Hi there,
Does anyone have any experience with toddlers who hate going to places like playgrounds, fun parks or play centres?
In the last couple of weeks, our 22-month old boy (who is good at walking and running) gets very upset if we take him to play centres - like animal farms, playgrounds, sandpits etc. He doesn't want to interact with any of the activities and just seems to walk around aimlessly crying loudly and either wanting to be held or get back in his pram. He doesn't climb, he doesn't dig, he doesn't use scooters, he doesn't play with pretend bricks.
He also doesn't like it when other kids approach him, and he shouts at them and starts crying. When I do pick him up or put him back in his pram and reassure him, he still doesn't stop crying.
I'm finding it really heartbreaking because I want to show all the fun things we have around where we live, but every time I do - we both end up in tears in the car on the way home. I find it especially upsetting when I see other kids his age having a great time playing, laughing, running around. He's always hated swings, he used to like slides but he doesn't anymore. There's a small, quiet playground nearby and he's okay there - but he still doesn't want to play on the equipment, he just runs across the field and plays with a park bench that is there. I'm finding it emotionally exhausting.
Would you persevere and keep on taking him places, in the hope that he'll get used to it and start to enjoy it? I love an outing and always feel desperate to get out of the house and do things with him, but should I stop trying to force it? He's even started hating going to his grandparents, and tantrums and bangs on the car door to get back in his car seat.
Things he likes doing: watching his one favourite cartoon (no other cartoons cut it), eating endless snacks, playing with a few of his familiar toys. He's also stopped going into our own garden to play with his garden toys (slide, toy house, lawnmower).
He starts back at his nursery (he goes five days a week) in a fortnight, and I'm terrified they're going to phone me everyday and tell me to collect him because of his tantrums.
We also have another baby on the way, arriving in four months and if I can't go out with them both, I'm going to feel very isolated. The situation is making my husband and I really bleak. Fun weekends are now anything but fun.
Sorry for the ramblings. Looking for solidarity, or advice if anyone has experienced anything similar. The approach we're taking now is just to ride it out in the hope that he grows out of it soon. I just don't know whether I should stop making an effort to book days out.
Thank you x