“Go Away Mummy!”

Has your child ever told you to go away?  Actually, have they shouted it at you?!  And probably whilst you're trying to get close to them to help them when they were upset or getting angry over something?

When my daughter used to shout it at me, I wasn't really sure of the best way to handle it.

One the one hand, I wanted to respect her autonomy, particularly about her physical self.  So if she said go away, I thought it was helpful to 'give her some space'.

On the other hand, I got irritated.  "Fine -  I will!" and would stomp off, thinking that if she doesn't want me, well then I'll go and do something else until she calms down.  (I know, super mature!)

But the reality was that she actually did want me there.  And although she might 'calm down', the underlying reason for her upset wasn't resolved.  So she would get upset about something else 5 minutes later.

It was helpful to understand why she was saying this to me, and what I could do that was actually helpful in those situations.

And I thought it might be helpful for you too!  So I made a super quick video for you (whilst sitting at my desk in my untidy office!)