Don't know if this is a 'problem' as such, but it's driving me mad! I have a nearly 4 year old DS1, and a 13 month old DS2. In a lot of ways I'm very lucky - they largely adore each other, and DS1 would never deliberately hurt the baby (the couple of times he has, by accident, he's been far more upset than DS2). However, he just won't give the baby any space at all - he's always clambering over him, or grabbing him, or hugging him (but not letting go) or waving things in his face or putting toys on top of him. I'm not quite sure what's behind this - I think it's a mixture of genuine affection, jealousy and attention-seeking. Whatever - I find myself saying 'leave him alone' or 'give him some space' about 100 times a day. DS2 put up with it relatively well to start with, only whinging when he was getting really annoyed, but now he's learning how to manipulate me himself; so as soon as DS1 starts prodding or grabbing him, he puts on a drama queen act and cries or shouts straight away to get my attention. It's doing my head in! I find it particularly irritating because DS1 hates people invading his personal space, and is only physically intimate with family and very close friends.
So, tell me - is this common, and is there anything I can do to manage it better?
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Behaviour/development
3.11 year old won't leave the baby alone
3 replies
ElusiveMoose · 13/09/2011 09:15
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