Joanna Fortune: My grandchild gets upset when it's time to leave the playground

I regularly bring my 22-month-old grandchild to the playground. She gets very upset when I take her off the swing to put her in her buggy. She knows it’s about to happen if I reach for a snack or her bottle. I have to manhandle her into the buggy. She is not talking yet, but she understands a lot. Should I avoid the playground even though she loves it?

What a lucky little girl to have all of this playtime with her grandparent, and indeed you with her. Small children love the playground. It has so much variety with different things to try, challenges to master, (healthy) risks to be taken and other children to meet and befriend. All of this is good for her development.

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