My son has a teddy bear he calls Boo-Boo, who is his mostly constant companion. He will go places without Boo-Boo, however, so I'm not sure we'll be facing the same challenge Kendra is facing:
My daughter has this brown stuffed dog she calls Moose, and she's had it since she was a baby. It's her "security dog." Moose goes pretty much everywhere she goes. If you've ever read the book "Owen" by Kevin Henkes, then you probably know where I'm going with this. When she went to preschool, the teacher would let her bring Moose, though sometimes he would 'take a nap' inside her tote bag. I'm a little concerned about what will happen when she goes to kindergarten this fall. I will definitely be talking to her teacher about it, but everytime I mention leaving Moose at home during school, she gets hysterical. I was just wondering whether anyone else has had experience with a child that is strongly attached to a toy or blanket. How long did it take for them to grow out of it? A small (very small) part of me worries that she will be teased, though maybe that doesn't happen until kids get older. Anyway, just curious to hear feedback from others. Thanks!
i don't really have any experience with this, but i have to believe that her teacher will have dealt with this before. don't worry -- kids really grow up a lot in kindergarten, and she'll probably realize she doesn't need moose with her all the time. good luck!
Posted by: ruby | 30 July 2007 at 10:16 PM
My experience tells me that even if she brings her Moose in her backpack she will notice that most of the children haven't brought their special things. She won't be teased...but she will realize that she is the only one with a stuffed animal.
A trick that worked with my oldest is to tell them that everything brought to school has to be shared with everybody there. If you don't want to share, it stays home, waiting to hear all about their day.
Posted by: lilah | 31 July 2007 at 11:49 AM