2 year old unhappy!

[Jorjasmama]

Hello! Hoping someone can give advice or similar experiences! My daughter has just turned 2, and has completely changed how she is. My outgoing fun little girl has gone. And I'm left with a clingy, scared and unsociable girl instead. She doesn't want to go anywhere fun, she moans she wants to go home all the time. Spends her time on my lap however much I try and play with her. It's so suffocating. When people invite us places I just feel like declining. She suddenly doesn't like family members she was previously close to. If they pop over she tells them to go and spends the whole time on my lap. Its such a shock to the system.....any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

Not much help by my 2 yo ds (25 months). Is doing similar. He can become inconsolable if we take him away from myself and or dh, so for example if one of us takes him to park and other stays home, he may become extremely upset and keeps asking to stay home. When out sometimes he asks to go home in a very sad voice . Some days he acts as if he is never seeing his dad again when he leaves the room. We thought it was nursery as he did not settle there at all (having stayed short days in September) but now thinking he is just in a phase. It was shock to us too as he is /was extremely outgoing. Some days are worse than others. What I find helps is

1. sticking to a routine as much as possible (for his security)
2. giving him copious amounts of calm reassurance and cuddles (I was told the more I respond to his needs, the faster he will come through this) 3)but I also gently push him out if his comfort zone in very controlled circumstances, like my mum - who looks after him regularly - will take him to soft play for example. And if he cries when getting ready, I keep telling myself we are doing something nice, not torturing him. And you know what, he is always fine within minutes of leaving the house (with the occasion blip or asking to go home when out, which mum gently coaches him through)

I'm not saying I have all the answers but I think I understand your situation. Mine has been going on long enough now (a few months) where I'm able to rationalise and tell myself that he needs to be able to go out with a close family member he loves, rather than my strong knee jerk reaction of just not wanting to arrange anything /send him out / push him out of his comfort zone. In my mind, this will only last 6 months or so!!