Am I raising a mama’s boy? And is that such a bad thing?

I struggled with this so much so that when Kyle was still just 18 months, I started treating him differently. He became very attached to me, which is extremely normal and actually an important milestone. However, my mind went elsewhere… I was worried he was becoming a “mama’s boy” and to some degree, I almost ignored his wants and needs just to avoid him being so dependent on me (I cringe as I write this because I realize how awful of a parent that made me, but I honestly didn’t know any better).

Fast forward four years and I’m faced with a similar situation with our youngest son, Nate. Knowing that he’s our last child and having gained the parenting experience from our first two, I’m treating him and the attachment situation differently. So much so that I am actually worried that I AM creating a mama’s boy.

Nate is almost 2 1/2 and he’s basically my shadow. Even if he’s busy playing or watching a show, he still prefers to follow me around the house instead of staying put and continuing on with his activity. The worst part is that he won’t let anyone else help him with ANYTHING! If he needs his shoes on and my husband comes over to help, he says “NO! Mommy do it!” If he wants to eat something and his brothers help him get it, he says “NO! Mommy do it!” If he needs his diaper changed and my mom offers to do it, he says “No! Mommy do it!” You get the idea… While it was endearing and cute at first, it’s sort of getting frustrating and worrisome.