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3yo all over baby

3 replies

okthen · 25/06/2013 16:22

Dd is 3 and ds is 8mo. She is generally good with him, but she will not leave him alone!

Sometimes this is well-intentioned as she wants to play or snuggle. Sometimes she deliberately squashes him or pulls his cheeks etc to get a rise out of me (it works). Either way she is often lying on him or has her arms tightly round him, and deliberately pushes it too far til he squeaks. She never (touch wood) hits/pinches him or similar- it is always this deliberately over-zealous rough and tumble.

It can be cute and he'll laugh etc and enjoy it- but as he is starting to want to move around more and sit up, he gets very annoyed. And it is frustrating for me to be constantly policing her around him.

When she starts getting silly, tired and bored towards the end of the day, she basically spends most of her time trying to squish her brother. She'll settle to an activity for a while but advances on him before too long.

Any experiences/tips? I kind of thought the novelty would have worn off by now...

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
CreatureRetorts · 25/06/2013 17:17

Sorry but you need to constantly police for a while. If it gets a rise out of you then she will keep doing it.
With mine i had to either remove baby dd (and myself, leaving ds) or give ds time out for anything serious. I also stayed with them both to show ds (he's 3) and dd (who's now 18 months) how to play together. Obviously dd is too young but it's important to show ds that he's not the one always in trouble.
So I'd get ds to bring dd toys, show him how to be gentle with her etc etc over and over again and give huge praise when he does. He's really getting it now and they're both great together. Mostly.
It is unrealistic to leave a three year old with a baby though. But it will get easier soon I promise!

okthen · 25/06/2013 18:59

Thanks for your advice. The point about not making dc1 feel they are always the one being told off is really important. I think I need to spend some more time with the two of them teaching them how to play together.

OP posts:
CreatureRetorts · 25/06/2013 21:17

Yes - it feels like a slog but one day all of a sudden they'll be doing it and you can sit back and watch!

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