Our son has an overnight at school tonight, all the 4th and 5th graders “camping” in the gym, playing games, reading and watching movies. It’s called “Friday Night Live”, and the planning for it goes on most of the year. He went off this evening as excited as a nuclear powered jumping bean, bearing his sleeping bag, overnight bag, pillow and blanket. Among those things, in plain sight and unremarkable, were his comfort objects.
He has several things he usually wants at night: a pillow I made for him out of Pooh fabric, a Pooh quilt, and a rather large stuffed Garfield-the-cat. He wanted to take Garfield, but we were worried that he’d be teased for still wanting a “lovey”, even though both my own memory and the parents I talk to tells me that more 10 year olds still have them than not. Of course, most of them won’t admit to it, but that’s another story. Then we read the rules for the event. Among them was “No games or toys of any kind will be permitted. Any which are brought will be sent home with the parent.” He figured out at once that Garfield would be included in the ban, and was much distressed. So we were talking about it, and in the course of the discussion he mentioned that the reason he likes Garfield is that he’s a cat, and “that way I still have cats around me.”
Cats? It doesn’t have to be Garfield in particular, it just needs to be cats? I can take care of that! So I went and got fabric with an all-over print of cats. A smallish (about 1/2 yard) piece of it went to cover a throw pillow, which kidlet far prefers to standard pillows with pillow cases. (I make the covers so they can be easily removed and washed.) Then another 5 feet got sewn to a piece of green fleece, making a blanket about the size of a large couch throw. I could sleep under it reasonably, so it’s certainly large enough for a 10 year old. So he can use the sleeping bag for padding and sleep under his blanket with its matching pillow. He has his security felines, right there under his eyes and hands. And best of all, because they aren’t obvious things like baby blankets or stuffed toys, no one’s likely to tease him about them. I’m rather proud of that solution.