One Sassy Doctor: Transitional Objects

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Transitional Objects—Uses

In our last two posts, we explored the origination of the term “transitional object” and some of the foundations of Dr. Winnicott’s research. As a refresher, transitional objects (also referred to today as comfort objects) are those special items babies and toddlers (and some grown-ups!) associate special meaning with.

In learning more about the research and writings of Dr. Winnicott, we learned that it is the use of the object that he focused on rather than what the object actually was. In other words, some children have a pacifier, some a blankie, some a soft toy—yet most use these self soothing capacities in a similar manner. We also learned the connection between the transitional object and the mother's breast stressing the smells and textures babies gravitate to.

The use of toys & comfort objects gives us inspiration at Sassy to educate and grow with our baby and toddlers. Our toys are developmentally minded and developed to match the stages baby is at. The One Sassy Doctor blogs are all about the foundation behind what play and growth is all about. Dr. Winnicott’s wisdom on how babies and toddlers “use” their transitional objects models the developmental staging we use as toys are designed. We provide you with education on the motor skills and language skills of babies here on the One Sassy Doctor blog to enrich your experiences with our products.

In our next post, we’ll end our series on transitional objects by exploring the three main emotional phases tied to transitional objects. See if you can guess what they are by sharing with us on Facebook!