Clingy Almost 3 Year Old

My son hid behind and clung to my leg for the first 5 years of his life. He's 13 now and it would be nice if I'd see him once in a while!

We went through the same thing, though. The wailing, the sleeping issues...I don't remember doing anything specific to ease daycare drop off, we just dealt with it and sometimes he had no choice but to wail. I couldn't lose my job because he wouldn't let me go. He doesn't remember any of this now and thinks it's funny he was such a tormented soul LOL

Does she have a security doll or blanket? We used to save my son's favorite toy for bed so he'd be excited to go to bed. It was a Fisher Price flashlight that had 3 light colors. He loved that thing...my husband would flash the green and call it Mr. Pickle and then the red light was Mr. Tomato and the white was Mr. Onion. He would say, "Time to go see Mr Pickles and Onion!" Mr. Pickles and Onion would all take turns saying goodnight to my husband and then "kick him out of the room" so they could talk to my son alone. It seems silly and I'm laughing recalling this but it worked! Maybe you can try and come up with a similar skit using stuffed animals?

Good luck to you, I know it's hard, you probably feel guilty. There's so much guilt in parenthood!

Hi J.
I do not deal with a cliny 2 year old but the potential is there for my 1yr old. He won't even go to his dad if im in the room.
Are you pregnant? My friends daughter did somthing similar and she wasnt nomaly cligy she took a test and found out she was pregnant. Also if you are going through somthing dificult or if your more stressed than usual then a who is more attached to you may feel your stressed and because they dont understand they become anxious and more cligy.
Well I hope that this helped. Good Luck-K.

J.,

It is very possible that it is seperation anxiety even at 2yrs 10months.My three year old went through this but thankfully it has now passed-he is now a very happy independant 10 year old.It appeared out of the blue and like you I questioned the reason why.Preschool was fine once I had left and he was a happy boy when I picked him up.I even called in during the morning to see for myself that he was content without him being aware that I was there.He was happily playing.If you can do this it might be an idea and will reassure you.

At three she is getting more aware and can sense any type of stress from both you and your husband in the morning.Leave plenty of time,even if it means getting up a little earlier.Some kids{like adults}need more sleep than others so this could be making the problem worse.Its so difficult while you are going through it but once you have checked out any source of problems remember that it will pass.

I used to work as a preschool teacher. Every child is different. This could be just a phase. Try things like notes in her lunch box & sending along some family photos. Ask the teacher if other children have tough drop off. She could be picking it from someone else.
As far as home goes do you have a set bedtime routine? If not she may need one for the time being. If so try to make small changes as you said bedtime. If you think they may have too much energy because of the daylight, take advantage of it. If you can get outside before/after dinner they can burn some of that energy and still get to bed at a reasonable time.

This too shall pass. Good luck!

I am going through the same thing with my son, who is the same age as your daughter. My pediatrician encouraged me to pay more attention to his "sleepy" cues rather than the clock to tell me it's bedtime. My son recently has been napping less as well. The days he has a nap he won't go to bed a minute before 9, no matter how much I try. Days with no nap, he's asleep at 7:30 in 5 minutes. I've been sitting with him in his room until he falls asleep, too. Some is 3yo behavior and some is that he's not tired. He also has recently been coming into our bed in the middle of the night. I feel your pain! Good luck!