[AkRotts]

My youngest will be two on Wednesday (I still can't believe she will be 2 already!) and has developed a horrible habit lately.

She is constantly RUNNING from me!!! It has gotten really bad and I am not sure what to do about it. My chasing after her has become a game to her, but I really have no other choice when she is running from me. She is especially bad when we are out in public. She will look back at me, get a sassy little grin on her face and off she goes, laughing the entire time.

Carson one of my 2 1/2 yo twins used to run, but never quite like this. What makes Caitlyn's running even worse is that sometimes Carson decides to join her, but ALWAYS in the opposite direction

: We no longer go out in public unless I have at least one other person to help me.

We went for a walk yesterday and we spent over half of the walk chasing Caitlyn. It is exhausting!!!

Anyone have any suggestions on how I can STOP from running away from me?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! I am pretty desperate at this point.

 

[425lisamarie]

It's just the age, and you're better off getting something to keep her near you then frustrated forever.

The harness thing has been talked to death I know, but really I don't see anything negative about them. You can get cute little backpack types, let her put something in it and just make it a routine that she wears it. It may work, it may not but it may be worth a try.

I only did not get one out of laziness to order it. I had a REALLY long water sling that I didn't wear at the time and I just wrapped it under her arms. The harness is safer I tihk because it won't slip. I carried her in a sling or the stroller when out, and then after a few months she stopped darting anyways

 

[prettypixels]

Make up a stop/go game and practice it at home before you go to the store. There are millions of variations, just figure one out that she likes. Then when you go to the store, tell her several times on the way "stay close to mommy, stop when I say stop, or you go in the cart." And then if you say stop, and she doesn't, RUN, grab her, put her in the cart immediately. This is what I did and now I can say "STOP" and my daughter, running a few feet ahead of me, will stop and wait.

Mostly.

 

[camahdavi]

My 2.5 year old still occasionally does the running away thing but she's recently has started to respond to me telling her that it upsets ME instead of telling her how dangerous it is for her. But until she started realizing that it as bad I just had to resort to the tactic that prettypixels mentioned - as soon as she started to run away and didn't stop when I told her to, she would get put in her pushchair or the cart if we were shopping.

 

[ihugtrees]

I have this problem with one of my nanny kids...except it's not only out in public. It's in the house, when it's time for a diaper change or nap or to get in the high chair. It's when he wants to go outside, and I say not right now, so he opens the door and goes running into the yard. It's when he has something he shouldn't (the house is not baby proof and he is constantly getting a hold of dangerous or breakable objects when I'm busy with his little sister or older brother or their high needs dog.) It's when he's hit or pushed his 11 month old sister and knows he shouldn't have. It's when we are in the front yard playing, and he decides to go for the road. Especially since the parents haven't initiated it, I don't feel like the situation could be properly solved by a harness (as much as I wish I could get one. Although really, it's not feasible for me to make him walk around the house with me like a dog.) But since I am over 8 months pregnant, running after him is not exactly a feasible option either. All I can say is, I can't wait until my maternity leave starts...

Any ideas for any solutions for those kinds of situations? I doubt the 'stop/go' game would work since there is no incentive...I can't put him in the cart or stroller because he isn't listening, since we're in the house.

 

[angie7]

One of my twins did this the other day. We use time outs and I put her in time out in the store and she hasn't done it since.

 

[BetsyS]

Mine is a bad runner. It started around 18-19 months, and now, at 32 months, it still isn't great.

In public, I keep him contained. Mostly. Today, we were at the park, where he usually does okay. He ran, wouldn't stop, and when I caught him, I just scooped him up and put him in the car to go home.

Last week, he ran down the sidewalk in our neighborhood. He got a good ways before I caught him. In his pajamas. Before I had coffee. It was a great day. LOL

I had a thread about this a few months ago, and the general consensus was to contain them in some way in public (sling, stroller, buggy, harness), and that they would eventually outgrow it. I'm hoping.

Oh, things I have tried--practicing at home, leaving the event/outing immediately (even leaving groceries in the store), and trying to foresee what his triggers are going to be and talking them out. For instance, mine likes to run down the street to "go to walk" if he doesn't think he is going to get to play. So, I really talk up, "we're going to the park to play with friends. If you run away, we won't get to go play." These things help somewhat. But, really I'm just waiting for him to outgrow it.

 

[pitter_patter]

What worked for us is explaining stranger danger and stressing the importance of being able to see and hear mommy. I agreed that running is fun and we can do it as long as we are all running together, but that running away from mommy is not okay.