The Monkey Tater

Taters is going through a funny phase at the moment and since he can’t talk, I can only guess at what’s going on in his head. He’s suddenly become scared of other toddlers. Well, sort of, he’s fine with them unless there’s a toy involved somewhere in the equation. Basically if another toddler or child interrupts him when he’s happily playing with something, he gets devastated. As in he totally falls apart, first his little mouth turns down, then his chin quivers, he shakes his head and then cries hysterically. It's not good.

Take the weekend for example, usually he adores spending time with his cousins, but this time as soon as his eldest cousin came near him he started to cry. He was playing with a toy and I don't know whether it’s that he doesn’t want to share things, or he thinks they're after his toy, I don’t know. Either way it’s giving me cause for concern.

This started the other week at a playgroup, he was happily playing in the ball pool by himself when another boy decided to join him. This little boy didn’t do anything but Taters started crying inconsolably. Later in the park it happened again when another little boy wanted to join him on the roundabout. My gut instinct is that it’s all part and parcel of learning to share, being possessive over toys and panicking thinking something is going to be taken away from him. I’m trying not to make a big deal out of it and I’m just hoping it passes because he was just starting to get more independent, now it feels like we’ve taken a few steps backwards.

Thankfully he eventually came around on Sunday and he and his cousins finally started playing together as normal, dancing up a storm and chasing each other around, much to my relief. In fact he had the time of his life. I just love seeing him playing with other children and I feel so guilty that he doesn’t get to do it more. Saying that I haven’t neglected him, he goes to three different playgroups a week and I take him to soft play centres, and of course the park whenever I can. It’s just that he can be a funny onion sometimes my boy, and at those playgroups he’s mostly clung to me or his grandma. Which in turn has made it quite tricky for me to meet other mums and provide him with some little playmates (my close circle of friends haven’t really gone down the child rearing route) I know plenty of other mum’s to say hello to, and I’m finally getting to know a handful a little better, but it takes time. I’m working on it. It’s tricky.

Guilt and worry, worry and guilt. It’s the mother’s lot in life isn’t it just!