Many children remain dependent on their parents when they should actually be doing things by themselves. If you have clingy children and you want them to become independent, check out some tips for coping with a clingy child.
1. Your life shouldn’t revolve around your child
If you spend most of the day with your child, you’re letting her/him expect you to be there all the time. If you don’t have a daytime job, pretend being busy or plan some deliberate time out. It’s in your own hands to cope with your clingy kid by not being available all the time.
2. Keep your child preoccupied with lots of activities
Your kid might be clinging to you because she/he has nothing else to do. You should keep your child preoccupied with as many activities as possible. Plan activities according to your child’s interest in a way she/he will stay occupied and will not think of being with you all the time.
3. Stop feeling pity
What makes infants and kids clingy? The reason could be the parents. If you’d been a strong parent from the beginning and controlled every sign of clingy behavior in your kid, you might have avoided this problem. You need stop feeling pity when your kid asks to go with you. Control your feelings and cope with it in a tough but appropriate manner.
4. Get your kid to meet other people
If your child spends most of his/her time at home, he/she might grow up to believe that you’re the only person to interact with. If you want to avoid this, you should expose your kid to children of similar age, other members of your family or some neighbors. Socialization will allow your child to be less clingy to you.
5. Give your kid a reward for doing his/her own things
Using a reward system for your kid to reduce dependency on you may be successful. Just set up some tasks and say that you’ll be back after a few hours. Tell that you will give a reward if it’s completed successfully. If your kid is too young to be left alone, make sure there is another family member or a babysitter available for supervision.
6. Get your kid checked for symptoms of sickness
If you have a very young child who all the time demands to cling by your side, there might be something wrong with her/him. It could be a stomach pain, any feeling of physical, mental or emotional discomfort, or depression due to peer pressure at school. Run your child through basic checkup with your family doctor to find out any illnesses.
Do you have some other tips for coping with a clingy child? Share your thoughts, please!