Hi I have a little boy in nursery who is 3 and who is having support from our SEN and local EYSENIT, there are also some issues at home.

He has recently started attaching himself to various items, a different one every day or every couple of days. Today it is a dolls buggy, he brought it in from home and has held on to it all day, even eating his lunch in it!! He is now, as I speak going off to sleep with the buggy collapsed next to him!!

Its not always an object from home it could be something he attaches himself to on arrival at the nursery.

Anybody ever come across this before? I'm more curious to know why as we're more than happy for him to have the object/item/thing all day!!

Would this be related to Bowlby's attachment theory ??? He is substututing objects as a form of comfort in place of his parent - his way of coping with separation ? Dizz

Well I did think of Bowlby and attachment but wondered if this was something more as its not always an object from home and usually a different object every couple of days.

By the way he had a lovely sleep next to the doll's buggy!!

Ahem!

My grandaughter, aged 3.5, often chooses a 'favourite' item to hold, carry around - I have never considered that there is anything unusual or worrying about this!

She reached her milestones for physical development late as she is severely hyper-mobile, but the rest of her development is completely 'normal' (apologies for the word!) and there are no issues or problems at home!

I'll be interested to see what others think......

I've seen it a couple of times with younger children. They take a liking to something, be it a doll, a wooden block or more recently the velour cushion from the dolls house settee!!, and take it everywhere with us!

Like Sunnyday, I've never given it much thought. I just thought it was one of those quirks that small people have

If it develops into an obsessive attachment to a single object (where it starts to interfere with involvement in other activities) you may need to develop a management strategy. A friend who is a SEN teacher with 25+ years experience suggested a "later bag" for those ones. The special object is placed in a "special" bag to be brought out after completion of the other activity or as a reward for desired behaviour.

I'm interested now to see what others say!

Nona

I have this with two of the children in my setting and it's never been a cause for concern - both children have secure attachments with their parents and myself. Sometimes i think it helps them to make links between spending time in two different places - they bring their attached item from home to me and take home with them whatever toy they've attached to that day - sometimes they last a few days and others last months - they become transitional items.
It can help them understand that somethings are shared and somethings are special to them.
You know this child well and will be better informed as to whether this behaviour is a concern but I personally wouldn't be worried

No I'm not concerned at all - just curious!

I'm constantly curious about what goes on in the mind of little people!!

Nona

We have a similar thing with a new starter (wouldn't even call it an issue for us) they bring in a familiar comforter from home, and immediately drop it for our cuddly 'Nemo'. Nemo goes everywhere, play, outside, toilet (!), at snack table, child hates it if Nemo is taken away and then home time, pick up home comforter and goodbye 'Nemo' till next time.

Rachel

Rutter disputes Bowlby's monotropic attachment theory, he believes children are able to acquire multiple attachments, the more the merrier, makes it very awkward if they will only go to one person or item if that person or item is unavailable.

No I have not swallowed a book, just been looking at this for FD!