When my son was 2 months old, my sister gave us an Elmo puppet. Elmo quickly became his favorite cuddly toy, perhaps because we were able to make Elmo talk to him. In time, Elmo became a living, talking, laughing, thinking part of the family. My son would look my husband or me in the eye and say, "Elmo.." - expecting us to answer in the Elmo voice, puppet in hand. He has always known that Elmo is a puppet and hence not real, but we make Elmo real for him I guess.

At any rate, Elmo has been the biggest help in getting to the real truth of what our son is feeling. When he had his first nightmare, he was too afraid to tell me what it was about, but was not too afraid to whisper it to Elmo. On his first day of school, Elmo was the one who he was able to describe his fears to, and after our car accident, it was Elmo to whom he could open up. Having an Elmo has given us deep insight into our son, and has provided him with a caring, compassionate friend who is always there for him no matter what. Every parent needs an Elmo!!