Reply to Clingy toddler cries all day. Help!

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Reply to "Clingy toddler cries all day. Help!"

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[quote=Anonymous]I think you should talk to the daycare about how they handle her. It’s clearly separation anxiety, which isn’t your fault. Kids are wired to be anxious if they are separated from their main caregiver. I think she is probably in a pattern that you will have to break. This might mean you leaving the house with another child and leaving her dad to carry on without you, so she can start to recognize that he is also able to keep her safe when you aren’t there. You can go out to a movie or something after four. It won’t be fun for the dad, but he can deal with it to break the cycle.

You also have to stop nursing, because you are the only one who can do that, and in her mind, that’s linked with survival. Others need to give her a bottle or sippy cup. You might have to say “bye-bye” to nursing and only offer a bottle.

When you try to extinguish a behavior, it gets worse before it stops, but don’t give in and nurse again or let her cling to you. You might have to have a family meeting with the whole family after she is in bed to outline the problem and how everyone can help. She will tantrum, and everyone will have to be prepared with headphones. Don’t leave her to cry on her own, as you don’t want her to feel abandoned, but don’t nurse anymore. She needs new ways to find comfort. Get her a big teddy that is her new comfort toy, and dress him in a T-shirt that smells like you, and offer him to her while you cut back on nursing so she transfers association to him (or her).[/quote]

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