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Security blanket
 
 
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A security blanket is any familiar object whose presence provides comfort or security to its owner, such as the literal blanket
Blanket

A blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from Bed sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket, because blankets are for warmth, while sheets are for hygiene, comfort...
s often favoured by small children.

The term security blanket was popularized in the Peanuts
Peanuts

Peanuts is a print syndication daily strip and Sunday strip comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000 , continuing in reruns afterward....
 comic strip
Comic strip

A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story.Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist, and many such strips are published on a recurring basis in newspapers and on the Internet....
 created by Charles M. Schulz
Charles M. Schulz

Charles Monroe Schulz was an United Statesn cartoonist best known worldwide for his Peanuts comic strip....
, who gave such a blanket to his character Linus van Pelt
Linus van Pelt

Linus van Pelt is a character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The best friend of Charlie Brown, Linus is also the younger brother of Lucy van Pelt and older brother of Rerun van Pelt....
, but the terms comfort object
Comfort object

A comfort object is an item used to provide psychology comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations or at bedtime for small children. Though many toddlers prefer a teddy bear or doll, a stuffed animal, a favorite blanket, a toy such as a dump truck, or even a cell phone could be a comfort object at some stages, as the notion is that t...
 and security object are also used by professionals and academics.






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A security blanket is any familiar object whose presence provides comfort or security to its owner, such as the literal blanket
Blanket

A blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from Bed sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket, because blankets are for warmth, while sheets are for hygiene, comfort...
s often favoured by small children.

The term security blanket was popularized in the Peanuts
Peanuts

Peanuts is a print syndication daily strip and Sunday strip comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000 , continuing in reruns afterward....
 comic strip
Comic strip

A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story.Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist, and many such strips are published on a recurring basis in newspapers and on the Internet....
 created by Charles M. Schulz
Charles M. Schulz

Charles Monroe Schulz was an United Statesn cartoonist best known worldwide for his Peanuts comic strip....
, who gave such a blanket to his character Linus van Pelt
Linus van Pelt

Linus van Pelt is a character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The best friend of Charlie Brown, Linus is also the younger brother of Lucy van Pelt and older brother of Rerun van Pelt....
, but the terms comfort object
Comfort object

A comfort object is an item used to provide psychology comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations or at bedtime for small children. Though many toddlers prefer a teddy bear or doll, a stuffed animal, a favorite blanket, a toy such as a dump truck, or even a cell phone could be a comfort object at some stages, as the notion is that t...
 and security object are also used by professionals and academics. The most common popular name is blanky (sometimes fuzzy), with terms including wubby (popularized by the 1983 film Mr. Mom
Mr. Mom

Mr. Mom is a 1983 comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti and written by John Hughes about a stay-at-home dad. It stars Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Jeffrey Tambor, Ann Jillian, Christopher Lloyd, and Martin Mull....
) and wink.

English psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott
Donald Winnicott

Donald Woods Winnicott was a pediatrician and psychoanalyst....
 spoke of transitional object
Transitional object

In human childhood development, a transitional object is something, usually a physical object, which takes the place of the mother-child bond....
s, loosely equivalent to the security blanket. Stuffed animal
Stuffed animal

A stuffed animal is toy animal sewn from cloth, plush, or other textiles, and stuffed with straw, beans, plastic pellets, cotton, synthetic fibers, or other similar materials....
s are sometimes carried in emergency vehicle
Emergency vehicle

An emergency vehicle is any vehicle that is designated and authorized to respond to an emergency. These vehicles are usually operated by designated agencies, often part of the government, but also run by charities, non-governmental organizations and some commercial companies....
s and police patrol cars, to be given to children involved in an accident or traumatic event, to provide them comfort, thus filling a similar role.

Research with children on this subject was performed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a Public University research university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, United States. As Wisconsin's urban university, UW-Milwaukee is one of the two doctoral granting public research universities in the state....
 by Richard H. Passman and his associates. Among other findings, they showed that security blankets are appropriately named — they actually do give security to those children attached to them. Along with other positive benefits, having a security blanket available can help children adapt to new situations, aid in their learning, and adjust to physicians' and clinical psychologists' evaluations. Passman's research also points out that there is nothing abnormal about being attached to them. In the United States, about 60% of children have at least some attachment to a security object.

See also

  • Comfort object
    Comfort object

    A comfort object is an item used to provide psychology comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations or at bedtime for small children. Though many toddlers prefer a teddy bear or doll, a stuffed animal, a favorite blanket, a toy such as a dump truck, or even a cell phone could be a comfort object at some stages, as the notion is that t...
  • Transitional object
    Transitional object

    In human childhood development, a transitional object is something, usually a physical object, which takes the place of the mother-child bond....


Further reading

  • Creature Comforts, People and Their Security Objects by Barbara Collopy O'Halloran and Photographed by Betty Udesen.