Daughter prefers dad

[EAEO]

my Daughter turned two last month and for months now has shown a real preference for her dad. I work PT and when we’re just together it’s ok (although she often asks where he is). When it’s all of us she loves cuddling and climbing on her dad while saying things like ‘I want to bite/pinch mummy’. On the occasions that she’s actually tried to hurt me I’ve stopped her and said that I can’t let her hurt me but that I’m here. She then immediately wants a cuddle from her dad.

I really just don’t see how to make it better and can’t help but feel it’s something I’ve done/not done. Everything I’ve read is of mums saying the opposite, that their baby only wants them, which kind of makes me feel even worse! Has anyone had something like this?

YANBU.

My daughter adores her dad. She's gone through long periods of telling me she only wants daddy and she loves him more. She also tells me she wants daddy for a full week on her own and wants me to go to work.

I know exactly why it is. I do the day to day school run, bathing, schoolwork , hobbies and friends. Boring stuff.
He puts tunes on, bounces her up and down for half an hour and he's the bees knees. It can be annoying! I preferred my dad for a time when I was young, even though he didn't spend much time with us as he was working. He seems a 'novelty'.

It won't always be this way. Try not to let it bother you and enjoy the downtime if you can. I know it's painful sometimes. She probably feels totally safe with you and is trying out her emotions.

I can update and give you some hope 😁
My DS is now nearly 2 and since about 17months he started to massively calm down with the over the top needing of dh. Last few weeks he's been asking me to do more and more. Today he even was saying to dh 'mummy do it!! No daddy!' To push him on the swing and pick him up 😳

He does still prefer dh, every morning that I wake him up his usual first words are Daddy!! Daddy!! all excited, but no, it's just Mummy 🙄😬
But compared to him at 7 months to 12 months when he would have a complete meltdown if dh left the room, or if i took him off dh etc, he's a dream 😄
So I'd say for me with ds, it was 6 months to 17 months that was the worst, which is a massive improvement compared to DD2 (see previous post above about her!)

@Evenin awww that's good and I'm sure made you feel way better! I did read that babys can't show preference for more than one person at a time, or something along those lines. So if they show favour towards a particular parent they only have capacity for one!

Its perfectly normal.