Question:
>This is not a tremendous problem, but I was interested in any advice >people may have. My 21 month old son wants to be carried ALL of the >time, inside and outside of our house. I try to get him to walk short >distances with me holding his hand … from the car to the store, from >the car to our house, from room to room in our home. But he stands >there with his arms up in the air, screaming for me to pick him up. If >I refuse, it turns into a full blown tantrum. To avoid that, I usually >scoop him up and take him where we need to go. Like I said, this is not >a major problem except that sometimes I would like a break (he weighs >nearly 30 pounds and sometimes I have other things I need to carry like >packages, groceries, etc.) He seems to do this only with me and his dad >(his daycare teachers manage to have him get around on his own). Any >ideas on how to "wean" him a little from being carried?
When you have other things to carry, would he like to help? Put a couple of things in a carrier bag – especially if you’ve bought somethng he really likes (yoghurt? fruit? biscuits?) and ask if he could carry it for you. Even at 21 months, I’ve found co-operation, and copying you, can be a great incentive. Good luck! — Susan Campbell
Response:
This is not a tremendous problem, but I was interested in any advice people may have. My 21 month old son wants to be carried ALL of the time, inside and outside of our house. I try to get him to walk short distances with me holding his hand … from the car to the store, from the car to our house, from room to room in our home. But he stands there with his arms up in the air, screaming for me to pick him up. If I refuse, it turns into a full blown tantrum. To avoid that, I usually scoop him up and take him where we need to go. Like I said, this is not a major problem except that sometimes I would like a break (he weighs nearly 30 pounds and sometimes I have other things I need to carry like packages, groceries, etc.) He seems to do this only with me and his dad (his daycare teachers manage to have him get around on his own). Any ideas on how to "wean" him a little from being carried?
Response:
Stop picking him up. His dad and daycare workers already know this. Ignore his tantrums (I realize this is tough but try it). If he sees you are not responding he will quit. Jen – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->This is not a tremendous problem, but I was interested in any advice >people may have. My 21 month old son wants to be carried ALL of the >time, inside and outside of our house. I try to get him to walk short >distances with me holding his hand … from the car to the store, from >the car to our house, from room to room in our home. But he stands >there with his arms up in the air, screaming for me to pick him up. If >I refuse, it turns into a full blown tantrum. To avoid that, I usually >scoop him up and take him where we need to go. Like I said, this is not >a major problem except that sometimes I would like a break (he weighs >nearly 30 pounds and sometimes I have other things I need to carry like >packages, groceries, etc.) He seems to do this only with me and his dad >(his daycare teachers manage to have him get around on his own). Any >ideas on how to "wean" him a little from being carried?
Response:
: Stop picking him up. His dad and daycare workers already know this. : Ignore his tantrums (I realize this is tough but try it). If he sees you are : not responding he will quit. : Jen : >This is not a tremendous problem, but I was interested in any advice : >people may have. My 21 month old son wants to be carried ALL of the : >time, inside and outside of our house. I try to get him to walk short : >distances with me holding his hand … from the car to the store, from : >the car to our house, from room to room in our home. But he stands : >there with his arms up in the air, screaming for me to pick him up. If : >I refuse, it turns into a full blown tantrum. To avoid that, I usually : >scoop him up and take him where we need to go. Like I said, this is not : >a major problem except that sometimes I would like a break (he weighs : >nearly 30 pounds and sometimes I have other things I need to carry like : >packages, groceries, etc.) He seems to do this only with me and his dad : >(his daycare teachers manage to have him get around on his own). Any : >ideas on how to "wean" him a little from being carried? The ‘ignore his tantrums’ method might work, but the drawback is that it is impossible to *make* a child walk if they’re determined not to. Not without dragging them anyway, and I can’t believe that would help the situation. (One mom told me her daughter was so determined not to walk that she sat down, _plunk_ in the middle of a busy street. Not much you can do in that case but pick ‘em up.) My daughter is 3 (and 38 lbs!) and sometimes balks at the 4 block daily walk to/from daycare and the train. Here are some things that have helped: *Tell him he’s expected to walk, and set small goals. I tell my daughter that if she walks to ‘x’ corner, I’ll pick her up. (If she agrees, and forgets about me picking her up, even better.) If she really insists on being carried, I tell her I’ll carry her a certain distance, then she will be expected to walk a bit. *Be sure you’re not walking too fast. My husband and I are both tall, and I’ve found that when we’re in a hurry, we sometimes walk *way* too fast for her, and she asks to be picked up. *Make it interesting. If it’s a safe place for such things, see if he wants to run, skip, walk along a wall, etc. Part of Leah’s walk has metal plates in the sidewalk, and she loves to jump on these to see if they make noise. As you can tell, all of these require patience, but what about parenting doesn’t? Good luck! — Laura Uerling
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