Babysitting and the boys are ALWAYS crying for their mom!?

Question

So, around 2 weeks ago, I was invited to babysit these two 2 year old boys that my sister normally babysits. The kids were great the whole time, until their mother got home (she asked if I could stay a little while to help give them a bath, and just hang out and play with them). The whole time while the mom was busy in her office or outside, the two little boys wouldn't stop crying for her! They would scream mommy until she had to come in. I would try to console or play with them, but it never worked. I felt bad because I had to keep making the mom come in there while she was trying to do work and I couldn't stop them.

Well, today she called my sister and she doesn't want to, so I'm going to. I'd like to make a better impression and get the boys more comfortable around me so they are not constantly yelling for their mom. Any help?

Answer 1

WHat has worked for me is to change their mind. Provide distractions. Get their mind off of whatever is currently upsetting them (in your case, wanting their mom) by showing or doing something else.

Pull out coloring books. If that doesn't work, a different toy. DO sock puppets. Keep trying a variety of things until you hit on something that captures their interest. 2 year olds have short attention spans so 5-10 minutes of an activitiy and move on to something else.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Well, they're only 2-year-old boys.  They were without their mother for several hours.  Then she finally comes home, and they're so happy to see her.  But, she is busy elsewhere and doesn't spend time with the boys.  Of course, at that point, they are wanting their mother who is right there after being gone for hours.  Now, if their mom had been with them all day, and you came to play with them a couple hours while she did something else, that would be a bit different.  But, as you described it, I don't think there's anything atypical about their behavior.