Dear Wiggles: Why Is My Toddler So Clingy?

You love the cuddles. You really do. But what about the days when your toddler wants to be held, touched, carried or climbed on constantly… and you’re quietly desperate for five minutes of personal space?

This week, Simon and Lachy are joined by John and Caterina to answer a listener question about clingy toddlers, touched-out parents, and what happens when you add twins into the mix.

HOSTS
Simon Pryce
Lachy Gillespie

GUESTS
John Pearce
Caterina Mete

PRODUCERS
Produced by The Wiggles and Mylk Media
Madeline Joannou
Nick Webb

To submit a question for the ‘Dear Wiggles’ segment, email us at [e-mail] or head to thewiggles.com/podcast to send in a voice note.

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About The Wiggles' Podcast - Wiggle Talk

Think you’ve got parenting figured out? So do Simon and Lachy - until the toddler throws a curveball. On Wiggle Talk - a podcast for parents, Red Wiggle Simon Pryce and Purple Wiggle Lachy Gillespie tackle the tricky, funny, and unexpected moments of raising little humans.

Simon, dad to son Asher, and Lachy, father to twin daughters Lulu and Lottie and stepdad to Jasper, share the highs and lows of parenting in the early years. Alongside their own stories, they welcome guests - from parenting experts to well-known personalities - who bring fresh perspectives and practical wisdom to the table.

Each week also features Dear Wiggles- where listeners send in their questions, the things that keep them up at night, or the dilemmas they’d love another parent’s take on. Simon and Lachy talk it through with honesty, and when needed, they call in expert friends to help provide thoughtful advice and reassurance.

With decades of experience in children’s education and entertainment, The Wiggles bring their trademark warmth and playfulness to conversations on everything from sleep and routines to tantrums, play, and the big feelings that come with family life.

Two dads, no filter, figuring it out as they go.

About The Wiggles

For over three decades, The Wiggles have been a beloved cornerstone of children's entertainment, captivating and educating millions of preschoolers—and their parents—around the world. Known for their high-energy performances, catchy songs, and colourful characters, The Wiggles have built a global legacy rooted in the power of music and movement to inspire early childhood learning.

With a mission to make education fun, The Wiggles create content specifically designed for pre-K, preschool, kindergarten, and nursery school age groups. Their unique blend of music, dance, and educational content not only entertains but also helps children understand the world around them. Generations of fans who grew up watching The Wiggles are now sharing that same joy with their own children.

The Wiggles’ impact is truly global: they’ve achieved billions of music streams and YouTube views, and have sold more than 30 million albums and DVDs, along with eight million books worldwide. The Wiggles continue to dominate the preschool entertainment scene, connecting with new generations through various platforms. Their live shows consistently sell out across three continents, and their videos are enjoyed on countless broadcast and digital platforms in over 190 countries.

The Wiggles continue to dominate the preschool entertainment scene, connecting with new generations through various platforms. You can watch them on ABC Kids, Netflix, Prime Video, and Stan, and stream Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles on Prime Video. Stay connected by v

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Wiggles acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia
and their connections to land, see and community. We pay
our respects to elders, past, present and emerging.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome to Wiggle Talk, a podcast for parents. Now. I'm
Simon Price. I am the Red Wiggle.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
And I'm Lucky Gillespie and I'm the side Wiggle, the
Purple Wig on the side today.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Simon, Oh, you've got a lovely profile though, lucky I hope.

Speaker 4 (00:33):
So I'm sitting up lice and straight.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
I tend to never go on the side my pro
it's a very strong profile mine. But you know, someone
said to me the other day talked about noses, implying
the size of my nose, and I thought, well, that's
not very nice.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
That's not very nice at all. I never thought that
about you.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Thank you, Lockey. Well, I think it's in proportion. I'm
a lot. I'm six foot four.

Speaker 4 (00:56):
You are lucky your nose certainly isn't six foot four?

Speaker 3 (01:00):
That We have some guests today we do this is
a Deer Wiggles segment and we've invited John and Caterina in.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yes, guys, you're go to Deer Wiggles contestants.

Speaker 4 (01:15):
I was going to call you victims.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Are we're going to read you a question before we do.
I've just got a little story. I came today without
pants to the office.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
So you were driving in your underpants.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
Now I was driving in shorts. But I thought that
is not acceptable for will talk.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
It was used to be, okay when we had the table.
You used to hide those ones of yours under the
table you pick out. I just couldn't.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
I felt like I couldn't show my niece to say.
But what I am showing now is my ankles because
I've got genes from a wonderful Wiggily wardrobe.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
They fit on the waist, not quite in the leg.
They're actually quite cool.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
I don't know if that's acceptable, but thankfully you can't
see my ankles on the side. But that is my
These are my jeans for today. It's really handy having
a wardrobe here at work.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, that's right. I'm surprised you didn't come in a
clown at.

Speaker 4 (02:12):
Just regular jeans that are regular thirty two waists.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, I mean it's colder at the moment, yes, and
wonderful guests here have pants and long sleeved shirts of jeans,
and you woke up this morning when.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
Summer, Yeah, summer, Ready for tennis at all times, ready
for my shorts with the pockets.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Shall we start forty love?

Speaker 4 (02:32):
Wigle talk Talk Talk, wiggle talk. It's Dear Wiggles.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Authorized by Simon Luckie.

Speaker 5 (02:39):
This Dear Wiggles episode is brought to you by Carry
Care Toddler made for happy little tummies.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
Why don't we get Katerine or John to read the question?

Speaker 2 (02:46):
You choose?

Speaker 4 (02:46):
Will okay?

Speaker 2 (02:47):
John, first contestant?

Speaker 5 (02:49):
Okay, here we go, Deer Wiggles. My toddler is going
through a stage where they want me constantly. It's lovely
in a way, but by the end of the day
I feel completely touched out and then guilty for feeling
that way. Katerina, this was for you. I'd especially love
to know how it works with twins. Is it double
the cleanness? Do they take turns? Or is it more
like toddlers around? Sound sounds about right. How do you

(03:12):
get through those days? Or your little one just wants
you but you also need a tiny bit of space?

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yes, well that's from Matilda.

Speaker 6 (03:18):
Matilda, that's a great question. Yes, we do have those
moments where they both want me, and it's funny. They
say mummy hold you. That means mummy hold me. And
it always seems to happen if I am holding one
of the girls and then the other one sees and like, mummy,
hold you. Mummy, I'm like, and I always say, Mummy,
can't hold both of you. You have to take turns,

(03:39):
and we try to navigate it that way. But sometimes
if they're both, you know, crying and stuff, I'll just
hold them. Look at these guys just.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Gonna have both.

Speaker 6 (03:48):
You just have to hold them.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
So if you are holding one and you're asking the
other one to wait, do they just stand at your
feet looking up for you much.

Speaker 6 (03:56):
Or trying distract them? And I'm like, oh, what can
you do? I find such and such to show me,
or do it that way? Or do you want to
do some drawing? And sometimes that works.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
So I think what Matilla's experiencing is the child is
cleaning also everything you're trying to do in your day
to day life you have a child on your hare.

Speaker 6 (04:15):
No, we don't, thankfully. I don't have that issue with them.
They're pretty good. There's just moments so.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
And then I guess they have each other to play
with it at the same time.

Speaker 4 (04:25):
I always say that lucky.

Speaker 6 (04:26):
You probably see it to having twins. As much as
it's hard, you never actually have to play with them
because they're always playing with each other when they're that age,
or you try to join in and they're like, we
don't need you.

Speaker 4 (04:38):
No money go exactly.

Speaker 6 (04:40):
They're very happy because they've got even though they're independently playing,
there's never that need, is it.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
I think that happens more that I think as the
girls get older too. Yeah, they disappear now and there's
it's gone to in reverse almost for me. Now I
get home and want to want to play with them,
and they're just off.

Speaker 4 (04:59):
It's happening already.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
But I do remember done a lot saying exactly what
Matilda's saying is she just is sick of getting touched
and grabbed, and you get it as a as a mum.

Speaker 4 (05:10):
Then I want to cuddle, you know, and it just
doesn't it's just too much.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
Had it done it? I mean, it's tricky with two,
but had it done to deal with that? Do you know?

Speaker 3 (05:17):
I think just that I think there are days when
you can just say I just can't.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
I can't do it.

Speaker 3 (05:21):
I can't be touched right now and held. And I
don't think that's a bad thing for children, just obviously
going to give them cuddles throughout the day, but there
are moments when stuff's just too much and you can
say that, and.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
Maybe it's all about giving alternatives, isn't it okay like
you were saying, So, I can't hold you right now,
but if you do some coloring, you know we'll do
this and then you know we'll be able to have
a little cuddle soon.

Speaker 5 (05:42):
It's hard for you because you're on your own too,
so you don't have that secondary person like for me,
Chess is with Henry all days, so when I come home,
it's almost like he wants to cling to her because
she's the primary care giver. I'll try to take him outside,
take him for a bike, right, throw rocks out of
the back, everything else supposed to do, just to get
him out of the house.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
But it's a real when you get home.

Speaker 5 (06:02):
Is home, he still wants mummy, like come on, let's go,
let's go and play, take him to the park or
try to get him out, just give that break. But
I think it's it's probably be a lot difficult. You've
got double the work and half the help.

Speaker 6 (06:12):
Yeah, it is tricky, but yeah, you just my motto
is we just make it work.

Speaker 4 (06:17):
You just get through it.

Speaker 5 (06:17):
One day you'll look back and wish it all happen again.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
Is Henry very clingy?

Speaker 5 (06:21):
He is lately, and I think, you know, we try
to justify it. He could be teething, going through another regression,
or he's just maybe feeling a bit unwell. And Jess,
obviously is that soothing comfort for him because he doesn't
have a dummy, he doesn't have that thing that he
holds onto and she happens to be that thing. So
we just, you know, just embrace it and just live
in the moment. I think of it, and I keep

(06:41):
reminding just we're going to look back one day and
this will all be gone, and you wish will happen
against it.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, well, I think like you're saying that already, isn't it.
You know, his ash has never been very clingy. You know,
laws would love nothing more than a cuttle.

Speaker 4 (06:53):
From her, and.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
It doesn't and it never because he's always been so
busy he's never got time for it. And if he
does do it you know, Okay, I'm really tired, or
he's getting sek or you kind of know there's a
reason for it. But like Lockie said that, now you're saying, too, Johnny,
now that it's ended, that you want it, and that
it is a stage, it is a phase, and so
as hard as it can be, and this is I

(07:16):
guess Matilda, as hard as it can be right now,
it will come to an end. And so there's some
reassurance with that.

Speaker 4 (07:25):
Yeah, and that's so true.

Speaker 3 (07:26):
One of the girls on the couch the other day,
I can sit right next to on the couch. As
soon as I put like a hand on her knee
or something.

Speaker 4 (07:32):
She's like pushes it off.

Speaker 3 (07:34):
Then on the weekend she sat on my chest and
we watched TV, and I suddenly clocked myself, my god,
this is what's changed.

Speaker 4 (07:43):
Yeah, it didn't last very long, but you do.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
You really look forward to those moments until it be
totally understand But there will be there will be moments
where you wish that was again.

Speaker 4 (07:52):
But yes, the.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
Constant touching and wanting wanting space is completely completely normally.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 4 (07:59):
It's put on the whiggles.

Speaker 5 (08:00):
Your sort of your problem for The Wiggles on Wiggle
Vision episode.

Speaker 4 (08:05):
Of Your Break.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
Well, you know, I think once again, like always, we've
we've been no help at all and so but thank
you Matilda. Thanks, that was a great question. It's interesting,
isn't Locke looking back, because you do forget so much
and now our children are still both so young, but
so much changes and that question from Matilda reminds me
of how much things can change. Like we're saying, you know,

(08:29):
they're forming their own opinions, they're forming their own way
of doing things, and they're not so reliant on us
as parents.

Speaker 4 (08:36):
You're already how quickly it goes.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
You are we're grunting soon a teenager.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
So hold on to these times because everyone says how
fast it goes, and it really does go so quickly.

Speaker 4 (08:49):
Absolutely, thank you John and Caterina for joining us today,
no worry.

Speaker 6 (08:52):
Thank you for having us. And this Dear Wiggles episode
was brought to you by carry Care Toddler made for
Happy Little Tummy.

Speaker 3 (08:59):
If you've got a question for us that you'd love
us to tackle on Dear Wiggles, send it through to
us podcast at the Wiggles dot com dot au.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Lucky, Yes I can be your koala.

Speaker 4 (09:08):
Thank you Simon Kala, Bye everybody.

Speaker 6 (09:14):
Thanks.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
That's how that's it from wiggled Talk. Yeah, that's a
podcast for parents. H