Top 5 Ways to Use a Baby Blanket (Part 1)
Even our baby’s blankets have to multitask these days.
In addition to providing warmth or comfort for baby, and a pink-blue gender clue for admiring strangers, a baby’s blanket ought to earn its keep. It should make Mommy’s job easier, and baby’s life a little more interesting.
Like a good toy or book or nanny, a good blankie will meet more than just one of your baby’s developmental needs.
Job 1: Transitional object
The first year of your child’s life brings rapid, sometimes startling changes. First there’s that whole relocation thing. She liked her original home just fine, although things were getting a little cramped. So, she moved out — got evicted, really.
Once unpacked, your newborn worked very hard to get accustomed to her new digs, and all those new faces peering at her. Much to her dismay, baby discovered that big people like schedules, bright lights, sudden sounds, and removing diapers right after she gets ‘em get nice and warm. Life-altering events awaited her — milestones like finding her feet, finding out she could walk on them, hearing the word “no” a lot, then realizing she could say it too, by golly.
Every transition takes your baby farther from … well, farther from you, Mommy. A blanket or stuffed friend (or ritual, even) that she can hold onto, when she can’t be held by you, will help her to do some of her own consoling for herself. An important life skill to learn.
The stability of the transitional object (I really mean “exclusivity” I suppose) is important. Baby is no longer a part of Mommy, but her blankie or doll can be a part of her life that nobody else controls. That is why you’ll see the sweetest of babies become lionesses when an unauthorized person (by that I mean anyone in the whole universe — you too, granny) touches, looks at too long, or threatens to wash her blankie.
A blankie with a good work ethic will be employed by your household for a long time, perhaps even longer than you think. When my teenager recently had wisdom tooth surgery, her conscientious doctor sent her home with antibiotics. I was particularly relieved to have germ-killers — not for the surgery or the stitches, but for the 16 year-old, too frail to machine-wash, see-through blankie waiting at home to companion her through a difficult day, just as it always had.
to be continued……
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Carly Jennings | Parenting Skills | 
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