how to best best spend quality tinme with a difficult baby

[bumbly]

have read every book in house aBOUT 1000x each i kid you not

played with very toy everyday several times over..and there are many tiys

and now has chicken pox is behaving even more difficult/clingy/demanding/getsa bored easily quicker

cant go to loo, speak on phone, be on computer etc

what shall i do that is new??

baby is 16 months old by the way and always wanted load sof attnetion etc

If you need a break, cbeebies for a while. Also, I know you probably can't do this at the moment because of the chicken pox -but do you go to mother and baby groups, get out of the house every day etc etc?

During the chickenpox it's a bad idea to go out (in case you spread it to a pregnant woman etc) - but once it's over, go out more, go to museums, soft play, swimming, park etc., and try to do things with other children so they can play together. I've been known to spend whole days touring the city's building sites with DS because it could be relied on to keep him entertained.

Yes to Cbeebies though. And what about baking? You're just getting to the age where they can get into activities more meaningfully, so it does get easier.

you can fill empty water bottles with lentils and sand and other different coloured things and have a song - a shout if needs be...

you can give them a bath - sometimes this breaks them out of a whiny cycle.

have you got a patio? I know its freezing so maybe not for the best but you can let them loose on it with chalk. Actually 16 months is too little for that isnt it...sorry

you could join the toy library that way you could get new toys every week.

A bit different but ds also 16m has the most horrid cold and is really miserable, he gets a bit frustrated when I try to play with him, so I bring my big douvet into living room and he plays with that.
CBeebies is great too.
Agree about the bath, ds had 2 yesterday as it seems to calm him for a bit or I have wood floors so have been filling the old baby bath in the living room, put some toys in and splash about

Definitely water play outside for the summer - even just a plain old bucket of water and a few plastic jugs and ladles kept DS busy for HOURS at a time this summer and the previous one, aged 2 and 3. I could just sit and watch with a cup of tea.

all these great tips but tv never works - gets bored and all the rest triedor too cold now

ok need to try lentil though...cute suggestion

but today baby cried non stop 2 hours and just was a good mum able to calm him down

sorry bumbly I know its shite especially when you're stuck in the house.

have you tried making a den in the living room - out of chairs and a sheet or something - then you could have tea in it with the toys. Sometimes doing things way out of the norm helps - or you may well find that you go to loads of trouble and he doesnt take any interest in which case you can just go and sit in it yourself and curse...

you can break the day down if its really bad into chunks like a nursery as well - so have half an hour of hand painting...then snack...then some running about or a dance to something loud...then some toys...then some books...then hopefully lunch and a nap. then you can start again with some of the other stuff he likes to do.

Bumbly sorry you are still having a tough time- I remember seeing posts from you over the last couple of months. My ds is just 19 months and has been quite demanding and difficult too, on and off. I was in tears almost every day last week actually it was so bloody difficult, but this week he's having a happy week - it's so unpredictable!

Do you have friends/family nearby you can visit? Anyone with children a similar age he can play with? I know he's unwell with chicken pox but that won't last long, and I think (though better check) he won't be contagious once he's actually got it, so you can still go out. What about softplay etc.

Also might be worth getting the Busy Toddler Book (on amazon) - someone recommended it to me on MN a few months ago and it's been really useful.

ditto the Busy Toddler Book - its a godsend

Put some happy music on and dance around the room together. My DS1 loved (and still does in fact) Hung Up by Madonna, Olivia Newton John's greatest hits and anything by Girls Aloud.

is there any one activity that you have noticed he responds best to?
my DD is almost 3 and is a clingy difficult child at times and i find that by giving her a choice of her favorite things to do she usually settles better her favorite 'game' is washing the dishes at the mo so i fill a bowl with water and give her some plastic utensils and dishes and let her wash them she can sit for hours. this might also be a good way to soothe the itchy skin from the chicken pox which will obv be making him miserable it does get better (my DD used to be much worse) it is just a case of finding the trick
i hope things get easier for you soon
xx ei xx

who is the author of the book and thanks so much for your advice...though still not seemed to ahve the found the right activity and boy am i trying!

Trish Kuffner, buy it here.

Good luck, hope things improve.

than you but no things geting worse and worse by day actually see my other thread