8 year old SUPER clingy

[confustication]

I need space. Just a little. I need 30 minutes without my *oldest* child needing me excessively.

I needed to get some work done yesterday on the computer and sat down for an hour after spending a couple hours of one on one time with her. After the first seven interruptions, I decided to start counting...

14 times in 30 minutes

I do a fair amount of work from home- so this is not new. When I am working, I close myself into my office space in the kitchen, and my DH is actively playing with the kids in another room.

I am *thisclose* to screaming 'GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!' and I really don't want to do that. I have reasoned with her, I have made sure she was engaged in other activities... I need new ideas.

[Pavlovs]

Hmmm, how about setting a timer for 30 minutes and asking her not to interrupt you until the timer goes off. Perhaps you can offer her a small reward (10 minutes mommy time, or other treat) if she complies. Good luck, mama - it's got to be frustrating!

[jillmamma]

Would she be willing to do something quiet in the same room (but not talk) like a book or puzzle or her homework from school or something so she could be close to you, but you could get done what you need to?