It is not uncommon for a toddler to have a favorite food, favorite TV show, or a favorite stuffed animal. Often, these favorites can change from week to week or even day to day. For some toddlers, however, this propensity to pick one over another can carry over into his parents. So, why does a given toddler prefer one parent to another? And, what can you do when a toddler starts preferring one parent to the other?

Children might become more interested in one particular parent for a variety of reasons. It may be that, in terms of personality, a child might wind up preferring one parent to the other. if one parent is full of energy all the time, an energetic toddler might be more drawn to them. Another cause of a toddler preferring one parent to the other can be the old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. If one parent stays home with the child all day long, the toddler might get much more excited when the other parent is around, just because he doesn’t get to see that parent as much as he does the other. In some cases, the parent’s actions might be behind the toddler preferring one parent to the other. If one parent is more playful, or if one parent is often grouchy, these things can lead to toddler preferences. Sometimes, a toddler’s preference for one parent over the other can be attributed to capricious youth - if mom is the favorite today, dad will be the favorite tomorrow.

When you notice your toddler preferring one parent to the other, you shold take some time to try to figure out why this is the case. If you are the parent that is not preferred, watch her activities and interests. Also watch how you tend to react to these. Also, this is a good time to teach your child what unconditional parental love means. Even though your toddler doesn’t prefer you, you prefer her, and demonstrating that can be a very valuable lesson. Also, you need to remember to be the adult in the situation, and remember that your toddler’s preferring one parent to the other doesn’t mean that the toddler doesn’t love both parents or care about both parents; truly, a toddler needs both parents to grow up healthy and safe.

Posted in Baby and Toddler

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