I have a little girl at my work who is exactly 2 and a half. I have been in her room for 7 months now and she is quite comfortable with me and one other educator.
There are just some behaviours I am concerned about. She covers her eyes a lot of the time, in fact, whenever you directly interact with her she does this. Even when she approaches me to hand me something she holds her face away from you with her forearm over her eyes, avoiding eye contact.
She is from a bilingual family, so her speech is slightly delayed but nothing to be concerned about.
She also has an obsession with handing or passing things to you. All day she is finding things on the floor and passing me toys, pencils you name it. At times I will be busy, changing a nappy or have my hands full and say "sorry I can't grab that right now". But she can't seem to stop, almost like a compulsive behaviour.
She has huge trouble sleeping. Mum always asks us to try to get her to sleep, but it is near impossible. She has slept twice at the centre in the last 7 months. She is a bad sleeper at home also. She hasn't slept properly since birth.
Lastly, she always, says no when you ask her anything. Believe me, I know this is every toddler's favourite word haha. But when you give her 2 options she will say no to both options, always. Then you will offer the toy, seat or whatever it was to another child and she throws a huge tantrum because she did want it. I know this doesn't seem so unusual for toddlers, but there's something about the way she does it. Always with her eyes covered, not liking to be spoken to or asked anything.
Sorry this was so long. But my question is, should I mention something to Mum or Dad? Could these be signs of something more? She seems to have sensory, eye contact and emotional discrepancies. Should I wait and see if things change? I just feel something is not quite right, but I'm no expert and don't want to intrude.
Any advice or experience with similar behaviours would be greatly appreciated!
Unusual Behaviour in one of my Toddlers?!
Re: Unusual Behaviour in one of my Toddlers?!
Hello,
According to me what I think she might have social anxiety or shyness. Perhaps that is why she feels uncomfortable and restless while sleeping, which leads to the sleep disorder. Also, I think due to her shyness she is unable to express her wish to have something directly and her suppressed feelings make her frustrated. Due to the frustration, she throws things and shows tantrums. However, due to her social anxiety, she is not able to connect with many people and as she is close to you, she keeps herself engaged by passing things to you.
I think you can do the below steps to make her socially stable.
Teach your child about social anxiety.
Focus on progress, not perfection.
Learn when to step in and when to step back.
Teach coping techniques.
Allow worry time.
Even after following the steps, if you find there is no improvement, you can inform your higher authority about your points of getting worried and can discuss with them the future steps.
Thanks
Nandita
According to me what I think she might have social anxiety or shyness. Perhaps that is why she feels uncomfortable and restless while sleeping, which leads to the sleep disorder. Also, I think due to her shyness she is unable to express her wish to have something directly and her suppressed feelings make her frustrated. Due to the frustration, she throws things and shows tantrums. However, due to her social anxiety, she is not able to connect with many people and as she is close to you, she keeps herself engaged by passing things to you.
I think you can do the below steps to make her socially stable.
Teach your child about social anxiety.
Focus on progress, not perfection.
Learn when to step in and when to step back.
Teach coping techniques.
Allow worry time.
Even after following the steps, if you find there is no improvement, you can inform your higher authority about your points of getting worried and can discuss with them the future steps.
Thanks
Nandita
