Latest / Whys & Finds / Why Toddlers Take Their Plush Buddy to Bed
Transcript
- Ben: Teeth are brushed. The book is read. The light is about to go off. And then: "Where's Dino?" Nobody is getting tucked in until one particular plush is found and lying on the pillow. Ellie: Welcome to Whys & Finds. I'm Ellie. Ben: And I'm Ben. Ellie: Today: why do toddlers take their plush buddy to bed? Ellie: Here's what I'd do: treat the buddy as one step of the bedtime routine, not a problem to fix. That's also a big part of the why. Bedtime goes in the same order every night, and the buddy is one of the steps. It's soft, it's familiar, and it's still there after you leave the room. Ben: So the buddy is a step. Like brushing teeth. Ellie: A step the child picked. That's the difference. Ben: Where does the "same order" part come from? Ellie: Raising Children Network is an Australian parenting site, supported by the Australian Government. It has a page on bedtime routines. It describes a bedtime routine as a series of activities "that happen in the same order each night." Ben: Same order. So if the buddy was there last night, it has to be there tonight. Ellie: That's how it goes. When one step is missing, a toddler notices. Ben: Loudly. Ellie: Usually, yes. Ben: What else is in that order, according to them? Ellie: The page gives examples. First, "pre-bed tasks, like having a bath and brushing teeth." Then "quiet, enjoyable activities with you, like reading or listening to a story." And this one: "You and your child have a cuddle and a kiss goodnight." Ben: A cuddle and a kiss goodnight. And then the grown-up leaves. Ellie: Right. Everything else in the routine ends when you walk out. The buddy is the one thing that stays in the bed. Ben: Okay. Is there anything about the plush itself? Or just the routine? Ellie: The American Academy of Pediatrics has a page on what it calls transitional objects. A blanket, a bear, a plush. It says you may want to help your child choose one "and build it into their nighttime ritual." Ben: So having one at bedtime is fine. Ellie: That's what the page says about these objects in general. Any blanket or bear. Not one toy in particular. Ben: Here's my question, though. There's usually a whole shelf of stuffed animals. Which one ends up in the bed? Ellie: The child decides. And it's not always the one you'd guess. We read more than 3,000 of our Amazon reviews. And in some, the plush from the Naturally KIDS backpack goes to bed. Ben: A backpack, in bed? Ellie: Just the plush. It comes out of the bag. One buyer wrote about a niece: "It's great that the plush comes out of the backpack because then she can sleep with it!" Ben: So the bag goes on the hook, and the plush goes under the blanket. Ellie: Something like that. Another buyer heard it from a niece's parents. She "only wants to sleep with her unicorn now, throws all her other stuffed animals off the bed." Ben: All the others. Off the bed. That's a clear vote. Ellie: It is. And a grandparent wrote that it "quickly became both her favorite daytime accessory and night time cuddle friend." Ben: Day and night. Ben: Okay, a practical problem. If the plush sleeps in the bed, where is it in the morning? Ellie: In the bed. Or under it. So give it a morning job too. It goes back on the bag before you leave. One grandparent described exactly that. He likes to "sleep with his dinosaur and then put it back on his back pack and take it with him." Ben: Bed at night, bag in the morning. Ellie: And in between, it's for play. A parent wrote that their son "loves taking the dinosaur out to play with." The dinosaur sits at the table for snack. It goes for a walk down the hall. It gets its own turn when you read the story. Ben: It gets a turn? Ellie: Your child holds it up to see the pictures. That's a game too. Ben: Okay. So what is this backpack, exactly? Ellie: One practical option: Naturally KIDS makes a small backpack with a removable plush animal on the front. Your child takes it out for a hug, plays with it, and puts it back. Room for a snack and a treasure. There's a T-Rex, a unicorn, a teddy bear and other animals too. Ben: And after a few weeks of bed, breakfast and the park? Ellie: It's a soft plush that stays soft and holds its shape hug after hug. Ben: Okay. So the plush on the Naturally KIDS backpack does the bed at night and the bag in the day. Ellie: In the reviews we read, yes. Ben: Can I push back on one thing? You said the child picks. I'd pick for them. One plush just for bed, and it never leaves the house. It never gets lost at the park, and bedtime never stops for a search. Ellie: I see why. But I'd keep my point. You can offer one. You can't make them choose it. Remember the niece who threw every other stuffed animal off the bed. Ben: So my bed-only bear ends up on the floor. Ellie: It might. If your child does pick a bed-only friend, great. That one stays home. If they pick the one that travels, give it a fixed spot. In the bed at night, on the bag in the day. Then you always know where to look first. Ben: Fine. The kid picks. I just draw the map. Ellie: That's a good way to put it. Ellie: Now, a few different situations. If your child already has a bedtime favorite, keep it. That one can stay in the bed at home. Ben: Don't replace a friend who's doing the job. Ellie: Right. If they love a different animal, the same small backpack comes with a dog, a giraffe or a frog. Ben: And if the family asked for no more toys? Ellie: Then add to the routine, not to the shelf. A story they pick every night. Raising Children Network lists reading or listening to a story among the quiet activities with you. Ben: And if they don't want anything in the bed at all? Ellie: Then that's their routine. The cuddle and the kiss goodnight still count. Ben: Okay, let me see if I've got it. One: Raising Children Network says a bedtime routine happens in the same order each night. The buddy is one of the steps. Two: the routine has a cuddle and a kiss goodnight. Then you leave, and the buddy stays. Three: the American Academy of Pediatrics says you may want to help your child choose one and build it into their nighttime ritual. Four: in our reviews, families write about kids who take the plush from the bag to bed, and play with it in the day. And five: the child picks the buddy. You give it a spot. Ellie: You've got it. Ellie: That's it for today. A reminder: the voices in this episode are AI-generated. Whys & Finds is made by Naturally KIDS. Ellie: That's today's why. See you at the next find.