the.com/transitional objects
the teddy bear doing the emotional labor of a therapist, for free, at age two.
means an object like a blanket or stuffed toy that helps a child cope with separation from a parent by symbolically standing in for them.
from coined in 1951 by pediatrician and psychoanalyst donald winnicott, who noticed infants clinging to blankets and toys as a bridge between total dependence on mother and the scary discovery that the world exists separately from them.
winnicott called itthe first not-me possession
not about the objectit is about the soothing it represents
survives washing badlyparents learn to buy backup duplicates
adults keep versionssee rings, hoodies, worn phone cases