Favourite toys - do you have duplicates and if so, does your child know about them?

[Kalypso]

DS (12 months) has developed a strong attachment to a lion toy.

It's very soft, and because of this, I'm not sure how long it's going to last being hauled around day in day out.

I therefore bought another identical one yesterday and put it into use immediately, so that both lion 1 and lion 2 will end up similarly worn and tatty. DS hasn't noticed the difference (lion 2 is currently being cuddled right now).

However, at some point I'm sure at least one of them is going to need patching or something, and then it'll be obvious that they are different.

So I'm wondering if it really matters if your child knows there are two or more of their favourite comfort toy? DH thinks we should hide the fact there are two lions, but I'm not so sure this is either practical or necessary.

Any thoughts?

whatever you decide make sure you wash them regularly so that the comfort does not come from the smell of the thing - this way you can easily substitute another if one goes missing (waaaaaay more likel;y than geting tatty IME)without him missing the smell of the original. At one point I had at least 3 of my DS favourite item in paranoia that it would get lost but only had one out at a time. In fact when we moved many years later I found one at the back of a cupboard!!

i got a replacement when the 1st velour bunny started getting thin and holes appeared! took a while to find the replacement but there's a big difference after several months hard loving. he took a double take at first and refused to have it but eventually realised they were the same and the 2nd one was softer and fluffier. we did have a moment where he freaked out when he saw one coming out the wash as he was holding the other. he wanted the wet one! he's now got used to it and not bothered which one is currently in his bed.

We have three matching dogs. When dd was little, she didn't know there were three different ones. We kept one at the childminder and had two at home. I used to wash them all regularly so that they kept the same smell.

However, dd once saw me with the one from the childminder and realised that there were two. Then, about a year later, she found the second home one!

She's now 6 and sleeps with all three of them.

The one things we did was to make a rule that the dogs never left the house (or in fact, came downstairs). This meant that there was no chance we would ever lose one.

They now have different names and personalities, and there is definitely one which she prefers. He is grayer and a bit crustier than the others, in spite of regular washing of all three.

Since the age of 2 my son has taken a 'sponge' ( it is covered in a towelling fabric) to bed as a comforter.

We bought a spare jsut in case it fell apart or it got lost.

He's now 6 and the orginal is still going and still taken to bed every night. Being a sponge it washes well but if it gets lost or falls apart he's now of an age when we can explain.

With DS1, he came attached to his comfort blanket very early on so I bought another one fairly quickly just in case. He must have discovered it when he was about 2...and he now knows he has a 'spare' (which became mine for a while as he was obsessed with me sleeping with it ) but now lives in a drawer in his bedroom. He doesn't seem too bothered about using it when his goes in the wash but definitely prefers his own.

With DS2, I was prepared and bought 2 identical comfort blankets at the same time - he is now 2 and also knows he has a spare (they are still identical so the spare one is just the one that happens to be in the drawer) and he is not keen if I get it out in front of him so I just make sure that I switch them on his bed when he is not there

They generally don't leave the house though so unlikely they will get lost - probably fall apart first

Ds has several of his comforter. He is 5 now and has known there are several for some time now and is happy to have any of them at bed time. As long as he has at least one he is happy!

DS lost his favourite cuddly catbus (Totoro) toy when he was two - back of a taxi or on a train somewhere in Tokyo - so I took the next morning off work and scoured every toy shop in central Tokyo until I found an identical one, and then bought two( where's the PFB emoticon?).

He did wonder for a day or two why Catbus's tail had started squeaking again, but once it had been cuddled and chewed enough the squeak went again. The spare one stayed in the cupboard just in case, but wasn't needed, so DD has it now. When DD was born I did buy two identical muslin blankets for her (she still sleeps with one or other of them now she's 8), and she ended up with two identical cuddly dolls (lucky duplication of presents) so I never had to do the toy-shop dash again...