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2.5 yr old pushchair refuser - how has he learnt to be so stubborn???

2 replies

RubyrooUK · 12/01/2013 15:06

DS is 2.5. He is lovely and often adorable, very cuddly, funny and rewarding.

But he is seriously stubborn. Would never sleep in a cot - cried till he vomited. Breastfed numerous times a night until 16mo old. Won't nap.

Anyway, since birth he has hated the pushchair. Even at a week old, he was going crackers. I persevered with it (he is tall and grew out of a sling) until he was a good walker although he never got in the pushchair without screaming. I thought maybe I was being too soft about it, but even friends commented on occasion that their DC had never gone nearly as nuts ever about pushchairs. I always act very calmly but people have spoken to me on the street about how distressed my child is!

Anyway, he is a good walker but ever since I got pregnant with DS2 (am now 31 weeks) he wants me to carry him everywhere. He doesn't want his dad to carry him if I'm there and will walk for other people (eg my mum). He will literally sit on the pavement and weep "please please let me come up mummy". Once when DH was away, we got home at 8pm from nursery when I couldn't carry him (I picked him up at 6pm). We only got home then because I did carry him some of the way in the end or we'd probably still be sitting there.

I put him in the pushchair today and it set off an hour of full-out screaming, followed by another hour of shaking and sobbing and now nearly three hours later, we are back at home. We have gone nowhere and he is still saying "No chair please mummy, no chair; I come up and cuddle mummy" as he does other things.

I'm really worried about how I will get out at all with DS2 as I have to have a c-section. I have tried bribes - biscuits, stickers for sitting down well, access to my phone. He just doesn't have anything he likes more than he hates the pushchair.

He isn't starved for affection in any way. Although I work, we have a fabulous time playing and reading together a lot at home and I'm always getting kisses and hugs. Whenever he gets worried, he says "it's not scary cause mummy's here".

Any ideas for getting him in the pushchair or walking again beyond letting him scream? This just doesn't work. I am actually dreading the arrival of DS2 at the moment and feeling like I should never have got pregnant again. Sad

(He won't go on a buggy board, scooter or trike either.....).

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nextphase · 12/01/2013 19:08

From just reading your title I was all judgy pants, and was going to tell yuo to just get him to walk. Apologies. You've already done that.
We got our oldest a balance bike for his 3rd birthday. May that help?

If the pushchair is the worst, I'd work on getting him moving in other ways - if he selected his mode of transport, might that help ie were going to nursery, would you like to walk or scoot?

Would limiting phone use to only in the pushchair help at all?

Hope you get it resolved soon - but 2 boys is lovely. Mine are 2 years apart, and adore each other.

RubyrooUK · 12/01/2013 19:51

Thank you Next! He would happily walk up to 5 miles before I got pregnant and he decided that the only way to travel was hanging around my neck......Grin I never needed to take the pushchair anywhere as he would happily trot along.

I am really excited about DS2, can't wait really, just on days like today, I want to hide in my bedroom and ask my mum to take over. It is the level of tantrum that amazes me - he is actually pretty chilled out otherwise and will get over grumpiness relatively easily.

I will try offering DS another way of getting to nursery, that is a good idea - he isn't keen on his trike but maybe I shall try again.

I'm currently trying a combo of bus/train/walking. He loves the transport bit but always says he needs me to carry him for the walking bit.

I suspect this is actually him realising things are changing because of me being pregnant and being more clingy as a result. So hopefully it will be over as quickly as it began!

Thanks for replying.

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