Our 2-year-old calls for me (dad) for almost everything. Nightmare in the night? Dad. Need to put on shoes? Dad? Need to be picked up? Dad. Mom tries to do something? No, dad!
I don’t mind this. And I know the phase will end, and I will miss it.
But it seems to be really hurting my wife. I think she also knows, deep down, that it’s just a phase and that it’s nothing she is doing wrong. But I can see in her eyes that she feels that our daughter loves her less than she loves me.
Any advice? Neither one of us wants to force our daughter to show affection to anyone. But any ideas how to make mom feel more included/wanted?
Don’t comply with your daughter’s wishes every time, and especially times when your wife is already helping your daughter. You also want to avoid setting a precedent that your daughter always gets her way. Lots of reaffirming/reassuring statements to your wife will probably help. Best of luck!
That’s good advice. Thank you.