Would you describe your toddler as affectionate?

[stealth]

I'm curious, because my 2 yr old seems to have a real resistance to affection, and not sure if we should be concerned or not? She resists hugs from both her parents, either of us might get maybe 1 kiss per month from her, even if we ask her for a hug or kiss. We both show her a lot of affection, she has never been abused, so not sure where this side of her comes from? She's otherwise a very happy, playful baby, and does give affection to her stuffed animals.
It can be disheartening at times.:(

[nalababe]

Both have been very affectionate at that age.

Kisses all of the time for either Mum or Dad. Hugs all of the time.

Now, I grew up in a family that wasn't affectionate, so probably not surprisingly, I was not second nature to me. We didn't want our kids to be like that, so we made a point of ensuring that the kids see lots of hugs, lots of kisses.

When my 2 year old hugs and says "Daddy, I love you"....you know he means it.

One last point, one that people can debate all they like: we were big advocates of attachment parenting. We had a Co-sleeper till the kids were 6 months, a crib in our room until 2. There was always constant cuddling, touching, contact. None of this stick them in another room. Let them cry or "train" them to stop crying.

So now we have 2 wonderfully affectionate boys who are also immensely independent.

[sdm242]

Both have been very affectionate at that age.

Kisses all of the time for either Mum or Dad. Hugs all of the time.

Now, I grew up in a family that wasn't affectionate, so probably not surprisingly, I was not second nature to me. We didn't want our kids to be like that, so we made a point of ensuring that the kids see lots of hugs, lots of kisses.

When my 2 year old hugs and says "Daddy, I love you"....you know he means it.

One last point, one that people can debate all they like: we were big advocates of attachment parenting. We had a Co-sleeper till the kids were 6 months, a crib in our room until 2. There was always constant cuddling, touching, contact. None of this stick them in another room. Let them cry or "train" them to stop crying.

So now we have 2 wonderfully affectionate boys who are also immensely independent.

We have a similar parenting style but my two daughters are much different from one another when it comes to affection. My oldest was never a big cuddler. She's 11 now and although I do get hugs/kisses at bedtime, etc. she is rarely the initiator. On the otherhand, my youngest has always been more affectionate and still is now (8 years old). She'll snuggle on the couch, give a hug at random, come sit on my lap, etc.

[toppower]

I'm curious, because my 2 yr old seems to have a real resistance to affection, and not sure if we should be concerned or not? She resists hugs from both her parents, either of us might get maybe 1 kiss per month from her, even if we ask her for a hug or kiss. We both show her a lot of affection, she has never been abused, so not sure where this side of her comes from? She's otherwise a very happy, playful baby, and does give affection to her stuffed animals.
It can be disheartening at times.:(

Its just a matter of time. Just like my daughter( and Wife ).....the harder you push for affection the more they will push you away.:D

[dafunkgirl20]

We had our kids sleeping in their own rooms from the day we brought them home from the hospital!!

Neither of our kids really liked to cuddle as infants, despite us giving them lots of hugs and kissed.

Our 5 year old loves to give and get hugs and kisses. At night before bed he gives us tonnes of kisses and a warm heartfelt hug. We give him tonnes of kisses and hugs as well. I kiss the kids as I send them off on the school bus every day.

Our 2 year old is very different. He likes to cuddle a bit more now, especially at bed time. For the first 2 years of life we never got kisses from him - now he'll maybe kiss us once a day even though we shower him with kisses. He used to give the most amazing hugs (which made up for the lack of kisses). We're not sure what is up with our 2 year old but we're keeping an eye on things.... we do wish he was more affectionate but we know that when he does hug us or kiss us - that he truly means it. He does love to blow kisses!!

This is probably not much help - but we're kind of in the same boat.

[stealth]

Thank you all for your input, I appreciate it, and its been interesting.

[pimom]

All my daughters were very affectionate, and continue to be. Unfortunately they are all also very shy around anyone new and clingy with people they know well. I would love to see a little more independance.

[L_Mo]

I think it all boils down to personality. We have three kids, who display three different levels of affection. Child #1 - mid-level affectionate -- happily gives kisses and hugs if you ask, but doesn't always "initiate" affection; Child #2 - resists affection unless it is on her terms -- gives more affection to Mom than Dad, but will give kisses and say "I love you" at times; Child #3 (currently 20 months old) - Super kisser! - constantly initiates giving big hugs and kisses to Mom, Dad, siblings... even tried to kiss a stranger on the weekend! We'll have to keep a close eye on him!!

As long as you don't suspect developmental delays, then I'd chalk it up to personality. Our kids have displayed the same level of affection since at least 18 months old. Mention it to your doctor on your next visit, but don't stress about it.

[Medve]

Both have been very affectionate at that age.
One last point, one that people can debate all they like: we were big advocates of attachment parenting. We had a Co-sleeper till the kids were 6 months, a crib in our room until 2. There was always constant cuddling, touching, contact. None of this stick them in another room. Let them cry or "train" them to stop crying.

So now we have 2 wonderfully affectionate boys who are also immensely independent.

Wow. I'm sure OP thanks you for this non-helpful post about your inability to relate. Why don't you write a book about how wonderful your parenting ideas are and let the person who has a legitimate question and was looking for some experience in this area get a real answer?