territorial two year old

yellowtulips80

I'm sure some of this is developmental.  L is very territorial lately.  I thought it was just at home.  P now starting to crawl around.  At home, she cries and whines if P gets near her while she is playing.  We have explained to her that he is a baby and he lives here too and that she needs to share space with him and that he just wants to play with her.  Apparently it is happening at school with other kids.  She has always done this to some degree but now it seems to be getting worse.  She freaks out if someone touches her dress or hair or gets too close to her while she is playing.  I'm not sure if she is playing with the other kids. Is there anything I can do to help her feel ok with other kids in the classroom and P?  She has no problem with myself or DH being in her space.  The same with her favorite teachers. 

susangilchrist

I'm certainly no expert, but I can offer you my two cents.  Emma is the exact same way with her baby sister.  She snatches toys away from Abby when she gets them (even if they're not Emma's) and most recently, has taken to offering Abby a toy and when Abby goes for it, she snatches it away and screams.  I'm OVER it!!!  What Brad and I have talked about is the fact that we're always pushing the "share" card with them.  I'm afraid that Emma is starting to feel like she no longer has ownership over things that are just "hers."  Sharing is a very important skill, but a big part of it for us is also having your own space.  Now, when we encounter sharing issues, we either insist that they share (particularly if it's Abby's toy to start with), or tell Emma that she can either play with her toy on the couch or go to her room to play with it if she needs her own space.  It's gotten SO much better.  Not sure it would work at daycare, but maybe at home?  Good luck.  Our toughest part of parenting 2 so far has been the rough playing, snatching toys, and sharing issues.