Have 23 mo. old granddaughter in care of great aunt and baby has shown unusual behavior. Am I reading too much into this . . .
Try to keep short - my son has joint custody and mother has been gone a couple months since she joined the army reserves. Had issues with the great aunt who is watching baby full time during a previous time (found out she was trying to control baby's behavior - not letting her suck her thumb or let her have a security blanket). Baby stays at our house since son lives with us. When I found out she was doing this, I made arrangements to have someone else watch her (baby was screaming when I left her in mornings and acting out at night). I relinquished and let aunt continue watching her when she cried and said she would do anything to continue watching baby. Now we have heard from another relative (on mother's side) and it has happened in our presence, that the baby has "licked" some part of someone's body (leg and belly to be specific). Told aunt I was concerned with this behavior and she thinks baby is imitating the dogs she has. Lots of other little things such as baby has woken up in the night frequently crying and bites and hits at times.
Do I read too much into a almost 2 year old's behavior? Do I let great aunt continue watching her? P.S. Great Aunt informed me on one occasion that she had been sexually abused as a child.
Thank you everyone. Spoke with many people about issue including the pediatrician (he says it shouldn't be an issue unless directed at private parts - to keep eyes & ears open). The general consensus is to not make too much of it and just be aware. I have let everyone know including the mother & father of baby that they need to be aware of the baby's behavior and who is watching her no matter who it is. Unfortunately, the baby was born to a mother who has a very dysfunctional family. Will continue to be the best grandma I can be and stand up for her as much as I can.
My motherly instinct says not to let the baby go to the aunt's house unsupervised at all. it sounds like maybe some funny stuff may be going on if the baby is waking up with behavior issues. Just something to seriously to think about especially for the little innocent baby who can't quite tell you what is going on.
I think you're reading into it too much. I have a 7 year old daughter, and practically raised my little sister and brother who are now 14 and 15. Kids do things and imitate behavior ALL THE TIME. Doesn't mean that they're weird or anything like that at all. As for "behavior" problems, there is nothing wrong with not letting the child have a security blanket or sucking its thumb. Thumb sucking is bad, and having a security blanket (in my opinion) is not great either. As for the licking, the child probably is mimicking what she saw the cat do. I wouldn't worry about that at all, just tell her no that's not nice or something to that affect.
From one grammie to another, trust your gut! I'd rather be wrong and risk the relationship than be right and have the child scarred for life.
PLEASE trust your intuition. Your grandaughter is trying to tell you something. Listen to her!
D. I would go with what your gut is telling you to do. If you feel there is something wrong with the situation then remove that baby as soon as possible. There is a chance you are reading into something that is nothing but i would rather be safe than sorry.
Trust your gut and get her OUT!!!!
While I agree with everyone else, go with your gut, I would also like to say that licking on its own is not innately evidence of sexual acting out (unless it is explicitly sexual areas of the body). We have a dog and a son who is now 3. My son used to bite as when he was little we would nibble on his hands to make him laugh and he started to "nibble" (read chomp) back. We taught him to kiss not bite, which he turned into licking as it got more of a reaction and having a dog doesn't help matters. Regardless, if you think something is wrong, get the kid out!
D., please get her out NOW. I totally agree with everyone. It is no secret that people that have been sexually abused, exhibit sexually abusive behavior. Not their fault, and much counseling, prayer, and deliverance is needed (takes YEARS). You don't want your grandchild to suffer from the same dysfunction. Please, for your grand-daughter's sake, remove the child from that environment.
Better safe than sorry. Keep that woman away from the baby. By her behavior, the baby is asking you to not be left with her. My prayers are with you.
GET HER OUT NOW!!! Always go with your "gut" and don't talk yourself out of what you feel. There is so much inappropriate behavior going on with children these days it is appalling. It's hard to trust anyone these days. It seems like this lady was doing things you didn't like (not letting her suck thumb etc)even before the strange incident so I would remove the little girl from her care.
Enough said. See other comments.
Pray for wisdom and healing.
I'd go with your gut and find another sitter.. you can't be too careful. I'm sure that the aunt will be upset, but again.. better to be safe.
My father was abused by a relative.
Better safe than sorry. Remover her from her care just to be on the safe side, especially if you are having a gut reaction like this. You can never be too careful with your children (grandchild in this case).
