Loveys

Meet Maddie Moo, Will’s baby cow that brought him comfort.  Mikey had (has) a taggie blanket, a fleece blanket surrounded with different tags. While we don’t get to choose the stuffed animal or blanket to which our kids get attached, I still have a couple of quick Saturday Suggestions. 

As soon as you know your child has chosen one stuffed animal or blanket that’s the favorite, get a backup (or two). It will be cheaper to buy an extra one while they are still new and widely available.  Swap the two out often and wash the other one.  Toss it in the washing machine and dry it in the dryer with dryer balls to get the inside nice and dry.  Don’t do it until the new one arrives in case of a washing disaster.

If you swap them often, they age at the same rate and one doesn’t start to smell.  Also, your kid will know if their lovey smells funky and you swap it out for one that smells like dryer sheets…swap and wash often…like every couple of weeks. Also, in my view, if your kid has taken 10 baths and the lovey has been with them non-stop, that thing is harboring some gross stuff…just my non-scientific take.

Plus, if you know you have a backup, you never need to worry if a lovey gets left behind or misplaced.  You know one will be waiting at home to save the day.

Wait

You may be thinking, didn’t Erica tell us not to lie to our kids? What happened to creating trust?

I know, this isn’t 100% totally honest, but I feel like this one exception is okay because all we’re doing is sparing them the sadness of losing a lovey.  I never advertised the existence of back-up Maddies. I did not tell Will I had extras when he was little. He knows now and this has not caused any lasting harm, wink. He has grown to be a functioning adult and Maddie still has a spot tucked away in his childhood bedroom as a happy memory.