Difficult toddler

Jems- must say, was lucky on the dummy front. (for a while there it was a LIFESAVER despite ppl discouraging us from using it -I didn't care.Hhhehehe) but Elam started spitting it out like it has chillies on it at about 5-6 months. I say, whatever maintains your sanity!!! But at 3...*sigh*...good luck negotiating withe her to let it go

Can't wait till E starts taking interest in her toys. She is remotely interested in a pink squirrel-like looking stuffed animal with a very long tail that she 'stole' from Woolies. She literally took it from somewhere in the store whilst we were shopping and we only found it in her cot when we were at the car!!! Ashamed to say we were too lazy (&VERY suprised it didn't beep at the exit ) to take it back.

Jade picked up the dog at the Kirstenbosch picnic a couple weeks back and started playing with it. Isabel gave her the evil eye and RM was like "Jade, best to give that back to Isabel as it is her special doggy" before any drama started... Very sweet.

My kids aren't attached to any toys in particular. Jade VERY attached to her dummy though... And she is 3!

Elamsmom - Isabelle got this doggy when I was still pregnant with her - it is a really sweet looking dog, but I didn't think any of it.

She started showing interest in this dog around 3 - 4 months. She also started sucking her thumb, and would hold the dog, rub it's ear while her thumb was in her mouth.

I did not encourage her to be more attached to the dog as opposed to anything else, she just is.

Neither of my other two kids are attached to toys. However my son has grown attached to his large stuffed toy and that started around 2 or so. It used to just lie in his cot, and slowly he started using it as a pillow.

He is 9 now, and still grabs his stuffed dog and lies on it when he is watching tv or goes to sleep.

My other daughter mimics him with her stuffed dog, but she really has no attachment to it.

I am not sure when or how it starts exacly. But we do not leave home without Isabelle's dog.

The risk is that your child is emotionally invested in an object and if object is lost/misplaced/or poo'd on, life gets very complicated.

Elamsmom dont worry your LG is completely normal - my LG used to love playing with tupperware etc at that age - she didnt really care about toys. Only for the past 4-5 months has she started taking an interest in toys.

Jems I have used my cellphone to soothe a screaming toddler on a car trip - they are like magic and mine also looks like junk the screen is cracked but some of my sanity is intact

What is it with kids and cellphones? That is why currently I have a cheapie and it looks like crap.

Troy sometimes thinks the DSTV remote is a phone and walks around the house saying "hiya" with a remote next to his ear.... Quite comical!

Hi ladies

I read these threads even tho my daughter is still 9 months old. I like to know what to expect

To be honest, this all sounds quite scary, but I am committing some of your suggestions to my memory box to be retrieved in desperate times

RM: when did your daughter start getting attached to her doggy? Mine seems disinterested in anything remotely toy-like and child-like. She is much more interested in my cellphone(slobbering all over it then throwing it on the floor )and everything else she is NOT supposed to play with! I would LOVE for her to have some stuffed animal that she loves and takes comfort in...*sigh*

Chantel I think you can gather from the other posts that you are DEFINITELY NOT a bad mom - I think it is just a stage they are going through where they want to do things there way and dont have any other way to express it.

I think the best thing to do is just to TRY and stay calm - and if you are feeling like you are losing it then just leave her in her cot where it is safe and take a time out I have done that since my LG was a newborn - it was safer for her to be in the cot crying than with me when I was getting more and more frustrated as I didnt know what she wanted and it hasnt changed much in 18 months.
Just think about how you feel when you want something and cant get it or tell someone about it - I do that and it helps me sometimes realise that she is a little person with frustrations too!

As much as we want to give them everything they want they also have to learn boundaries and that they need to fit in to what mommy wants.

EASIER SAID THAN DONE I KNOW