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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Get. Off. My. Leg!!!!!
youretooloud 08:37 AM 03-09-2011
20 month old is a thumb sucker.

It's warm out, and I am wearing shorts.

We keeps wrapping both his arms around my legs and rubbing his wet thumbs on the backs of my legs. It's really creeping me out.

I want to push him off, but obviously that's just mean. So, instead, I shuffle around in tiny little steps while he clings to my legs and trying to get his thumb back in his mouth.

Please let this be a short stage.
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SilverSabre25 08:54 AM 03-09-2011
eh, I might be wrong, but I REALLY don't think it's mean to insist that he not hang on your legs. Offer to hold his hand, or hold him, or something, but you shouldn't have to sacrifice your own comfort and safety by having him clinging to your legs! What if you fall, or have to dash away suddenly to grab someone else?

"DCB, I really can't have you clinging to me like this. Go play"
"DCB, I really can't have you clinging to me like this. Do you want to hold my hand or be in my arms?"
"DCB, knock it off, please. Let's play with this ball!"
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SandeeAR 08:57 AM 03-09-2011
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
eh, I might be wrong, but I REALLY don't think it's mean to insist that he not hang on your legs. Offer to hold his hand, or hold him, or something, but you shouldn't have to sacrifice your own comfort and safety by having him clinging to your legs! What if you fall, or have to dash away suddenly to grab someone else?

"DCB, I really can't have you clinging to me like this. Go play"
"DCB, I really can't have you clinging to me like this. Do you want to hold my hand or be in my arms?"
"DCB, knock it off, please. Let's play with this ball!"
I agree, I wouldn't let him hold on to me non stop either.
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laundrymom 09:00 AM 03-09-2011
Agree,... Sorry buddy, go play with your friends,.. Three times. Then a no, go play,. Three times, then he gets the, remove his hands and say NO, you go play. Until he stops.
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Unregistered 09:05 AM 03-09-2011
Um....not rude at all. Just like I tell them NOT to lift up my shirt to stick their fingers in my belly button and NOT to rub my chest even if I DO have jewels on my shirt, LOL!!!!!
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E Daycare 10:19 AM 03-09-2011
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Um....not rude at all. Just like I tell them NOT to lift up my shirt to stick their fingers in my belly button and NOT to rub my chest even if I DO have jewels on my shirt, LOL!!!!!

ahahahahahahaha! Ahhhh kids....
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youretooloud 10:22 AM 03-09-2011
I had enough of that....

So, I peeled his arms off of me, handed him a cup of water and a paintbrush and told him to go outside and paint the wall. He did.. but, a moment later, I stepped back and stomped all over him. He had come back in and was ready to glue himself to my legs. Poor guy. But, now he doesn't want to hang on me. He's watching me cautiously from ten feet away.
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kidkair 12:57 PM 03-09-2011
Originally Posted by youretooloud:
I had enough of that....

So, I peeled his arms off of me, handed him a cup of water and a paintbrush and told him to go outside and paint the wall. He did.. but, a moment later, I stepped back and stomped all over him. He had come back in and was ready to glue himself to my legs. Poor guy. But, now he doesn't want to hang on me. He's watching me cautiously from ten feet away.
Um maybe part of the problem is lack of supervision. If I send a kid outside I have to be out there too so do all the other kids. Maybe he's been so clingy because you're not paying enough attention to him.
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youretooloud 12:59 PM 03-09-2011
Originally Posted by kidkair:
Um maybe part of the problem is lack of supervision. If I send a kid outside I have to be out there too so do all the other kids. Maybe he's been so clingy because you're not paying enough attention to him.
No. Thanks though.
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Abigail 01:05 PM 03-09-2011
Make it a rule that no children can "cling onto you" because it's a safety precaution and it's not polite. I would ask his parents if he does this to them at home. If he does, then he finds it acceptable. Let the parents know you will not allow him to cling onto your leg anymore because it's a safety precaution (and many other reasons, but safety is number one).

I'm sure you're watching him well enough and can decide how to handle it whether he does it at home or not. If he does it at home I would feel uncomfortable doing a time out because it will confuse him. I would first start out with why it's is not allowed at daycare and after a few days if he doesn't listen then I would enforce time outs. Maybe there is a book on leg clinging?
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daycare 01:15 PM 03-09-2011
ok I know this sounds silly.... i used to have a dcg age 2.5 that would do this all the time. she would hang on my legs and hold on to my pants etc. I could not stand it. She would make me fall, and often would not let go so I could take care of another child. I think it was jealousy..

any way... what I did was I stopped walking around and started sitting any chance I had. I sat on the floor and would not allow for the child to grab on to me. If i had to leave the room or get up I would crawl. Sounds silly, but after two days it worked. She then started wanting to always sit on my lap every time I would sit and I would just allow her to sit there and talk to me for a bit and then would bring up something to do.

Hey lets play dolls and she would jump off my lap and run to get a baby doll...

It could be that he does not want you to give the attention to the other kids... He wants you all for himself.............

by Husband called the stage 5 clinger
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youretooloud 01:22 PM 03-09-2011
Originally Posted by daycare:
It could be that he does not want you to give the attention to the other kids... He wants you all for himself.............

by Husband called the stage 5 clinger
He is jealous. His mom is pregnant, they are living with his cousin right now, and she's jealous of him at home, so he's returning the favor when they are here. They are close in age, so they fight like siblings, and he's having a hard time.

So, I sympathize with him.. I just don't like the wet thumb on the back of my leg.

He's super cute though, and right now, he's entertaining me with (I think) a song and dance.
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daycare 01:23 PM 03-09-2011
Originally Posted by youretooloud:
He is jealous. His mom is pregnant, they are living with his cousin right now, and she's jealous of him at home, so he's returning the favor when they are here. They are close in age, so they fight like siblings, and he's having a hard time.

So, I sympathize with him.. I just don't like the wet thumb on the back of my leg.

He's super cute though, and right now, he's entertaining me with (I think) a song and dance.
lol so cute....

yeah the wet thumb thing would get to me too...

poor little guy... well like you said, hopefully its just a short phase...
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Tags:clingy, sucking thumb
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