Did You Have A ‘Blankie’ As A Kid? Here’s What That Says About Adult You

Sleeping with a teddy!

Heard of it? Been there, and done it? Chances are that you have. With this generation of fast lives, and separate bedrooms since birth, children need to have something that would be their companion when their parents are not around. While that may look gross, and stinky, and incredibly dirty, something even a rag-picker would think twice before picking it up. But, to the kid, it is everything. It protects them from the monsters under their bed. That does look stupid, and crazy, but when you are a child who has always been kept in separation from your parents, anything works.

Psychoanalysts have noted that people with blankies usually turn out to be people who are fierce and increasingly devoted to their relationships, because they understand the pain of separation, where an inanimate object turns out to be your friend, and your calm. This is actually interesting, for people usually believe that kids with an accompanying toy are ‘defective’ or ‘specially challenged’. But that is not the case. The Americo-centric discourse of both parents working hard all day long, and then dropping on their beds late at night, while the child awaits a hug from either of them, has led to the rise of blankies. ‘Substitute parents’, if you will.

But, this doesn’t stunt someone’s growth as an individual. Even though violent and rough separation from your blankie which you haven’t, at all signed up for, can lead to relationship and emotional problems later on. But, blaming your relationships on such reason would kind of consider you to be emotionally stunted in the first place. It does help in co-existing with your parents while respecting and loving them, not to the extent that you would suffocate without them, but to the extent that you would miss them when they are not without you, but not die. This is pretty much what the American society has propagated since the turn of the century.

Then, come the taunters. It is ironical that most of them have a blankie due to the same situation. Some might be less affected and attached to their blankies, while others could be immensely attached to it. But all of them are. Even leading into an adult life doesn’t allow for most of them to throw away their precious life partners. Consider the movie Ted. The best example of a blankie, right there. Some people treat them like their best friends, and if the parent isn’t accepting of this slightly unusual occurrence, them it would lead to problems between the parent and the child.

If you don’t want your child to have a blankie, spend a lot of time with them. Don’t ignore them, don’t neglect them. Babysitters are cool, but nothing comes close to the loving touch of a parent. But if you do decide to give your child a blankie, keep in mind to accept it as a fully functioning member of your family, and give it the same love and care you would give to your son.