I want to ask a personal question here—how many of you adults climb into bed and go right to sleep without any sort of rituals or bedtime routines? Can you just lie down and go to sleep easily without going through a routine of brushing teeth or hair, having the lighting just so, or plumping the pillows in a certain way? I would like to propose a theory that most of us have thing we do that help us to sleep and yet as parent, we might get worried and uptight when our children have “sleep routines” and crutches of their own…
While I can certainly understand how a parent would not want a 10 year-old to still be using a pacifier, I also think that we can get overly worried and concerned about our children’s security items or the routines they use to help them get settled down or get back to sleep. In reality, many of these coping strategies can be ingenious and reasonable. Having a “security item” can be a logical way for a child to learn to self-soothe.
I know that many parents worry that a child will not learn how to get to sleep or settle down without the lovey or security item but in truth, children do eventually outgrow them. Often, the reason for the item is incredibly simple—it is something that feels soft of good, or smells just right or reminds of them of something pleasant. To be honest, these are the same rational I use when choosing sheets or decorating my OWN bedroom—I want it to feel nice and fit me and have pleasant connotations. Instead of making security blankets and items a problem, they can, in fact, be healthy ways to solve the sleep and bedtime problem and help empower children to settle themselves on their own.