When toddlers feel clingy, it means they feel anxious or scared about what’s to come. When parents bring their toddlers to preschool, however, the kids act differently. Some attach themselves to their parents’ legs while others cry.

Why do toddlers get clingy?

Toddlers want the people who take care of them to be with them all the time. They feel the need to be reassured that they won’t get left alone. Sometimes, toddlers just follow their parents around the house without even playing with them.

Toddlers become more independent as the days go by. One of the common challenges parents face is dealing with their clingy toddlers.

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Here are 5 tips for parents with a clingy toddler

#1 Help them redirect their energy into something productive

Toddlers possess a great amount of energy. When their parents go to the bathroom, some toddlers follow their parents wondering what’s going to happen.

Parents wonder how to get their toddlers to exert that excess energy. Some parents tell their toddlers to go to the living room and play with their other siblings. Doing this teaches them to be independent and move around on their own.

Other instances include parents walking into the area where the toddlers are playing. This distracts the toddlers and they may their parents around. What parents can do, reassure their toddlers to continue playing. Toddlers don’t need to worry and can just enjoy what’s going on.

#2 Provide engaging activities for toddlers

Teaching toddlers about being independent takes time and patience. However, there are activities that can help kids interact with others, such as coloring books.

Some of these activities include:

• Puzzles that stimulate the mind and cognitive skills
• Dress up that encourages toddlers to become more creative
• Role playing games that they play with their siblings

Activities like these encourage toddlers to detach a bit from their parents. This marks the beginning of their interaction with other toddlers and their siblings. It helps them improve their social skills and creativity.

#3 Let children play with fellow children

Children find playmates around their age or among their siblings. Their older siblings encourage their clingy toddler-siblings to play with them. This results in the toddlers detaching from their parents and interacting more with their siblings.

When a toddler asks their parent what’s happening, slowly tell them that situations like this happen. These help them to be more sociable and bring them closer to their siblings and friends.

#4 Avoid sneaking in and out of the house

Parents deal with a lot of things. Some go to their workplace even during weekends. Some engage in a night out which leads them to going out of the house quietly.

Sneaking out builds anxiety among toddlers which leads to clinginess. For parents, it’s best to find a babysitter that the toddler feels comfortable with. Tell the toddlers that their parents need to go out and they come home before they wake up. This prevents anxiety in children and reduces their clinginess.

#5 Encourage them to be more independent

Uttering positive words to toddlers helps them understand that what they’re doing is good. Praise reinforces the value of being independent among toddlers. This helps them believe that they can do things well without the guidance of their parents.

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Clinginess does not equate to being spoiled. This represents a phase that toddlers go through in their lives. With proper encouragement, parents can curb the clinginess of their toddlers.

When parents enroll their children in Creative Learning Academy, they encourage their toddlers to become more independent and improve their social skills.