Agree with Ghosty......they do get worse first.
I have five kiddies, and out of that three were 'velcro babies'. Admittedly those were my three 'poorly ones', which probably made it worse, but it is still so draining even if you do know the reason.
With my first 'velcro', she stayed stuck until she was six (she's now 9), and is now really confident about trying new things.
'Velcro 2' is still clingy, but then she has been the most in hospital so I have to give her leeway. She is 6.
'Velcro 3' is dreadful, to the point that no-one can do anything for him......to the stage that if he drops something and someone tries to hand it back, he scream blue murder. He will be 3 in july, and I have no hope of it ending soon. I try not to make a fuss about it tho, as I find that the more I do, the worse they get....to the point that they have to be touching me and that drives me nuts.
If I do the things I know they get anxious about ..ie, they get worried about the thought of others taking tham to the toilet, feeding them and dressing them, then the rest of it they are calm about.
Leaving them is hard, for both of us really as I hate leaving them crying, but I go thro the exact same routine each time, explain to them what they will be doing and at what point I will be back, and they seem much calmer for it. It does till make for a stressful goodbye, but I can guarantee that before I have got into the car and pulled away they have forgotten me!!!! It is as much for effect at times as it is pure clinginess.
Two of mine couldn't care less tho about going places and m doing everything for them.....my eldest daughter and eldest son.....so I know it isn't me as much as personality. OOh, and the fact that they are like their dad......he was the bigest velcro baby.....he cried every first day back to school right up until he was sixteen, and would never sleep away from home until he met me, at 19. I guess it must be inbuilt, but mine have slept away, cos we need us time too, and I need time with my two non-velcro-babies aswell anyway!!!!