A Fascination with Stickers
To say that Hannah, 5, likes stickers is an understatement. Hannah likes stickers the way Tommy Lee likes tattoos. Stickers have been her consuming passion for three years.
"The joy is in applying them," says her mom, Jessa. "One Christmas she piled layers a quarter-inch thick on her cheeks."
Hannah also likes to decorate walls, furniture, and her parents. But not sticker books. Forget sticker books. "It's not about collecting," says Jessa.
"There's a sensory attraction because they stick on any surface," says John Funk, who teaches courses in early childhood at the University of Utah. "And it's something that children can do themselves. They don't need adult help."
Stickers also come off, and being able to change the look of things is especially fun. Don't like that sticker on your cheek? Move it to your knee. Plus, a sticker may double as a sort of medal since many kids get stickers for good behavior.
Whatever the appeal, Hannah remains a sticker stalker. Jessa has learned to keep postage stamps out of reach and buy Band-Aids only in tan.
Recently at the grocery store, "Hannah was coveting the stickers the cashier uses to show the milk is purchased," her mom says. "So he gave her one."
"Paid" was promptly posted on the sticker place of honor: the bridge of Hannah's nose.
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