A Case of the "Clingies"

Daniel has never really had an issue with separation anxiety. While he may be initially shy with strangers, he quickly warms up to them and thoroughly enjoys the attention that comes with being 2-years-old. Until recently, Daniel hadn't ever really cried when we'd left him (the beginning of camp and then school being the exception). Which is why this latest phase of his has gotten me all worked up.

He has grown, more and more over the past couple of weeks, increasingly attached to me. What started out as an isolated incident of insisting to be carried everywhere has become a full-blown case of the "clingies." Not only does Daniel want to sit next to me wherever we may be, he wants to sit on top of me, behind me, and even draped around me. He can often be heard pleading, "Mommy, come!" while I'm sitting just across the table from him. Peter even joked that Daniel would crawl back into the womb if he could (which was really only funny because Daniel so clearly takes after his Daddy in this regard). Perhaps this behavior is commonplace for other Mommies out there. But I've made it to 32 months without anything like this from Daniel in the past. So, why now? What has changed? And, most importantly, how do I handle it?

As a teacher, I would probably have handled the situation by using good old positive reinforcement. If a student was using negative behaviors to elicit my attention, I would make a point to notice that student's positive behaviors throughout the day and make a big deal of it. The idea is that the student would eventually realize that his or her positive behavior was a more efficient means to an end, thereby eliminating the "acting out" for attention's sake. When it's your own child doing the acting out, things are different. You feel compelled to differentiate between right and wrong, while simultaneously affirming your child's self-esteem and communicating your unconditional love. Sounds like an uphill battle, right?

I am curious (just a little bit) to see how far Daniel takes this whole hyper-attachment phase. Is he acting this way because we're on vacation from our regular routine? Will he regain his independence once we return home from Florida and he goes back to school 3 days a week? Or am I forced to face this challenge head-on, with nothing but my motherly instincts to protect me from this most formidable opponent?