A transitional object is any toy, stuffed animal, or blanket to which a child becomes attached and which he uses to comfort himself as he gradually makes the transition to self-comfort rather than being dependent upon his parents for comfort.
An object, often a blanket or stuffed animal, that a child becomes attached to and turns to for comfort.
An object chosen by an infant for self-soothing and anxiety-reduction.
Donald Woods Winnicott (1896-1971) introduced the concepts of transitional objects and transitional experience in reference to a particular developmental sequence. With ‘transition’ Winnicott means an intermediate developmental phase between the psychic and external reality. In this ‘transitional space’ we can find the ‘transitional object’.