I have a bit of a different feeling on this than most of the PPs have expressed. I think as parents the onus is on us to meet our child's needs. This may mean anything from learning not to yell to becoming a better cook so you can prepare more nutritious meals to learning to be more social so you can help your child make or retain friends. This may also mean learning to become more physically demonstrative, or to be less so and give more physical space depending on your child's needs (I've had to do both at various developmental stage for my sons). Obviously pushing yourself to the point of meltdowns is never good, and you don't need to change your whole personality or make yourself miserable, but just little things like forcing yourself to take 10-20 minutes to get down on the floor and play with them or to give an extra hug everyday or arrange a time where you can read them a story while at the same time rubbing their back or holding their hand or letting them sit on your lap may make a big difference in how connected they feel to you and in filling their sensory needs without infringing on yours too much.
23 Jun 2012, 1:00 pm
