It's easy enough to tell if a child actually wants to be tickled: Stop tickling and then wait and watch if they move further away from you or closer to you. (If

It's easy enough to tell if a child actually wants to be tickled: Stop tickling and then wait and watch if they move further away from you or closer to you. (If necessary move slightly away from them first.) Based on which direction they're moving you can tell what they really want. Another way to tell is to do a pretend tickle motion and then backup. Do they follow you? Or do they just stay where they are?