
I look at Dylan with his blankie and wish I had one sometimes. It seems like such an easy answer to our anxiety and insecurities, doesn’t it?
Cute picture!
What a beautiful take on it – woudln’t it be great if we were all soothed so easily?
Porgie has two blankets, which are called “night-nights.” She drags them all over the house, but we don’t let her take them outside. Because if she lost one of them, I am positive that she would die from sadness.
What a great post. Really well said. It’s a small thing to let them have, isn’t it. My son sucks his fingers and it’s so GROSS sometimes. But nagging him accomplishes nothing and it’s such a comfort for him.
My little boy has a half stuffed Lamb puppet named Sam (he calls him Nam). It goes everywhere with us and i am scared to death of losing him because we can’t find another one. They don’t make them anymore.
This is a great post!
Great post Kate. You may remember that your cousin Wyatt had a yellow baby blanket that he dragged around by its satin corner. He would rub that corner between his often dirty fingers for comfort. In short order the corner was permanently gray from hours of “dirty” rubbing and countless futile washings with color safe bleach. I’m sure that was healthy for a small child! Anyway, as he got more and more attached to the blanket, he named it “my dirty corno.” This ensured that I would hand it over without delay whenever I tried to stash it away in public and he would protest loudly, “I want my DIRTY corno!” That kid always was smart!
awww what a cutie with his blankie! I can remember those days and if you ever wanna get a peek into what the tween and teen yrs are like feel free to stop by my blog for a close up,in-depth view of my life…
I saw you and clicked you on allmed-glad i did-your post brought back some wonderful memories for me…
I think George is going to wind up just like me. Sorry, Kate.
What a cutie you have! Our oldest had a pillow that he hung onto for years and years and years and years and…. Drove us nuts at times, but I think you’re right.