daddy time

[carliex]

my 20 month old daughter usually goes to daddys wed night and comes home first thing before he goes to work, then on sat tea time untill sunday tea time. This weekend was my mums 40th so she stayed at daddy fri - sun as i was away with mum, when she came back she has been smacking me, kicking me, jumping at every little noise, clingy, and she usually loves bed time she tells me when she wants to go to bed but she is scared to death of going in her cot and was up crying until 4 this morning. She is usually a little different when she comes home from daddys but this time i really worried that some thing has really scared her iv never known her to be like this before! i was thinking of stoping her goin to daddys just to see if she calms down but how do i tell daddy he can only see her on a sunday for a few hours without coursing trouble.

[andy-hughes]

You can't - but you are within your rights to have a cat with Daddy.

Ask him calmly and without accusation, if everything was alright after her last visit - remember, he will be super-sensitive to any suggestion that he is not a fit parent, so tread carefully.

If her reaction persists after another visit, you need to raise the issue again, as a concern, and escalate accordingly.

If he insists nothing is wrong, advise him that she is obviously unsettled by her staop-overs, and if this persists, they will stop.

It may be just a one-off - children at this age don't always react well to changes in surroundings and routine, so don't be too quick to condemn.

That said, your daughter's welfare comes first, and as her mum and primary carer, you have a right to a chat about things, and some answers if things don't improve.