Seperation Anxiety in a 2.5yo??

[bootsmonkey]

My DD has suddenly become very weepy when I leave for work, after being absolutely fine. She is also doing a lot of baby role play and keeps wanting cuddles and acting very babyish at times, whilst being very domineering and bossy at others especially to her toys & daddy. We are in the early stages of moving house - could she just be picking up on the vibes? She misses nothing - it all goes in to be filtered out over time. It amazes me what a sponge she is!

Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing at this age and if so, how did you handle it. Is it just a part of growing up and understanding and handling the big wide world? She gets lots of cuddles, re-assurance and love but I am a little bit worried about the change from my happy little girl to a weepy stropmeister!

My ds had a very clingy phase at about 2.5, much more so with me than dp. He was crying when we dropped him off at nursery, needing to be in the same room as me all the time & had real problems going to sleep. This was in the summer & I found it very wearing indeed. It did only last for about a month though & things soon returned to normal & I hope it happens for you soon.

Thanks Hoxtonchick - we have also had problems with a sudden refusal to go to nursery. She was bawling her eyes out which she just dosn't normally do unless she has hurt herself - made me feel awful I hope it is just a phase as it is very hard to see her upset!

My 2.5yr old DS goes through clingy phases too. Although he'll still be happy to go to nursery, he gets upset about me leaving and if I leave him with DH while I leave the house, you'd think it was child abuse!!

With DS it's a temporary, occasional thing. Hopefully it will be with your DD too.

On the plus side, it's kind of nice to feel so wanted by them, isn't it?

BM, IME if you are apprehensive about her crying when you say goodbye, she will pick up on it (as you say, she's a sponge...).
with us, smooth goodbyes boil down to parental bluff most of the time. if i'm wobbly when i say goodbye, she will hold onto my leg etc. if i'm "brisk and confident" (ha ha) when i say goodbye, she is too. i think it is a stage they go through, but i'm also pretty sure you can curtail it by being fairly nononsense and not feeding her anxiety.
it is way hard though, esp if she's always been good previously. try not to agonise about it too much.

It is lovely to feel wanted, but makes me feel like a real st that I have to walk out the door to go to work. The guilt, the guilt, whatever you do, the guilt!

Thanks BP - previously she has barely acknowledged my goodbye in the morning as she is too busy bossing her toys around. It is the about face that stumped me. Still, we have a long weekend together infront of us, so I will chill out with her then.

BM, know what you mean

Think Guilt Management Classes would be more useful than antenatal classes

Good idea

Oh yes, BFM, they really really should teach us something about how to not feel like the wicked witch of the west all the time!

My dd's 25 months and has been incredibly needy and clingy for the last month, doing ALL the things you're saying (except crying at nursery as she doesn't go to one yet), especially role playing being my baby 'Want to be mummy's special little baby' being a particular catch phrase at the moment! She'd let me wrap her up in a blanket and carry her around with her head in the crook of my arm with her saying 'aaahhhh, isn't mummy's little baby cute?' and me saying 'yes' and giving her a kiss, all day if I let her.

Is your dd potty trained? I've found this wanting to be a baby is especially coinciding with our first attempt at that. Though it had already started if I think back ...