Going Through the Clingy Stage With Your Toddler?

As a mom, there is nothing better than feeling wanted or needed by your child. Like you are the solver of all problems, the keeper of all hugs, the kryptonite to your toddler’s screams, move over Wonder Woman because mom is the next superhero.

Now, although it can be flattering that your little one wants no one but you, that also comes with its own set of challenges. Say goodbye to your alone time. Even when you’re in the shower, you might hear your little one screaming at the door, “bubbles” at the top of their lungs because they want to start their bubble bath right now.

Of course they do.

You’ll have to learn to do everything one-handed and with a 30-pound toddler attached to your hip. Folding laundry, cooking dinner, emptying the dishwasher, putting on mascara, start practicing.

For those working moms, get ready for some tear-jerking moments courtesy of separation anxiety and daycare drop-offs. The anxiety you feel is no joke as you pull into the daycare parking lot and aren’t really sure how it’s going to go when you get your little one inside. Some days it’s fluid, and they even wave bye to you with a big smile on their face. Then are the days they embrace their Stage 5 Clinger, and you are left trying to hand over your toddler to the teacher as they hang on to you like you did your Mall Madness credit card when there was a “sale at the fashion boutique.”

Mom Tip: Daycare drop-offs can pull at your heartstrings, so stash some eye makeup remover and q-tips in your purse, you’re going to need it on days where you beat yourself up; which we all know is quite often.

Not a working mom? Don’t worry, you won’t be spared from this thrilling experience. Insert any errand you run with a child here, and you’ll become a pro at tucking back your hair, necklace, basically, anything within arm’s length of your little one while you’re holding them.

Because again, you have to learn to do everything with only one arm, right?

You’ll try to put them down, and they’ll turn into Wolverine grasping onto your shirt like they are hanging from a cliff. If you’re that good that you’re actually able to get them close to touching the ground, they become overcooked spaghetti and make sure everyone within earshot thinks they are allergic to the floor.

Nothing like that kind of entertainment for the viewing public.

Then remember how you and your other half promised to “keep the romance alive” and make time for date nights so that you wouldn't lose sight of yourselves? It’s hard enough to muster up the energy to go out and actually be out past 8:00 at night, but it’s even harder to say good-bye to your little one when attempting to do so. You’re handing them over to a babysitter, or if you’re lucky grandma or grandpa, and they are losing their mind. Nothing puts you in the mood to be all romantic while enjoying the time spent in something besides yoga pants than your little one screaming, “mommy” or “mama” as you walk out of the house.

Enter the guilt trip.

You’re instantly going to feel selfish, or like you’re failing as a mom because your child can’t act independently from you. Here you are working on your marriage and doing something for yourself, for once, and you want to bawl your eyes out because you feel like a crappy mom.

Yup, completely logical.

We find anything to beat ourselves up about even though we’ve all read numerous Scary Mommy articles talking about how common separation anxiety is throughout the toddler years. But of course, we must be doing something wrong, because, again that’s how we roll as moms.

Newsflash: You’re doing your best, which makes you the best mom.

No matter how challenging it gets with your little Stage 5 Clinger, they see you as their protector, which is why they want nothing more than to be with you. That and you’re pretty much the coolest mom on the planet in their eyes, so why wouldn’t they always want to hang out with you.

Drink this experience in before they become teenagers because the separation anxiety turns from the little one going through it to the big mommy going through it, and quite often.

Whether you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, we are all answering to a very little boss, and we are all doing our best – and here’s to clinging onto that fact.