2-Year Old Being Ignored

Well you keep talking with her. Have a conversation with her. Maybe sign up for storytime at the library or a local bookstore. You will find people that enjoy reading and being present in the moment.
Go to the park she will meet new friends.
I feel bad for you it would bother me. Don't make a big deal about it you don't want her reacting to everything or worse think their is something wrong with her. And there is NOTHING wrong with her she sounds like a sweet outgoing little girl.

I think this is pretty common. As her mom you are going to pay more attention to her and hear more of what she says than other people. I agree with a previous poster, when this happens to my daughter (now 3) I just respond to her. As long as you are responding to her she is not being ignored! She is too young to care whether you respond or the person she was actually talking to responds.

I too have a child that NEVER meets a stranger. He is so friendly. It's just his nature. Other children have ignored him too and it hurt to see that. I still didn't let it dampen his effort and told him that they might not have heard him. When he got older (he is five now) I explained that some people are friendly and some are not but nothings wrong with him it's just the way they act. I'm happy to say that it never changed his attitude. Now he just picks his friends instead of trying so hard to be a friend to everyone.
Best Regards,
C.

I've been there. My 3 /12 yr old son is really chatty. He is constantly sharing his thoughts with others who sometimes listen and sometimes don't. Kinda hurts your feelings when it seems as if your kid is being ignored. As a parent I'm sure you give her all the attention she needs. I know with my son at times he is totally unaware that no one is listening, just goes on. But when it is one of his brothers or his sister that isn't responding? I step in. I get their attention and point out that he was trying to share something with him. I let them know that they are important to him and that's why he wants to show them things, tell them things. When your daughter has something important to say and isn't getting the attention, she will find a way to get her message across. Trust me on this! The way I see it, it's all a learning experience. You obviously are such a loving mommy and your little girl is lucky to have you!!!

Hi, my daughter is also very outgoing and when she was that age I felt the same way most of the time. She didn't understand that most older kids wouldn't be interested in playing or talking to her. That and the fact that she doesn't have siblings at home to interact with were pretty hard. But, she is four now and even more outgoing, so I guess it has not gotten her down. I figure the occasional "ignoring" just helps her grow a thicker skin, and then she'll realize that not everyone in life will like her or be interested in her. Don't know if that helps, but you're not alone!

My daughter is the same way and it used to hurt me too....it still does a bit. She is 6 now and is still going through the same stuff....it hasn't discouraged her a bit though from being the person that she is. She loves to talk and is very affectionate and alot of kids don't respond well to kids like that. We started taking her to classes through the city like tumbling, dance, art for little fingures, and around 4 found a drama class. We wanted to keep putting her with different groups of kids til she found a place that fit her. The funny thing was all of them fit her. She doesnt seemed to be bothered usually by the kids who dont share her enthusiasm. It hrut me more than I think it ever bothered her. i would dweel on it and she would jsut move on to the next little kid. We have talked the few times it bothered her and told her not everybody likes to be hugged and touched not everyone likes to talk to new friends right away, just give it sometime. It seemed to work for her and never even made a dent in the sparkling little personality that she has. When she does find a friend somewhere that matches her personality make sure to reach out to that parent ans try to set up some play dates or trip to the park together...that really made a diffference for my little girl. Good luck and don't worry she sounds like a great liitle girl and will soon have more friends than you can handle...it just takes a little time, most kids her age aren't so social but its great that she is.

This happens to my 2 year old a lot. She is extremely friendly and outgoing. Generally, we will tell her that the person didn't hear her (and that's the case most of the time). She will try again louder and sometimes still not get a response, so we just tell her that she still wasn't heard and we don't have time to keep trying. Sometimes she will get close up to the person to say what she has to say and demand a response. Like I said, she's really outgoing. :) The times she is ignored she seems to take in stride and we don't make a big deal out of it. She may ask why she didn't get an answer and we'll just tell her the person isn't nice and friendly like she is. My husband doesn't like people to ignore her, though, so he will sometimes tell people she's talking to them to get them to respond.

you could also say, to the people openly ignoring your child,
ARE YOU ALWAYS THIS RUDE ?
OR DO YOU WORK AT IT ?
people tend to ignore little girls, at least until they learn how to swear !
a snappy comeback typically works wonders, no swearing required.
K. h.

I think this is pretty typical. With my daughter, she would sometimes be the one talking and sometimes be the one ignored. It still happens at age 6 (both ways). If I see her ignoring someone, I will pull her aside and ask her why and ask her how she feels when someone ignores her. Mostly it is because she is too shy to answer or she is super focused on something else. With my son, who is 3, he will also ignore kids if he is tired or super focused on something. he also is just developing speech, so for a while, he just didn't have the right speech to respond. If he is ignored, and it bothers him, he will get in their face and turn their face to him so he is heard. I wouldn't get to bothered by it. Just to talk to her about how she feels if she seems upset but don't make a big deal out of it. There will be a time in the future when she is ignoring others and you will want to cringe.

I would talk to the counselors at the Y and tell them your concern - say it's not a huge deal but that you just want to make sure she doesn't get discouraged and become a wallflower. It has been my experience that they will make sure to include her and specifically say things to her or during group time, say "What do you think X?" That way the other kids have to focus on her even if for just a moment. We have a socially awkward child and all of his daycare counselors were happy to help out when we explained.

it's pretty much universal that younger kids are very absorbed in what they're doing, and older kids don't really register younger ones at all. your child isn't being deliberately left out, you're just conscious of it cuz you're the mom. you've got excellent advice here....you just respond to her cheerfully, and if she does notice and get upset just point out to her that sometimes people aren't focused on what she is. she sounds so sunshiney that it's not likely to dampen her bright spirits.
khairete
S.

People these days seem to be more and more unfriendly...I guess parents don't teach their kids manners, or everyone is too scared to talk to strangers or something. However, I don't think this will harm your daughter's charming disposition! She sounds like a delight and I'm sure your interaction with her matters more than any one else's...some people are naturally more outgoing and talkative...others are quiet and reserved...so I think she will be fine. Just keep doing what you're doing because she is obviously speaking well and learned it from someone! :)

I dont think i would worry to much about it. Does she seem hurt by it? Is she asking why no one responds? my son will be 3 in aug and it extremly friendly also. When we go places to play he will be running around saying hi to everyone. Sometimes the kids talk to him, and sometimes they dont. He doesnt really seem to care if they dont. He will keep talking anyways. It is sad to watch sometimes definatly, but kids will deal with this all thier life and he doesnt get hurt by it yet. I just always tell him good job for being friendly. Good job saying good bye, etc. Kids that age dont always get it and dont realize they are maybe hurting someones feelings by not responding. They are to busy doing what thier doing and probably dont even realize they are supposed to say goodbye back. Especially if no one has really taught them they should. I also think most older kids just dont really know how to act with a little one. Especially if their not around them a lot. I wouldnt worry to much about it. Just keep praising her for being polite and trying.

I know exactly what you mean. I have 7 y/o twin boys who are very outgoing and love to talk to anyone and everyone. We go to a playground and they immediately run up and try to play with the other kids or talk to them and more often than not, they are ignored. This has been going on from the beginning. They don't seem to mind or haven't noticed yet, but it does make me wonder if other parents notice that their kids are sometimes snubbing other kids.
I have no advise, just saying, you're not alone.

J.

Depending on the situation, I have a couple ways that I handle that.
1. I praise my son for being outgoing and acknowedge him.
2. If we are in a store or someplace where there isn't a lot of background noise, I tell him "Oh hunny, they must not have heard you. Say it again." Even the mean people have a hard time ignoring a kid when you are looking right at them :)

If you notice this happening all you need to do is answer her , "Oh yes, the sun is going down".

Sometimes when one of my daughters is talking to someone and they don't hear her or they are ignoring her, I simply say, " (whatever their name is), Cailyn is trying to tell you how pretty the butterfly is ..." Or if she is talking to a stranger I just tell her that they didn't hear her.

It's not a big deal. I take it with a grain of salt. As long as she doesn't seem upset, I move on.

This happens ALL the time to EVERY child, so I think she will be just fine! I have four girls (6, 5, 3, and almost 2)- they are all mostly outgoing and I can't say it enough- they get ignored ALL the time.

If you are still worried- you can tell her that they don't know that she is talking to them (which is basically the truth), and that she needs to make sure they are looking at her in order for them to know that she is talking to them- or BETTER YET- have her find that out for herself! She'll be just fine! :)

there was an article on babycenter.com about this and included tips to teach your kid on how to make new friends.