DS1 is 3.5. He is delightful, affectionate, funny and generally very well behaved (though prone to tears if not fed regularly or if overtired). However, he really hates being on his own. He's very good at entertaining himself and playing independently, but he likes an adult presence. I'll tell him I'm off to do something, like make a cup of tea, and in less than the time than it takes to boil a kettle he'll be in floods of tears because he doesn't want to be alone. This has become progressively worse since DS2 was born 8 months ago. We've wondered whether the dislike of being alone is really 'I don't like you giving DS2 attention' but while it does happen when I'm doing things with DS2 (such as putting him down for a nap) it happens at other times too, including when DS2 isn't there at all. I've also wondered if it's basically a control thing, but his response seems to me to be genuine distress rather than anger/frustration/tantrum which is what I'd expect if it were just about getting his way.
Has anyone experienced anything similar? How did you tackle it? At the moment I've tried to accommodate him as far as I can but sometimes it just isn't possible. And other times he seems fine with me going off to put the washing on, but then he'll just flip and be wailing.