Older children with comforter/teddy/blanket?

[JC17fj74]

DS will be 4 in a couple of months and has always had some Muslins that he cuddles to sleep when he goes to bed.
He is at nursery and obviously doesn't take them there, he isn't bothered and they are a 'home' thing that he will go and drag out from his bed when he's feeling tired or watching a film on the sofa to cuddle into and rub gently over his lips.
Do you think this is ok for a child of nearly 4 to have a comforter?
It's not like he's walking round with them when we are out and it's just a bedtime and snuggle time thing.
Will he just grow out of needing or wanting them?
☺️

My DD is nearly 7 and she has a special teddy that she cuddles at bedtime. She loves it so much and it gives her comfort when she's sad or poorly. I really don't see any problem with it

Ds is 12 and still has a teddy that he sleeps with every night. His best mate has 3 small teddies that he always used to bring for sleepovers - I can’t imagine that that’s changed in the last year to be honest.
They both say they like them and sleep better with them and don’t care what anyone else thinks!

My 17 and 14 years old still sleep with their original teddies. Obviously they don't leave their beds now, but I still find then hanging onto them in the night.

My (perfectly normal and well balanced) youngest took hers to university halls with her! Not to cuddle at night but to have and remind her of home. My elderly mum still has the teddy bear she had has a child. It’s not weird for a 4 year old

*had as a child,

I've got a 6ft 14 Yr old ds who cuddles his two teddies every night. Don't worry!

I'm in my 30s and have a teddy at night... 😂

I am 36 and still have my Teddy. I am able to cope without him but it is lovely and comforting to have an item I have had since a newborn. I would just be neutral and let your child have it or not have it if they want.

My 9 year old has a special teddy that stays in bed with her.

The cuddly item is to make a child feel safe when they are without their mother. This is why they happily leave them at home when at school as there are lots of people and activities but when they are alone mostly in bed - it makes them feel safe.

I spoke to a psychologist about this very issue when my narcissistic ex insisted DC were too old at 8 & 5. He made a massive deal over it and forced the DC to throw them in the bin. Result - they refused to see him for months.

Now 13 and 10 and very firmly still attached. I think maybe more attached as they have had some trauma in their little lives but I would never take them away from them and make sure they remember to pack them for Grandma etc.

I’m 28 and still have my ‘special’ teddies in my room
He’s only 3 years old, there’s so much time for him to grow It brings him comfort, there’s nothing wrong

I thought you were going to say 14, not 4! Of course it's still fine, he's only little still. My 6'3 15yo still has his bear in his bed.

14yo and 10yo still have their baby comforters. They no longer rely on them, but I am reasonably confident that they'll choose to take them to university, like Sebastian Flyte and Aloysius.

Teen DCs still have their muslins tucked under their pillows plus favourite teddies, they don't take them for sleepovers but one did sneak hers in her bag for a school trip 'just in case'.

DS who is 10 has a Teddy who he won't go to bed without. He doesn't have him during the day but at night-time he does. And when he had sleepovers pre-covid, I think all of his friends brought a Teddy or blanket.

4 is not an older child! Of course it's ok. My 12 yr old still has a teddy in bed.

I'm 47 and still cuddle teddy bears I go to sleep! Hubby doesn't mind.

We worried like you but never actually took it away. She's 17 and it went a long time ago! But when she decided.

Another who expected this post to be about teens. Dd2 took her Teddy to vets school with her, DD3 (14) never settles on the sofa for the evening without teddy.

Anothet one with dd 13 who is sitting on sofa next to me with the favourite animal, and thr animal still follows her around the house when she gets home from school.

I stopped sleeping with my teddy at 23 when I moved in with my partner. My mum in her late 50s now is still annoyed at her long dead mother for throwing away her teddy as a child.

21 yr old DS still has a little teddy that was in his incubator that lives in his bed and DD 16 has a bunny that her brother gave her as a newborn and she sleeps with it nightly.. if it keeps them happy then I'm all for it

My almost 5yo DS still carries around his pink unicorns (both the same, I got a duplicate in a fit of sleep deprivation thinking he'd never sleep without one). He doesn't take them out of the house now but he still grabs them in the night and brings them to our bed in the early hours. Perfectly normal in our house.

I still have mine!
I could live without him if I had to buy it is comforting having him there.
I wouldn’t worry about your child.

3 is not an older child. He still won't be an older child at 4. It is kind of sad you're thinking about something useful and positive in such a negative way.