How do I entertain my 2yo!?

[MyBrownEyedHandsomeBoy]

I have a 2yo DS, only child. He's going through a phase where he is just so frustrated, bored, miserable, whingey like all the time! He has so many toys! He will play with them for a little while but then starts throwing them around like he's bored of them quickly. If I'm washing up or cooking in the kitchen he will come in moaning and whinging wanting to be picked up to the point I just have to stop what I'm doing to pick him up, he won't go to DH he just wants me. I can't figure out what's the matter he just cries for nothing.
He does like being outside, but I can't be out there all day everyday with him.
Does anyone have any tips on getting through this phase? Any toys to recommend keeping him occupied for longer than 5 mins a time please?

No real advice I'm afraid but following as also in the same situation! My DD is 18mo and wants to constantly be picked up if I'm not in the room. I will admit while cooking I do let her play with a bowl full of water in the sink, just give her some cups/spoons to splash with- yes it makes a massive mess but it also means I don't have to hold her while cooking 😂

Not a bad idea actually I could give him some pots and pans to clang about on the floor couldn't I 😆

Do you rotate his toys? So put half of them away in a box for two weeks then swap them with the old ones. The novelty effect entertains them for a bit but I appreciate this doesn't really help you much today! Hang in there, things will get easier x

Get one of those long-ish underbed storage boxes to play in....

Freeze little toys in bowls of water and let them splash/play with the toys as the cubes melt

Cars/diggers with shaving foam

Dry pasta with plastic cups/spoons/bowls

Shredded paper with plastic cups/spoons/bowls

Mix and match the above

Oof sounds hard, OP! A close friend has just been dealing with the same problem (DD at the same age) and she's taken quite a radical approach. She took away all of the toys and reintroduced a handful of ones that were appropriate for her DD's stage/slightly too old for her. My friend figured her DD might be overwhelmed by the choice and unable to focus on any one toy for long enough. She also implemented quite a bit of structure to her day when she wasn't at nursery, so they'd go do something really active in the morning, then lunch, then they'd do a dedicated activity together for an hour in the afternoon (like painting or whatever) after her nap. After that she'd be encouraged to play independently with the toys she had left and seemed to accept that okay until dinnertime. Role play and sensory stuff worked best apparently - stuff she could imagine with or copy her mum with. If her DH was about, he'd join in and she could sneak off to do something else.

My DD is racing toward toddlerhood so I've been taking notes! 😂

Been going through this with my 1yo son aswell boys are known to be clingy to my and most boys are mummys boys until they grow up and sell us out for their girlfriends lol it's just rubbish our summer is filled with rain otherwise plenty of outside time I'd recommend with a pool and slip n slide and things lol xx

@MyBrownEyedHandsomeBoy Yes I often get the pans out and a wooden spoon! Although she has now started to pull my hand to want to play and makes me do stuff so it's not always a trick that works 😂

I do also find she more clingy today for example, I work 3 days a week and because I work Sunday and Monday I find Tuesdays are the day where I can't even go to the loo without her wanting to join me 😂.

Tbh the thing that keeps mine most entertained while I'm cooking is the bowl of cat food in the corner lol.

I would dump bowls of water/jelly or something easy to clean up on the floor with some wooden spoons and spatulas and tell him sternly not to touch it haha

Toy rotation.

Take most of it away, shove it in a box. Have six or seven different toys out on display for them to use.

Works pretty well with DD!

I have one of those step things they can stand on so they can be involved with the kitchen stuff

Agree on the less is more, with toys

But also he probably just wants to be involved with what you're doing. Do you have a kitchen helper tower thing so he can stand at the counter or sink while you're in the kitchen?

My 2yo DD loves to 'help' sometimes I'll give her a few potatoes or plastic cups to wash. If cooking she helps to scoop dry ingredients or put vegetables that I've chopped into the pan, onion peels in the bin, that sort of stuff.

It does slow everything down though so patience is required!

Let him help! I turn the tap on to the smallest stream possible and let them mess around "doing the washing up". Same with cooking, let them help. At that age all they are good for is taking chopped veg and putting it into the pot, I wouldn't let them loose with a knife. But even things like "give that pasta a very gentle stir, it's hot" makes them feel like they are contributing and being trusted with a be job like stirring. You can get those standing tower things but both my kids have just stood on a kitchen chair, I'm not sure the tower adds much other than taking up space in the kitchen.