Emotional support for 2.5 year old

[BeckyH]

Hi. My husband and I separated in November but until a month or so ago, it has remained amicable and uncomplicated, so much so we had a normal Christmas and he remained living at the house until January. My daughter is 2 and a half and until this week, hasn’t shown any signs of emotional upset. However, yesterday she was very upset all day and told me she felt ‘sad’, ‘upset’ and ‘lonely’ – a word that took me aback and I have never heard her say. Myself, family and her dad have always been very careful about what we say around her. Those are all things I feel, but yesterday she voiced. However much I want her to learn emotions and be open to voicing them to me, I’m concerned this has affected her way more than we estimated. I just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences or would know how best to deal with this? Thanks in advance!

[Dippydoo]

Hi,

Is there any indication that this was related to the split? As Anonymous says this could be a one off due to a bad day.

My 2nd child was a similar age when I split up with my ex, he found it difficult and struggled with his emotions (although as parents we didn’t handle the situation as well as you and your ex have) . I found that lots of attention but strict boundaries helped. His nursery teacher also did a one on one session with him once a week and they talked about feelings. I  bought lots of books that showed different types of families & situations. Exploring emotions through play is good too.

Good luck.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 2 weeks ago by Jordan Gingerbead.

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