6 year old boy...should I be worried? Or just growing pains?
I am just wondering where it came from and if there are circumstancs I should worry about. Lately he has been much more affectionate. He has always given hugs, begrudgenly. I just didn't think he was that affentionate. Over the past few weeks though, he is ready with the happy hugs. He is more eager and will hug me as I tight as I hug him.
Its so sweet, but again...the unsolicited affection is something new. I just want to be sure that this is common for boys. He does have a younger brother who definately gets more "baby" treatment but he is always focused on as well. A friend suggested that maybe he is just resisting growing up and sees the affection his little brother gets...so he is holding onto being a kid. I just wonder if this behavior is normal or should I look for signs of something else going on?
FYI, his mom stays at home & is very involved with the kids.
Answer:
Your nephew may actually be growing up rather than resisting the process, as your friend suggests. He's getting past one of the times when children struggle with developing their own identity separate from their parents. He probably just went through long period of asserting his independence. There were a lot of "I can do it" and "Leave me alone" type statements coming from him before. This process of a child pushing away from their parents (and other similar adults like aunts and uncles) is repeated and more widely acknowledged during the teenage years. The swing back to connecting to the adults in his life is a positive sign that he is more confident in himself and knows who he is (as a six year old).
I would worry about your nephew having difficulty with the "baby" if he were regressing on developmental tasks. If he claims that he "can't" do things that used to be easy, I would see that as a need for reinforcement on how much he is loved and not being replaced.
As a mother of two small children, I have seen my five year old son act in much the same way. My advice would be to store up all of the hugs you can against the day that your nephew becomes a teenager and you hit your next "affection dry-spell".
I wouldnt be worried about anything bad having happened to him, its probably just the baby and as your friend said he doesnt want to grow up, i went through this with my son, what i did was give him responsibilities with the baby that way he felt very important and seen that it was a good thing to grow up and be the big brother mine didnt just give lots of affection though he wanted to drink from his old sippy cups and he became vert whiney as well.
this is great, he's growing up and in tune with his feelings and wants to show it, i remember when mine did this and this is a great time of their lives. i have 4 kids and all have turned out to be very affectionate loving teens and adults. i have 3 boys, twins in there and i have always welcomed lots of hugs and kisses and the return them and instigate them as well, just revel in it and enjoy!!!
Well I don't see anything wrong it,but he should be careful when he's out in public,and hope he don't get affection with strangers you know.I glad that his mother is good with the kids,it's not that many parents these days,that don't spent time with their kids,and that's not good.I don't know what her mother is doing,but as long he don't talk back to his mom,or being bad,that makes her a good mother,and a good role-model to her kids.
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