transitional object
Child's security blanket
A transitional object is something—typically a blanket, stuffed animal, or soft toy—that a young child becomes emotionally attached to as a source of comfort, especially during separation from caregivers or at bedtime.
The term comes from psychoanalysis, where it describes the child's first possession that isn't part of their own body or their mother: He still sleeps with his transitional object, a threadbare stuffed rabbit.
The concept extends loosely to any comfort object that eases anxiety during change.
- security blanketSoothing attachment object
- teddy bearSoft ursine plaything
- loveyPet name or comfort item
- attachment theoryStudy of emotional bonds
- identificationEstablishing who someone is
developmental psychology · comfort · internalization · emotional regulation · projection · substitution · play therapy · identity formation · letting go · growing out of · coping · early childhood · threadbare · stuffed animal · worn edges · bedtime · clutching · familiar
- baby sleepcrib, bassinet, swaddle, swaddling, nap
- infant developmentbabbling, developmental milestones, crawling, first steps, developmental delay
- object relationsMelanie Klein, splitting, introjection, internalization, idealization
- child psychotherapyplay therapy, Melanie Klein, art therapy, sand tray, sandplay
transitional objectmother
Female parent
parent · caregiver · primary caregiver · secure base · father
object, transition, transitions, transitional, transitioned, transitioning