Are your kids clingy and cranky for no reason???
I believe that there always is a reason why my kids are grumpy “for no reason”, either they are hungry, tired, over stimulated or in some sort of discomfort or pain.
There's a time when parents notice changes in their babies, not only physical changes, but in attitude as well. The reason for this is that between the ages of 2 and 4, children go through a very big growth spurt.
With my twins I noticed their growth spurts more as they develop differently and at their own pace, it was more evident that both of them were experiencing growth spurts at different times.
The 3 common signs for me were:
Longer hours of sleep - at bedtime Ibrahim would fall asleep by 7pm and on weekends they were waking up late, I definitely welcomed this! They were also falling asleep in the car for short trips.
Always hungry: There was a time when I felt like all I was doing was feeding my kids, and even the fussy twin was eating a lot more during the day. Lunchboxes returned empty which was never the case before. I made sure that fresh fruit was in their reach all the time.
Growing Pains: Growing pains can be different for each child, it may come and go and some may experience a lot of pain and others not so much. Zaeem is now 6, and at first we thought he was just lazy and didn’t want to walk. I will touch more on this in my next blog post.
Another growth spurt that I read about is the physical change of their bodies. Their bodies are growing taller, but also the physical appearance of their face changes too. This is when they begin to not look like babies anymore but more like a kid.
Ever wondered where the phrase “the terrible two’s” comes from? It’s from the growth spurts, when they become fussier. And what are they fussy about? Well…just about everything and nothing.
You can expect some behavioural changes during a toddler's growth spurt. I have already mentioned that they are fussy and cranky, but they are most likely to be clingy as well.
Remember this too shall pass, so hold onto those little clingy kids and take in all the cuddles.
xxxZ
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