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2.
When being under parented the child may become testy as a reaction to his distant mother. Feeling that a stranger is present, the child may begin to cry more often, have different feeding routines, or become difficult to comfort (Kalter 55).
Over parenting the child may be the mother's response to her fear of losing the child in a custody battle (Francke 64). While the child is learning how to be independent the mother may insist on clinging to him. For instance, the child may try to squirm away in reach of his bottle to feed himself, while the mother insists on holding and feeding him. When the child is being over parented, such as the example above, he may become frustrated and go back to his infant ways (65). .
Divorce in many cases may arouse emotions in children such as anger and fear. The child may change his behavior to simply let others know his emotions (Berger 135). Author Neil Kalter explained that "a toddler's anger is usually more easily discerned; he may yell, bite, pinch, kick, or hit. He may deliberately urinate on the floor or wall, throw or break toys and other objects, or scream, hate you" (68).
"At home she became frightened when playing in her backyard. She frequently ran into the house in tears claiming she had seen a spider, a dog, or had heard a funny noise." Kalter noted the fearful behaviors of a little girl named Kelly (46). Kelly's parents separated when she was 18 months old. Her parents often got into harsh arguments, which may have been the cause of her fear (46). Fear may result from custody fights and cause the child to become fearful of a robber coming to take him from his mother (53). Children unable to relieve themselves from the distress caused by this fear often have re-occurring nightmares (Francke 69). .
3.
In hopes that their mom or dad will come home, children may display the behavior of being excessively good.