Remember Linus from Charles Schulz "Peanuts"? Well, he is an infamous character famed for carrying around a blanket. Everywhere he went; Linus always drags his blanket along with him. He curls up with this blanket whenever things got tough. The blanket which Linus viewed as a security object is essential in the building the emotional support system in children. A transitional object is an item that provides psychological comfort for children during special and unique occasions. When young children are left by their guardians or care provider, they tend to be upset. As a result, the young ones need an object that gives them the much-desired comfort. Most children have a particular object that provides them with the comfort they much desire. It could not be a blanket like in Linus' case, but there is an item which they give them solace. This is always their source of comfort and inner satisfaction.
Examples of Transitional Objects
Dolls and toys come in as transitional objects. Mostly, dolls are associated with the female children whereas toys are related to male gender. The way they care for these objects is a clear indication of the kind of comfort the children derive from these objects. Some kids, especially girls go ahead to give them names and even go to the extent of clothing them. When someone tries to do anything bad to the object, for example stepping on it, they immediately react by crying. This is because the child finds it a violation of their comfort, something which cannot be taken lightly. The influence of these objects on children is also evident when calming a baby. A crying baby can quickly stop crying once they are given a toy or a doll.
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Further, another example of transitional objects includes stuffed animals, blankets, and bottles. A child can cling on to a particular bottle, and they will always want to have no other bottle other than that one. Like Linus, others find their comfort in blankets. They carry their blankets along with them to wherever places they go, cuddling themselves up from time to time.
Role of transitional objects in emotional development
The biggest question on everyone's mind, however, is how such ordinary objects exhibit extraordinary power (Yakomin, 2016). However, as Yakomin (2016) observes, the transitional object is not largely the greatest influence but rather the stage of development the child is in. Significantly, transitional items play a significant role in the emotional development of children. The obtaining of a transition object is the first element of creativity a child shows (Schwartz, 2012). This is attributed to the way they can create a sense of reality from nothing. The object they choose is usually something that easily blends with them. They do not just select any object from a random choice.
Further, transitional objects break the dependence of a child on their mother or guardian (Goddard, 2014). It is clearly known that children obtain the sense of belonging from their mothers since childhood. This kind of bond is hardly breakable during the early stages of the child's growth. The child does not easily entertain other people but finds real comfort in the hands of the mother. Finding an object with a provision of a hidden sense of satisfaction is what makes them break from this bond. It creates independence of the child. From then, the child can relate to other people freely without developing a sense of lack of comfort.
Additionally, transitional objects provide the children with an omnipotent feel ( Puckett, Wittmer, & Petersen, 2012) . This means that the child tends to develop a sense of power within their inner self. They believe that they can achieve things and do everything. This is seen as they start playing social responsibilities that they see the people around them do. To them, whatever an adult does is also seemingly doable by them. The omnipotent feeling derived from these objects tends to develop the child's interaction with the world (Goddard, 2014). For instance, kids who own dolls tend to speak to them or even cuddle. This relation with dolls boosts their interactions with the immediate world as they obtain emotional feelings from it. At times, a kid punishes their doll when it presumably offends them. It helps them to develop a sense of punishable and unpunishable deeds.
Role of the Childhood Professional
A childhood professional helps prepare a child between 6-8 years for the oncoming puberty stage. At this age, little interactions occur between the opposite genders. Children often prefer to interact with those of similar sex and maintain a sense of separation from the opposite gender. However, a child at this age is at the onset of puberty. If not previously informed of the expected growth and developments in their bodies, they might have a hard time going through it. Moreover, most parents are uncomfortable talking about sexual matters to their young ones ( Puckett, Wittmer, & Petersen, 2012) . This brings out the need of a well-trained child professional to handle the impending need of educating the child.
Also, the professional can recommend what types of food are suitable for the child (Schneider & Lounsbery, 2008). So as to ensure constant physical development, the child's nutrition should favor his/her age period and the growing needs of the body's systems. A childhood professional plays a great role in educating parents on what to and what not to give a child. A special diet is thereby initiated, and this consequently leads to the physical development of the child.
Further, professionals help children to develop object control skills (Schneider & Lounsbery, 2008). At this age, children start developing preferences for certain specific objects and materials. The professionals guide them in developing this manipulation of objects to object control. As they come across and establish interest in objects, they smoothly end up learning how to handle other things.
A childhood professional additionally provides advice on ideal positioning during the waking and sleeping periods of children. The position of a child either during sleeping or waking up is essential in the development of a child's motor skills (Pin, Eldridge, & Galea, 2007). It is therefore equally important for parents to know the role that optimal positioning plays in a child's physical development and put into practice to avoid future complications.
Lastly, they engage children in play activities to help promote their motor development. The professionals engage children in some different and uniquely selected games and activities. Games that include running and playing contribute to improving the coordination of muscles in a child (Case-Smith & Kuhaneck, 2008).
Implementation and modelling of the roles of childhood professionals
Education on puberty should be done to children whose age range between 6 to 8 years. They should be made aware of the sexual growth that they are about to experience in the nearby future. According to a research by Sooki et al. (2016), it was found that children with prior information on puberty had an easy time going through the phase. However, it was found that most parents forego offering such informational knowledge as they assume that the children are premature for such talks.
The children should also be put on a nutritional diet. The professionals should as recommend the foods they eat. Research has shown that a balanced diet is essential for the growth and development of a child. Children whose diets are unbalanced are prone to different complications either in their immediate or future life (“The Importance of a Balanced Diet for Children,” 2016). Minerals and vitamins are especially important to a child. For instance, calcium is crucial for developing healthy bones and teeth.
Again, children should be exposed to objects to help them develop object control skills. Schneider & Lounsbery (2008) observed that children with transitional objects acquire the ability to handle stuff at a tender age. This is because their hands get used to toying around with whatever object they acquire, providing a mechanism for limb development.
Furthermore, attention should be placed on the positioning of children as they sleep or wake up. Research done in 2008 showed that the sleeping position of an individual primarily contributes to their physical well-being. Additionally, it was also deduced that children at the age of 6 through 8 have fragile bones. Some young children picked up randomly developed poor physical orientation due to poor sleeping positions ( Puckett, Wittmer, & Petersen, 2012) . Those whose parents ensured that they sleep in right positions were physically fit and even developed a good body posture.
Play should always be emphasized in any young child. Industrialism is imperative, especially when obtained at more immature stages. A group of research professionals observed some toddlers for quite some time. Some of the toddlers were playful while others were not. When a clinical analysis was performed on this two different categories of toddlers, it was found that the funny ones were much more healthy compared to those not playful (Case-Smith & Kuhaneck, 2008). Their limbs were also far much stronger.
In conclusion, transitional objects play a very crucial role in the development of a child. Even though their position seems not clearly articulated, they are the background creators of many elements of a child's growth. Parents should therefore not be worried that their children are finding solace in an object. Great fear should come in if they do not exhibit such a trait at their early stages. These objects play a role deeper than the ones most guardians play.
References
“The importance of a balanced diet for children.” Cenovis. (2016). Retrieved from https://cenovis.com.au/the-importance-of-a-balanced-diet-for-children/
Case-Smith, J., & Kuhaneck, H. M. (2008). Play preferences of typically developing children and children with developmental delays between ages 3 and 7 years. Occupation, Participation and Health, (OTJR) 28 , 19-29.
Goddard, C. (2014). More than just teddy bears: the significance of transitional objects in an early childhood classroom. Psychology Today . Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-guest-room/201407/more-just-teddy-bears.
Pin, T., Eldridge, B., & Galea, M. P. (2007). A review of the effects of sleep position, play position, and equipment use on motor development in infants. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 49 , 858-867.
Puckett, M. B., Wittmer, D. S., & Petersen, S. H. (2012). The young child : Development from prebirth through age eight . Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education.
Schneider, H., & Lounsbery, M. (2008). Setting the stage for lifetime physical activity in early childhood. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 79 (6), 19-23.
Schwartz, A. (2012). The transitional objects and self-control. Mental Help . Retrieved from https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/the-transitional-objects-and-self-comfort/.
Sooki, Z., Shariati, M., Chaman, R., Khosravi, A., Effatpanah, M., Keramat, A. (2016). The role of a mother in informing girls about puberty: a meta-analysis study. NCBI. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4915208/.
Yakomin, L. (2016). Baby’s transitional object: why baby is so attached to that blanket, toy, or bottle. Parents. Retrieved from http://www.parents.com/baby/development/separation-anxiety/babys-transitional-object/.
