Do you really think that blanket is going to save you?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

We were playing the game where Mommy was the monster, and my daughter and I were running away and hiding from her.

We went upstairs, she grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the bed. “Quick! Get under!”

And then she pulled the blankets over us.

After a moment I ask “Do you think this is going to save us?”

“It’s ok. We’re safe.”

Of course now we were blind. We could not see where our enemy was, but she could clearly see the two lumps squirming unde the blankets giggling.

How best to explain this tactical disadvantage to my three year old?

Just then, of course Mommy pounces on us, and we’re trapped in the blankets and tortured and tickled.

Nevertheless, diving under a blanket seems to impart some feeling of security and invulnerability to my daughter.

She once knocked a glass off of a table. It broke, and I yelled as she approached the shards barefoot.

She ran and hid under a blanket.

When she does something wrong she hides under a blanket.

As far as I can tell, every single time my daughter has gone to hide under a blanket it has backfired badly on her.

There was that time we were laying hide and seek, and she hid under a blanket in the middle of the floor. I grabbed her leg and held her upside down, but she kept that blanket wrapped around her as if it was going to help.

Monsters too. If she hears a noise and gets scared at night she hides under the blanket and yells for help.

I can’t imagine the logic. Say, it’s Friday the 13th part 22. Is jason going to come into the room, see the heroine hiding under a blanket and say “Oh, I guess I can’t stab her creatively, can I?”

2

It’s the old “if I can’t see you, you can’t see me” thing, **Scylla. ** They believe it. And it’s fun to go along with it. I like to pretend that I really can’t see my kids when they’re under the blankets. They think it’s a riot! :smiley:

3

Yeah, it kind of goes along with the “if I put my hands over my eyes, you can’t see me!” thing.

And why do you think they’re called security blankets? Better than a bouncer at a biker bar, I say. :smiley:

4

Well, actually, the blanket thing DOES help against monsters - after all, has one ever really gotten your little girl?

5

Syclla, you should read the “Dreams: what was your most terrifying nightmare?” thread for my dream (scroll 2/3rds down).
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=150334 I don’t think that we entirely grow out of the hopes that covering ourselves with blankets will keep the mosters away.

6

I’ve got to agree with Khadaji here. Blankets are 100% guaranteed monster-proof. Scary shadow on the wall? Rustling noise from the hallway? Get under the blanket! It will provide complete protection from all monster species, with the added bonus of being comfy, warm, and easily transported.

Now, I agree that a blanket is probably not the best defense in case of, say, a hostage situation, but against monsters it is the ultimate in home security.

7

Doesn’t she know that that technique only works against the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal?

Ah, childish innocence.

8

The other thing is in Hide and seek. She needs to realize that screaming ang giggling works against her.

For example, I will walk into the room and yell “Where’s the baby? Is she under the bed?”

From the closet “No she’s not! She’s hiding! You can’t find her!”
It’s another tactical error.

9

Kids perceive things differently from adults. I’ll have to ask my wife, who took some Dev Psych classes when she was studying to be a teacher, but I believe up to a certain age children actually think something no longer exists if they can’t see it.

There are other interesting perceptual misconceptions that kids hang onto, even in the face of indisputable evidence. The one that sticks in my mind most clearly is the narrow container and the wide container. Kids will say that the narrow container holds more water, because it’s taller. Even when you pour the water from one container to the other, they’ll insist that there’s more water in the narrow container.

10

My favorite was my brother’s Hide and Seek tactic: Stand in the center of the room and cover your eyes. Although we had lots of fun–he would giggle while I hunted under the couch, behind the shelves, looking everywhere for him! If he couldn’t see me, how could I see him?

I seem to remember that babies don’t understand object permanence until they’re a little older (1?), but I can see how a blanket is comforting against monsters and ghosts.

11

One more vote for “If they can’t see me than I can’t see them.” Even after it’s been pretty much accepted (I like to talk, so what :D)

Yes, for a period of a couple months children believe that if it isn’t possible to see it in the then and now it doesn’t exist.

12

I remember seeing an old film clip from the '40s or 50s. It was a ‘training’ film on what to do in the event of a nuclear explosion. The film showed a family on a pic-nic and suddenly the mushroom cloud appears in the distance. What does the family do? They dive under the blanket they had laid out on the grass. I’ve always wondered exactly what the blanket was supposed to protect them from?

13

You should buy her one of those monster snorkles for Christmas. It lets you breath fresh air while keeping you body completely under the blanket with no parts vulnerable to attack. I use mine all the time and haven’t been successfully attacked once.

14

I still cling to the idea that nothing can hurt me when I’m under the blankets… Especially when quelling equally unfounded and paranoia-like fears. Fighting fire with fire…

Something about the security of feeling something between you and the outside, maybe? Or maybe it’s just the warmth. Just a WAG.

15

But what you do get is passers by who think it’s funny to piss down the tube.

16

I like to sit on “invisible” kids on the couch and complain loudly that the couch is too lumpy.

17

Does the blanket work against the [Elaine Bettis] Boogedy Man [/Elaine Bettis]

18

When these people who use blankets for protection grow up, they become the people who think a toilet seat is riddled with virulent disease and the way to protect themselves from it is with a flimsy piece of tissue paper shaped like a toilet seat.

19

Hey! I’m 19 and still use blankets for protection. I also found another use for baby blankets…they can wrap an ice bag and you can tie them around your head! :slight_smile:

20

With the liberal application of protection from evil, mage armor and numerous warding spells, the Blanky of Protection is an important magical item if you desire to ensure the safety of your young ones.

Similarly, a Blanky of Comfort can keep even extremely young children calm and managable under duress.
- Advice administered for free by Carmody the Mage