Of security blankets and comfort items

Linus from Peanuts had his blanket. My niece had her father’s t-shirt; presumably ‘cos it had his body odour. Yes: Eww.

For me, I had a stuffed, very out of proportioned, elongated cotton-filled black “Doggee” with kids-fist sized and shaped “legs”; which my older brothers (note the plural) loved stuffing them into the “body” when I wasn’t looking. It used to drive me up the wall when I discover this, and cry around the house asking WHO DID THIS to which of course no one would own up.

For Caitlin during the day, it has been the following few items. You may ask why a few items, when it’s always (mostly?) usually one item of very sentimental value and thus the security associated with or derived from it.

I can’t answer that. Perhaps she doesn’t associate so much as security to familiar things, but that she likes new things to hang on to. Hang on to means holding on to it in the car, bringing it around with her wherever she goes, bringing it to bed and subsequently coaxed to leave on the bedside table, or putting it in her pocket if it fits. One time she said very matter of factly, to my amusement, “But I don’t have anything to hold in the car…”

Fishing rod. Yes, a toy one. See, 2 weekends ago we attended Hot Mummee’s friend’s daughter’s 4-year old party. They had a theme: and it was “underwater”, with Ariel the Little Mermaid, and “props” of seashells and Triton’s fork and toy fishes everywhere. There was also a “game” there of a small-ish blowup pool with 5 inches of water, and toy fishing rods to “fish” the plastic fishies using the magnet on the hooks and the metal screws on the mouths of the fishes.

No, Caitlin didn’t bring one home from the party, despite Hot Mummee suspecting that it was meant for the guest-kids to bring home. I saw Caitlin liking it so much and was mostly there during the party (even if it was all alone trying her skill at it) that I went shopping with her to find one for herself. Found it at Jusco, for RM15.

It’s actually quite fun playing this with her!

A cheap McD’s Happy Meal toy, which is actually a tiny mirror housed inside a heart-shaped clamshell “pendant”

Disney character plasters, as in those for sticking over minor cuts. She’s still holding on to this one particular one (still in the wax paper wrap) for over a week now

New stickers, either from school or from Daddee from the local markets

At nights, she uses one of 2 sets of kid sized pillow and bolster that Grandma made. Yes, 2 sets- identical ones. 1 set is for day use, the other night use; roughly. See, during office hours she’s with Grandma’s, and in the evening we all go back to the condo.

Not that she has to have the same set each time we go somewhere (ie, odour is not a facctor!), but I guess she is used to the feel and size of these already. In bed she would clutch both these, and for a long time now, she would tease the “sharp corner” of the pillow (as she calls it) for self-comfort, with her index finger pushing the sharp corner each way…

What is your “security blanket”?