When to lose the lovie?

My boys sleep with blankets. They have since day one and continue to still use them at night. They get played with, but generally are used for night time only. There are the occasionally stuffed animals or creepy baby that make their way to the bed too. The older boy has got into the bad habit of getting out of bed minutes after putting him down. This usually makes me pretty mad as it's some lame reason why he is out of bed. So tonight I told him before I turned out the light that I would take away his blanket if he got out of bed. Sure enough, 2 minutes later, he comes down stairs. So, being the parent I am, stuck to my words and took the blanket. Instantly he is crying. "I can't sleep without it" he sobs. I send him to bed without the blanket. It got me thinking, at what age do you take away the blanket? I was almost 8, my brothers told me that I was getting baptized soon and I couldn't have a blanket anymore. So I put it away in the closet. It was a rough, but I did it. I still slept with stuffed animals that I tucked in every night. I think I was 12 when I stopped tucking in the animals. Most web sites I came across said to let the kids keep their blankets as long as they are not in the way. They don't leave the house sort of thing. The boys keep theirs on their bed under a pillow. I did go up to Jonas and explained why I took away his blanket and hopefully that tomorrow night will be better. He understood. And he will sleep just fine tonight. So my question to you is, does your kid sleep with a lovie or have you taken it away? Did they give it up on their own or am I allowing my kids to say childish by keeping their blankets?