"Mommy I love you best"...

[hipumpkins]

My DD said that to me last night and while the words were awesome to hear I didn't know how to respond. She may have been feeling like she likes me better b/c DH has been distracted and short tempered lately but I don't want to say, "No you don't love me best" Do I just say thanks? I also don't want to say...oh you made me sooo happy b/c I don't want it to feel like something she should say to make me happy...am I making any sense?
If so...what would you say? :

[LovemyBoo]

"Aw, thank you, sweetie! I love you, too!"

And I, honestly, wouldn't think anything of it. She's just expressing what she feels in that moment and it, likely, has nothing to do with how much she loves her dad.

Now, if she had actually said, "I love you more than Daddy", that's a conversation starter. Otherwise, I wouldn't read that much into it.

[Tine]

Funny you should bring this up. I got a lot of that from DS (3yo) yesterday while at home with him all day. (He had a cold, so I kept him home from preschool and stayed home from work.) He actually did say "I love you more than Daddy," but I really think it was just a reaction to having the treat of my mostly undivided attention. (Miraculously, my 6mo DD napped about 4.5 hours yesterday, so DS and I had an uncharacteristically large amt. of one-on-one time.) He was so pleased to be able to play with me so much, and I think his proclamation was the only way he could think of to tell me how happy he was.

I did converse about it a little with him, and in the end he qualified his remark by saying "RIGHT NOW I love you the best, Mommy."

[LynnS6]

Our son regularly says "I like you/love you more than Daddy". Alas, it's true. Part of it is that dh is a WAHD and so the kids rarely have his full attention. I WOH, and have made the decision that I simply cannot work while they are awake (OK, it helps that I currently have no place in our house TO WORK), and so they tend to have my full attention when I'm home.

It's funny because dh is actually more patient and less likely to yell than I am. But ds still loves me better. Dd is more of a daddy's girl, thankfully.

I think the only thing you can do is say "Thank you. I love you too!" We talk at other times about people's feelings and how it makes Daddy feel if ds says that when dh is around.

[mashtree]

My son (turned 4 in July) would sometimes say that he loves me more than Daddy. I usually ask why. Last time he said it was because he did not like Daddy leaving for work outside home. My hubby normally works from home, but took a project that lasted a couple of months outside the house .

[SabraMamma]

2 days ago my DS told me that he loved me the best, and then he changed his mind and said "well, I really love building with Legos the best!"

[Curious]

The other day Dd went on and on about how she likes to be with me and not Dad. I just let her talk and it turned out Dh made a nasty fart and she wanted to get away from him. Think I liked me better at that moment, too.

[annethcz]

"Thank you sweetie, I love you too!" is what I've said in a similar situation.

We also do a lot of "you're my favorite mom" "you're my favorite [insert child's name here]"

[RedWine]

Dd1, born Dec 2002, frequently declares that she loves Mama, but not Papa. Then she'll declare that she really loves Papa, but not Mama. She switches it around all the time. Doesn't bother us, we actually think it's cute.

[hipumpkins]

Dh made a nasty fart and she wanted to get away from him.

[hubris]

Griff says things like this a lot, or "Mommy, you're my best friend". He has lots of best friends. I think it's his way of just saying that he likes somebody a LOT, he doesn't understand the exclusive nature of a superlative.