Regressing toddler - how to deal with it!

[Beccaroll]

Hi

My little girl (3.9years) is doing a fair bit of thumb sucking, baby talk etc the last week or two (Im due baby number 2 any time now) - I was just wondering how your supposed to approach it?

For example, at the moment she is in her bedroom squeezing herself into a plastic box telling me its her crib and she is a baby - she is sucking her thumb and crying like a baby! When I went to see her a minute ago she was telling me she was a baby and needed rocking to sleep - so I played along and rocked her and played at her being baby for a while...

...I have come downstairs to put some washing on (sneak a look at mumsnet) and make a cuppa and she is crying out like a baby saying she needs "cuggles" - do I go up and accomodate her and carry on going along with her being a baby!?

Becca

Hi beccaroll. I'm not sure what the answer is but I think it's very common for children of around your daughter's age to revert to baby talk and behaviour. It alway seems to be at checkouts with lots of people listening I just indulge it for a bit. I imagine she may be feeling a little anxious about her role as the baby being replaced. It won't last forever though, I hope. Mine's 6 and she still does it!

I think it is dafe to indulge her a little to be honest and once the baby is hear reassure her that she is still your baby too but what a big girl she is and how helpful and grown up she is. i use the positive angle to say that ds1 can have interesting food etc. because he is so grown up.

Itt is only ocassionally that he wants to play on the baby gym now - he is only 2.5 yrs though so may be different

Good luck

Oops - that should be occasionally - should have looked before posting ....must do better!!!!

my ds1 went through the same beofre and after ds2 was born, and i have to say every now and then does it still. ds2 will be six months this month. I think it is pretty normal, -hv said so !! - and I just go along with it with caveates like. "oh well, if youare a baby today, babies don't get to do/eat/watch something that he really likes" it usually works. Good luck Becca with #2 it's fun, honestly.

Mine is doing exactly the same thing, including insisting on wearing 'baby nappies' and crawling about the house; she's 2.8 and dd2 is 10 weeks. I'm going along with it a fair bit - don't see any point insisting she's a 'big girl' when I assume that's what she's worried about and doesn't want to feel pushed into being 'bigger' than she is. I was reassured to realise from friends that other kids her age are doing the exact same thing without a sibling arriving!

dd was 2.10 when dd2 was born and did a bit of that, but much of it was unspoken - a bit of daytime wetting, not listening, bad behaviour etc and felt like I was telling her off the whole time, so discussed strategy with nursery worker - and bombarded her with positive messages and attention..it worked and things virtually back to normal bar the night time waking & coming into our bed!

my dd asks for cuggles as well. i love that word!!!
my eldest sometimes acts like a baby now (she is 3.5, dd2 is 1yr), sometimes asks for a bot bot, but i tell her big girls who are going to nursery have cups. she still has a dummy, trying very hard to get her to give it up, she gives it to me occasionally telling me she is a big girl who is going to school, so 'no dummies'. she mainly has it when she is upset or tired. i let her do activites that babies cant do (gluing, painting, colouring in) and its seems to stop her baby behaviour pretty well.
we still have cuggles every night, she is still my baby altho she is all grown up (most of the time)