Your 5-Year-Old: Brave new world

Brave new world

Beloved security objects may soon take a backseat in your child's life — or not. As kids gain confidence, fresh skills, and new friendships and activities outside of home, their reliance on blankies and teddy bears sometimes ends abruptly. Others cling to these old friends even as they venture into new waters. Both scenarios are developmentally normal now.
小馨漸漸長大，但是她還喜歡妞妞、巧虎、毛毛、小維妮嗎？目前看來，的確她現在比較少玩這些玩具了（不過她有時還是會幫毛毛及維妮熊蓋被子），我喜歡她玩這些玩具，這樣我知道她其實還活在小孩子的世界中、尚未長大。不過英文文字上說，這段期間不管小孩子玩不玩絨毛娃娃（或其他依存物），其實都是正常的如果繼續玩，就會持續，如果不玩了，也是一下子就不玩，消失得很快哩！

Your 5-year-old now
Is your child's beloved bunny or blanky, the one she used to drag all over town, spending more time at home? As your child becomes more independent, she may turn less to her favorite comfort object. She probably won't abandon it altogether, though.
沒錯！小馨最近比較少玩了，回去後試試看她是否想換掉一些玩具...哈！

Many kids hang on to their "loveys" for years — and return to them during stressful times or at bedtime. Other 5-year-olds remain publicly attached to their blankies whenever possible, and that's okay, too.

Most schools discourage loveys（心愛之物）, though, so if your child hasn't started kindergarten yet, give her a chance to adjust. Try initiating a rule like "Bunny can't leave the house."
小馨倒是不會將她的心愛之物帶去學校，大多數都是在車上陪著她去學校這段路，有次我問她是否要放進書包，她說老師說不准他們帶玩具去玩...所以她也很聽話，就讓玩具留在車上陪她。

One comfort object it's best not to hang onto is the thumb. Most dental experts prefer children be weaned from thumb-sucking by about age 5. Much beyond that can jeopardize the alignment of permanent teeth.唉~小馨沒有吸手指的習慣，但梓熏就有！也因此她現在的門牙也點爆爆的、不好看....記得她應該吸到6歲多吧！

Most thumb-suckers quit during the earliest school years, sometimes by day first and then later at night, too. But for a persistent minority, the habit is extremely hard to kick. If your child is one of them, try to create an atmosphere in which she'll want to stop on her own.

The more you nag and make a battle of it, the more stressed she becomes — and the more she turns to her thumb. The most common triggers of thumb-sucking are stress, boredom, and fatigue.
上面說當你愈想要小孩戒掉吸手指，小孩就愈會想要吸，而大多數吸手指的原因是因為壓力、無聊及疲勞（？）

Your life now
Though you may be eager to hear about your child's day, don't be surprised if sometimes she'd rather be alone. Think about her day from her perspective. If she goes to school, she has to follow the rules and be social. Add in being taken on errands, dealing with siblings, or being grilled about what she did all day, and a little downtime may be just what she needs.