Welcome, Duke's Mom & Duke!! There's no telling what bad memories this baby may have ... patience will be key. We made a rule for our grandchildren before we brought Toto home ... noone who wasn't a teenager or older could hold her! The little ones could play with her on the floor but could not pick her up ... if she chose to climb on them or get in their lap it was OK but if she chose not to, that was the end of the discussion!! She loved playing with them except for two of our young grandsons who were five & six. She was just terrified of them and wouldn't have
anything to do with them! They were very loud and wouldn't stay out of her face! I felt like running and hiding sometime when they came in the door!!
It took about a year for her to warm up to them! Perhaps you should simply approach Duke in a "hands off" manor ... sit on the floor and encourage him to play and maybe he will warm up on his own and decide that sitting on laps can be a "good thing"!! Good luck!