She hates other kids!

She's okay when we go to the park because it's neutral territory, but she doesn't interact much with the other kids, though she might push or swat at someone if they are in her space and I correct her when I see it. But we had a playdate at our house yesterday with a friend and her son who is almost 2. Breena had a FIT. She cried and cried. She didn't want him to touch her toys. She acted like she didn't want him even in the house. She just stood next to me crying and crying.

Her and Baylinn get along pretty good. But she really doesn't seem to like other kids and that has me concerned. Some toddlers just are so friendly. Breena definitely is not.

Will she become more social? What do I do in the meantime?

 

yeah, I have 2 like that, my girls. My first dd used to punch any child that came into her personal space!

She definately grew out of it but it took some time. I made sure not to pressure her into any social situation that made her too uncomfortable.

good luck.

 

That is perfectly normal 2 year old behavior. Remember, that singleton 2 year olds, don't have to share space or toys with other 2 year olds. Kids don't naturally play together until somewhere in the 3 year old year. You can see this by checking out a 3 year old preschool class at the beginning of the year, and again at the end. At the beginning, you will see parallel play, and by the end, they are playing together.

 

Is she around other children on a regular basis? It sounds like she just doesnt really know any better. She is used to her sister being there all the time, but no one else. I would personally try to have more play dates in order for her to get used to the idea of sharing her toys/house/space. I would talk to her before hand and tell her XX is coming over today to play with you. Its going to be so fun. I would make a big deal out of it and act excited when they got there, etc.. and just try to give the other child one or two things at first, and see how she acts. (Of course this would have to be done with a child you are pretty close to or know their parents well, so they know what you are doing)

Edited to add: my children are in daycare and my DD2 is still pretty protective over things sometimes. It might just be their personalities.

 

It's perfectly normal for a toddler that age to not want to share or play with other kids. They see them as obstacles or, at best, as things to experiment on. She may be good with her twin because she's used to that particular obstacle always being there, and she knows that sometimes it does something fun , but she doesn't have that experience with other kids.

If they see the same kids on a regular basis, they will get used to them and that will help. But she won't be able to generalize that to unfamiliar kids for quite some time -- mine are 3 and they've only just started really playing with other kids, as opposed to playing with their toys but ignoring the actual kids. Even now, when we have a playdate, everyone has to explore all the toys first. Then they start gradually interacting with each other a little. But it takes several playdates with the same person for them to enjoy the interaction.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, just that you shouldn't expect too much. Playdates at this age are still mostly about getting a change of a scenery, a chance to play with some new toys, and a chance for the parent to talk to other adults.