Giving up the teddies. When?

[matana]

DS is 3.4 and has 5 favourite teddies whose labels he sucks. He uses them a bit like a thumb or a dummy i guess, to calm down if he's stressed or tired and to sooth him to sleep. So he has them only when he's having some quiet time, such as watching TV or going to bed. They're pretty yucky, though i wash them every week, but that doesn't really bother me. Anyway, DH and CM have recently begun talking about weaning him off them. He's never just cuddled teddies, always sucked their labels. I am in no hurry to make him grow up and still have no inclination to make him give them up - it's his last bit of babyhood that he still enjoys. But are they right and should i be thinking of taking them away? When might be the right time/ age to do so? I know that most children continue to have teddies to cuddle at night until much later, but as mine doesn't use them to cuddle but to suck does that make a difference?

Must remember to tell my 13 and 18 year olds that Bear and Dino are banned from this evening.......

I would not take them off unless there is some sort of a health reason -eg. the sucking could be harmful to teeth. I understand this is not the case as your DS only does it for short periods of time.

I still remember having to wean DS off his dummy at the age of 3, mainly due to family pressure.... and how desperately sad the poor mite was, for such a long time.....he ended up fighting sleep because he just couldn't settle. I am still to this day convinced I should have listened to my instinct and let him keep it just for bedtimes, until he was ready to give it up.

School trips always remind one to include stuffed toys - would hate the 13 year old to have to spend a night without DuckDuck!

There was a similar thread recently where everybody said, "don't take the toy away!"

DD, aged 6.10, still has her favourite cuddly. She chews it's tail (bleurgh). I'll never make her give it up. She doesn't tend to touch it when her friends are round but when she's watching TV on her own or playing by herself it's usually by her side.

My 20 year old ds has his at uni. It has pride of place on his desk....and sometimes on his bed. All his housemates have them too. They have a pact never to touch or harm each others childhood teddies

Empress makes a good point, the time when ds's tiger got bundled up with the bedding in the universal hotel in Florida still haunts us, I sat in the reception and sobbed whilst dh shouted, amazingly he was returned to us four days later (smelling lovely) at the next hotel we went to, by the universal security man. Bears are always zipped into rucksacks during the day in hotels now!

my 14 &11 yr old ds's still have them

i felt really bad when i forgot to send dd on her brownie camp without the obligatory teddy, someone had to lend her one

DNephew's beloved pig came to a theme park with us once. DW and I spent most of the day checking he still had it. Never again.

Please don't- my godfather (v upright elderly academic type) is still utterly traumatised by the loss of his bear. It was given away when he was about 5, still can't look at white teddies.

I still have my bear on the bed...
He will stop carrying it but there is no reason to get rid of it.

I'm 29 and my childhood teddy still comes to bed with me sometimes when I'm ill/emotional . As long as your DS isn't dragging Teddy around everywhere he goes, I can't see that it's doing any harm at all, or why he would ever need weaning off it.

My 33 yr old Dsis still has her comfort blanket. Even went on her honeymoon!

My 40 year old friend took her childhood teddy with her on holiday to help her through her awful divorce. I think the answer for some people is never and why should they?

My 20yo has recently moved out and took his soft toy cat with him - Mitzie will live with him forever I'm sure.

I could stand losing most things but I'd be devastated if I lost my teddy.