Hey imperfect mums, just a question if this is normal or not as my first two were not like this, my lo is 20 MO and she is sooo clingy, she has to be sitting on me all day, if I doing something she grabs my hands and puts them on her face and I must leave them there for however long she feels like it if I move them she screams and scratches at me or pulls my hair. Even in bed I have to have a hand on her in the bath I have to have both hands in the water with her, eating I have to feed her, she wasn’t like this a few months ago. She’ll only sleep in my arms during the day and co sleeps at night. I’m a single mum to 3 and my other two are getting not attention as she and pushes Her way in if they so much as sit next to me, is this just a phase I’m going crazy here 😂
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Every child is different! Some super clingy, others super independent. Are you able to put her into daycare one or two days a week, so you can have that day or two to get stuff done without her hanging off you (assuming you don’t work) as well as having time after school to focus on your older children before picking her up. If not daycare, do you have a friend or family member who can take her for a few hours so you can have some timeout as well as spend time with your older children? When she hurts you tell her to ‘Stop! Ouch! That hurts mummy’. Sit her down somewhere safe and walk away for a minute or two. When you go back to her get her to kiss the ouch better and give you a hug. She’s not too young to start learning she can’t hurt other people when she doesn’t get her way. Also it won’t hurt her if you walk away for a couple of minutes when she has a tantrum. As long as she is safe, walk away to give yourself a minute or two to calm yourself then go back. Try getting her to help you with age appropriate jobs, so she’s not feeling as though she’s being ignored while you get things done. If she’s occupied nearby she’s not as likely to be demanding attention. If she pushes the older children out of the way when they sit beside you, move her to your other side and tell her ‘they can have a cuddle with mummy too’.