Entertaining a 18 month old ?. Please can any one help

[dasiychain]

My son is nearly 18 months old is very independent when we are out, walking for miles (Honest miles I don?t have a push chair) He sits at his little table and feeds him self, has done for months. He even runs off as soon as we get in the door at baby gym but when we get home it is mummy? mummy?.mummy all the time.
He has paints, pens coloring books, toys and a huge play kitchen, plus his room is painted as jungle from top to bottom but he still wants to be doing what I do all he time.
It is not that I don?t want to play with him I love playing (the hall looks like a nursery with all our paintings) but I cant play all the time.
I love him very much but I cant even go to the loo with out he screaming at the door even when daddy is at home to. I cant go on like this I need space, plus I have Christmas presents to make.
Does any one has any ideas on what I can do ? Please I cant carry on like this?

It does pass - it's horribly frustrating but they all go through this stsage. I ask dd to go fetch pans etc so she feels useful, or buy him a child sized broom and let him sweep. If all else fails, buy a Wiggles dvd!

Water painting is a good one. Pot of water, water proof clothes, paint brush send outside to repaint the fence, patio etc. It uses energy to.

Dancing activity rhymes CD/ DVD. You start them off then they keep going for a bit whilst you get a few minutes.

But at the end of the day this is a phase and it does get easier. You don't notice the challenges changing and then suddenly you remember what it was like when you read someone else's post.

Ok, I have done this bit with DD and am now doing with DS -
open your kitchen cupboards - If you have one with tins and boxes and pasta in then they can play shop and build towers 9and chewing some dry pasta never hurt anyone!!)
or if you have a plastics cupboard 9you know all that tupperware that you never use!!) then they can rummage in that.
give him a duster so he can clean with you, put the radio on and dance to the songs on it with him / for him.
failing all that a night garden ot teletubbies dvd works every time

can't he 'help' you make the christmas presents?

DS has to help me do everything. He has a mini broom and a mini Dyson to help with the housework and I also have a little frying pan and milk saucepan accessible to him and give him a wooden spoon to 'cook' when we're in the kitchen.

Thank you for your posts, I try to let him help he is good at getting the washing in and out of the machine but I did know if that was making the problem wose but I will let him do more.
I wish that I could send him into the garden but live in a flat great idea though about the the dancing dvd.

DVD's and a broom for chirstmas good idea.

I dont have any friends with kids that I can talk to so your answers on it being just a phase are great news, thank you. Any ideas how long it lasted for you?

We have made most of the presents together and painted the cardboard tree but Im knitting some and sewing others so not really. But thanks

ds2 who is 21mnths will stand for an hour at the kitchen sink washing apples/potatoes and pouring water from one cup to another. he gets wet, the floor gets wet but who cares...he is delighted.

a pop up tent that you can keep behind the sofa is a good idea...some cushions inside, great fun

do you have a trike and/or room to let them roam around inside on it? ds will spend quite a lot of time ramming furniture in a random fashion on the trike. (we are quite open plan tho so lots of room). also sweeping up (i just sawed the end off a normal broom so it's his size) and tipping everything out of drawers onto the floor last for a bit.
but tbh at 18mo he doesn't do anything by himself for much more than five or ten minutes, unless it is something absolutely forbidden that he can do very quietly behind my back. anything that requires my concentration ends up getting done while he's in bed. am hoping as he gets older it'll get easier.....