Monday 12 January 2009

People Overload

Before the 4 year old was born I bought her a soft, cuddly lamb from Marks & Spencer. We (I) named the lamb Lulu. She never took any interest in it and preferred her dummy (pacifier) instead.

The 2 year old claimed Lulu as his own. He and Lulu are firm friends. She has comforted him on many occasions and he snuggles her at night. He has since collected several other soft toys and sleeps with them, but, Lulu will always be his number one.

We have the imaginatively named from left to right Cat, Lulu, Baby, Baloo, Lynx, Rabbit, Ratty and Postman Pat.



We also have Fawn and Teddy who were otherwise engaged during the photoshoot.

One morning last week I was summoned, pre 7am. From the tone of the cries I thought he had injured himself (as only my child can with a pillow and duvet), but no.

'My people here' he told me and then pointed rather briskly towards his pillow. His people were spread from the top to the foot of his bed. During the night they had made a break for it, they needed their own space, and this was unacceptable to my indignant boy. He wanted his people on his pillow as close to his head as possible.

The only requirement of this arrangement, thankfully, is that his people still allow him to breathe.

Usually a child has just the one thing that they need to be weaned off. The 4 year old had a visit from the 'dummy fairy' courtesy of Supernanny and that worked a treat.

The 2 year old will need a whole army of 'people' fairies by the time he's finished his collection ... or a bigger bed.

7 comments:

Mary T said...

Louie has four identical teddies, the only difference is that some are older than the others and one is blue (named special blue ted). Each time he loses one we buy another but then he finds the lost one, this is how we have come to have as many. In a few months he will probably have 5. He collects them all up and takes them everywhere. It's very bizarre.

Mary T said...

Also...what happened to Marg the one eyed doll?

Robert said...

I always marvel how different babies/young children are. None of my 7 kids formed ANY attachments to soft toys, despite other people's best efforts - putting them in prams, cots etc. And my last two children weren't remotely interested in dummies/pacifiers either.

However, I liked the idea of the dummy fairy. I'm going to pass that on as a parenting tip to my older children. Thanks!

Laura - Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy? said...

Mary - Marg is still in circulation, but she is not worthy of being one of 'the people'!

Robert - The dummy fairy was great. My daughter was addicted to her many dummies which were deposited all over the house. One night we left them all in a bag and low and bahold the next morning was a lovely jigsaw in their place. All done and dusted - she never mentioned the dummies again

Tim Atkinson said...

Santa took away Sally's pacifier when she was two (as he does all children who want a stocking full of presents - we can't afford a dummy fairy in a recession, you know!)

Anonymous said...

Worryingly - my mother tells me that I had a naked doll who lived in the bath.

I named her 'Fatcher' - my version of Mrs. Thatcher (then Prime Minister) as they had the same hair style.

Not sure what that says about me??!

Anonymous said...

My friend's son has the grottiest Bagpuss you have ever seen. It has been loved to within an inch of its life and barely looks recognisable as a cat, let alone the loveable cartoon character.

It's grubby, it's falling appart and it looks like the dog wouldn't play with it - and yet every night he has it right there next to his head!