my special things

For the past several months, maybe 6 or so, Carson has only used his pacifier at nap/bedtime. It stays in his crib. Just recently he has started going into his room and bringing his pacifier out. At first it was only his pacifier. Often I would ask him to take it back to his bed and usually he would. Sometimes he just seems really attached to it and if he has it, he is happy and will let me get things done ~ so I just don't fight with him, he can have the paci.
Now he has started brining out the things he sleeps with, blue fleece blanket and two Curious George monkeys (you can only see the hand of the small one in this picture) and sometimes another pacifier to hold. I sort of wondered what this was all about. Then I read this in a Parenting magazine.....

Two-year-old Matthew Mecia's morning ritual is quite a production. Before getting up, he insists on gathering up his blankie and five stuffed animals. He clutches them to his chest as his diaper is changed, then lugs them everywhere, including the breakfast table. "I think it's funny," says his mother, Taryn, of Charlotte, NC. "It's comforting to him."

While this quirky behavior can seem excessive -- and slow down the morning routine -- it's quite common. By hoarding everything from stuffed toys to kitchen utensils, your child is working on his independence, says psychologist Tiffany Field, Ph.D., director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School in Florida. "He's understanding 'I am a separate person and I have things that belong to me,'" she says.

Once he leaves the house, his prized possessions act as a bridge between home and the outside world, making him feel secure. He almost sees them as a part of himself, says Field, so he wants them to go everywhere he goes -- in the car, to preschool, you name it. Of course, that's not always practical. If the load is too much, try limiting his entourage to one special "outside" friend. Or let him pick out a backpack that holds two or three.

Around age 3, your child will develop a better sense of self and outgrow this phase, and you'll all travel a little lighter.

Carson hasn't wanted to take these items out of the house, he usually just likes to walk around the house with them. So he is developing his sense of self? and that things belong to him. I do wish he would leave the paci in his bed. He just seems a little old to have it at other times than at bed.