Favourite teddy/soft toy.

[myname666]

Did your little one take to a certain soft toy?
Were they encouraged into choosing that particular toy?
What age did this happen?
Did having a favourite teddy aid sleep?
Did teddy have to go everywhere with them?

Thanks in advance if you answer.

My dd is 8 months and obsessed with a stuffed bear from ikea. It was actually ours one of the first things we brought together on an IKEA trip. At around 7 months she grabbed it and wouldn't let it go so we started letting her have it for naps she waves it around and falls asleep with him over her face I have to go up and remove it!
It definitely helps get her to sleep she takes far longer to drift off without it. Probably just because it's soft and smells of us.

DD 17 months, shows zero interest in any of her soft toys, I actually stored loads in the garage as they were taking up valuable space for plastic schmutter instead

Did your little one take to a certain soft toy? Both dc do. The eldest has the lion from that Just Like My Dad book. The youngest has one of those small Asda teddies that are holding a soft comfort blanket (in fact they have 3: 2x blue ones and a pink one that we rotate)
Were they encouraged into choosing that particular toy? No. They just took a shine to those teddies and I don't know why.
What age did this happen? About 1ish I think?
Did having a favourite teddy aid sleep? Yes and for my youngest, who is now 6, it still does - they suck the corners whilst twiddling their hair. In the night though, it's just in the bed.
Did teddy have to go everywhere with them? Yes. My sister managed to lose Daddy Lion in town so I had to buy a new book to get another one. My youngest lost one teddy in town but luckily it had been handed in to customer service at Argos so we got it back. They also lost their teddy in the Tank Museum in Wiltshire. All the staff were on lookout for it and managed to find it in one of the tanks!
By about 3, both dc got to the point where they only had their comfort toy in the house and then by the time they got to school they had both willingly decided to only have them in their beds at night. I never took them away or encouraged them to leave them at home; it was something they simply grew out of to a point - like I said, my youngest still needs it for sleep and my eldest's is on their bed somewhere with all their other soft toys and is only really cuddled when they're ill or upset.

My DD always liked to have something to cuddle in bed but never developed a particular favourite. Mostly she’d take whichever was her newest acquisition to bed. She always slept fine without one though.

DS started taking a particular teddy to bed after he started school aged 4 yo. He’d had the teddy for a while and never shown particular interest in it previously.

It didn’t make a difference to his sleep it was just comforting. He still has it on his bed now (aged 11) but it’s never been a sleep aid - he’s never taken it on holiday/to Grandma’s house/to sleepovers.

Two friends encouraged their children heavily to have a particular comfort toy. As far as I can see they made a rod of their own backs - lots and lots of time is regularly spent looking for the bloody bunny/teddy/blanket (even now the children are late primary school).

Did your little one take to a certain soft toy?
Yes, a lamb teddy

Were they encouraged into choosing that particular toy?
No, i bought him a sheep that was very like a teddy I loved as a child and I would have thought it cuter if he had preferred that!

What age did this happen?
He's only just started showing a preference for it over other things from about 16mo.

Did having a favourite teddy aid sleep?
Yes. Tucking him in with Lamby helped to resettle when we dropped night feeds

Did teddy have to go everywhere with them?
No, it only stays in the bedroom. He has another little monkey that is only for nursery naps.

My dd had a beloved teddy from about 9 months. Her affections shifted at about 2 to another one. This other one still goes everywhere with her if she's feeling nervous (apart from school, socialising with pals and extra curricular activities) . She's nearly 12. She sleeps with it every night and it goes on holiday with us although she might leave it to guard the car or the room or whatever.
I imagine it'll be around forever. No problem with that.

My 17 months old never got attached to anything besides this ugly crow bird from sainsbury. It was Halloween decor that was on sale so I bought it for 10p and won't go anywhere without it. Lol

No. DS is only interested in hair.

At night he strokes my hair or my DH’s hair as he falls asleep. DH regularly wakes up with DS’s entire body wrapped around his head. If DS is sleepy during the day he asks for hair. He hates it when I wear my hair up and gets very upset about it; his nursery teacher wears hijab and this has not gone down well.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t encourage this and have tried a variety of hairy toys as substitutes but he’s completely uninterested in anything except hair.

DD1 had various favourite cuddly animals over the years, they usually lasted for 1-2 years before she moved onto the next one. I’d say mostly between the ages of 1-6. She’s still quite fond of cuddly toys now at 8, but only in bed.

DD2 I actively encouraged to have a soft teddy from a few months old as she wouldn’t take a dummy and I wanted her to have some sort of comforter. I used to tuck him in between her and me whilst breastfeeding. She’s 3 now and she still snuffles him whenever she is upset or goes to sleep.