I agree with those who say that this is just a normal stage. For some bizarre reason, in this country we expect our children to grow up and be independent at a ridiculously early age when in reality they still need quite a bit for the first several years of their life. I have found that understanding that something is normal and OK is the first step to coping with it and even ENJOYING it. New moms (and I still consider myself a "new mom" with a 17 month old, everything he does that is new is new to me too!) are constantly bombarded with advice and images of the way things SHOULD be - and of course if they are NOT that way, then you don't have a "good baby" - and if you don't have a "good baby" then who is to blame but mommy??? And 14 months may be a "toddler" officially, but he's still just a baby, who cannot express his needs any other way but by crying and clinging to who he wants - and I do believe that the emotional need of closeness to mommy is a need like any other physical need. I believe it goes back to birth and who the baby bonded with stronger - and assuming mom is the one who took maternity leave and was home longer with him, that's going to be mom. So rather than trying to explain away his behavior as something that must be "gotten over" I would advise your DIL to love every cuddle - to not worry if she can't get the housework done or whatever. Soon enough he will push her away when she wants a hug because he will not want to be taken away from whatever he's doing and she will be wondering where her affectionate little boy went. As far as what to say to Dad - that's always a tough one, especially with newer generations of dads who take a much more active involvement in their kids at a younger age than previous generations did as a whole. It sounds like Henry is not opposed to being with dad, just has a strong preference for mom when both are around. My little guy is like that lately too and what I tend to do is sit down with all three of us doing an activity and then when he is really interested in what he is doing, get up and leave. I don't sneak away but I don't make a big production over leaving either. Sometimes I just leave the house entirely and go spend an hour or two BY MYSELF (ah heaven). It usually takes him a couple of hours to notice I am even gone and go looking for me and then another hour or so after that to start to get cranky that I haven't come back yet - but if I am around it's "MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY" (he is starting to talk now and it's his new favorite word ;) - which is nice after 16 months of "Daddy" for everything!) But above all your son should not take it personally. By natural design for the sake of survival, babies and young children are totally self absorbed and can only deal with what THEY need. He is not behaving this way to hurt dad, he is behaving this way because he needs mom. It doesn't mean he doesn't love daddy, it just means that daddy does not meet that particular need at that moment in time. And tell him not to even think about what other kids are doing. It doesn't matter one bit to your child, so why should it matter to him? Kids do things at their own pace and on their own schedule - at least mine does. He does not do anything on millisecond before he is ready - but when he finally is ready, watch out world! DH is an extremely loving and involved father and I'm sure it bugs him when my son pushes away from him and wants me but he understands and doesn't take it personally. Sometimes he does get into a funk about it but we just talk about it and work through it. And as with all other things involving kids "this too shall pass."

My son's room when he was a toddler also had a chair rail. We painted the bottom a medium mossy green and the top of the wall a pale sky blue. The chair rail was painted the green color as well. Using the chair rail as a kind of border, I stenciled ferns, ladybugs, lizards, snakes, butterflies, etc. to evoke a rainforest. It was very sweet and easily done. And of course stencils are so easy to paint over when they grow up. It was great for him because he loved rainforests. I agree with the above post -tailor it toward your son's interests.

White could work, but maybe you could find something that incorporated that chartreuse color. Do you have any ideas or themes you’re looking towards? I was thinking about that geometrical bedding. It reminds me of a rubix cube or tangram. Maybe you could use something along those lines to decorate the walls. Off the top of my head I’m thinking either framing or gluing some tangrams together to hang. Maybe a poster print from a rubix contest. I’ve also seen framing game boards or the box covers. That could expand your color options too. Tangrams

I love the idea of a blue grey, but you just need to make sure it’s not too dark. Darkness will make the room feel closed in, and you have such great space, you don’t want to take away from that. We painted our son‘s Room a light grey from BM, called Silver Chain...it was so light and airy...and as he’s grown we’ve been able to grow the overall design. Good luck!