my 18month ds2 is soooooo miserable!

[katycakes]

Hi
My gorgeous ds2 is so grumpy some days it feels like he spends the whole day crying(i m sure he doesn t,but it just seems like it)especially if we are at home.If we go out somewhere he more often than not has a complete personality change and is such a happy independant boy people don t beleive me when i say he s not like this at home.
I can t leave the room,go to the toilet(he actually sits on my knee whilst i m on the loo,gross i know!)or basically do anything without him crying.
I m sure that lots of you have been through similar experiences your help and advice about how to get through this v difficult stage would be much appreciated

boredom! my almost one year old is the same! doesn't matter what we do really, he is whingy unless we are actively doing SOMETHING exciting at home.
when out it's great. tbh he;s much better even if we just go for a little walk down the road for a change of scenery

I agree i think he probably is bored its just hard to keep up a constant level of excitement when i m so tired(he doesn t sleep well either).He hates all his toys nothing holds his interest for longer than a minute max,the only things that make him happy are the things he s not supposed to do ie climbing stairs,playing with his brothers toys,sticking his hands down the loo i just have a feeling of dread about every day and i m sure it shouldn t be like this!

i know its a bit messy but have you tried painting with him ? my dd1 (now 5) loved messy play even at this age. also do you get down on the floor and play with the toys with him ? my dd2 is 15 mo and she is also kike this in the day when she is bored and starlover is right maybe a walk change of scenery ? hope you have a better day tomorrow xx

Thanks merrymum i ll try and be brave and try the painting thing,i do get down on the floor and play with him but he just ignores the toys and wants to sit/or climb on me.I just feel like its been so long since i had a nice day with him i sometimes just feel like i m on a count down till its his bed time,and i know thats awful to wish the time away but sometimes i just can t wait till he s older and hopefully a little happier!

they do get bored with toys quickly don't they?

you could try rotating them. get 3 or 4 plastic tubs and divide the toys between them

have one out for 2 or 3 days and then swap to the next one and so on... put the others away.
that helps conquer the boredom a bit because they suddenly get some toys they'd forgotten about!

we also now try and get out in the afternoon. more often than not it is just a walk to feed the ducks. but sometimes we'll nip to the supermarket for something, or pop over and see my mum... just anything really to break the day up a bit.

painting and drawing are good ideas... as is play doh etc etc...

have just thought also some days when dd2 is constant bored / winging i put on some music any thing you can have a jive to!! maybe a music channel on tv? she loves dancing and we have fun together this is also the way i mange to get jobs done in the day - dancing while polishing etc it keeps her amused !!!!

I was lucky in that DD was 18 months during the summer! But I always try and get out at least once a day unless she is really unwell...novelty seems to be worth a ton of anything else at this age.
If its horrible out: try putting sofa cushions on the floor and bouncing around on them - rolling, walking, making obstacles courses etc. I also used to take DD on the little local train: cheap day return to anywhere, just go a few stops and come back. She loved it, and I got to sit down.
Paint/playdough etc I found hard work at this age tbh...short attention span. Little figures she could role play with were her thing, but not all kids like that.
Playing peek a boo/hide and seek behind trees was good. Puddles were good. Books were (and are) excellent.
I hadn't realized how much easier its got till I typed all that....

Thanks you guys for all your handy hints just got to muster up the energy to carry some of them out now!
My ds1 was such a happy child(and still is) i think its really shocked me how difficult this child care business is,also i worked full time with ds1 but am at home full time withds2 so i guess i missed out on alot of this time with my eldest.
i do try and keep busy,days out,walks,shopping etc and he is happy to do those things its just that as soon as we walk through the door the tears startand we re back to square one,i guess i just need to learn that i can t have everything.
Sorry to be a whinger,thanks for listening

katycakes I could easily walk into your life and find it mirrors mine exactly except I havent got an older child. MY ds is 16mths and time at home is filled with clinging, grizzling, and crying, going out however is great and ppl comment on what a happy little boy he is!!!!! As the others say, I try to get out every day including the wet ones ( somedays I dont want to go back home as it is the only time he seems content!) I do lots of stories, painting, playdough, songs, rhymes etc which takes alot of energy and distracts him for maybe a few minutes but mostly I just mutter to myself that it is going to get better, he is just frustrated by his limitations and tht this is my lesson in learning patience and most of all that he is going to be the sweetest most caring and considerate teenager ever as I HAVE DONE MY TIME WITH THE HARD STUFF!! Anyway you are not alone. HUGS
Yawning monster and mini monster