A Clingy Child

My kids are all VERY close in age. This has been such a great thing in so many ways, but it can also get difficult in others.

One of the issues I am dealing with between my two youngest children is jealousy.
My little guy that is about to turn 3 is VERY jealous of baby sister who is 17 months. If I pick her up, he gets mad and wants me to pick him up as well.

He can get pretty clingy and I am sure some of you have had to deal with the same thing.
The best way to help a child to get over this is NOT to pick them up.
I simply hunch down till we are both eye to eye……..on his level. I tell him how much I love him, give him a hug and then ask him to help me do something……….anything.

In the Dictionary, The word CLINGY means:
Emotionally dependent. Too dependent on the company or emotional support of other people.

By getting down on his level, I love him like a “big boy” and then help him to act as such by giving him a big boy job to do. (Which will help him feel emotionally independant)
By picking him up, I am only keeping him at that baby level………and he will keep acting that way to get my attention.