# Toddlers and their obsessions



## Miss Taken

Just a (hopefully) lighthearted question to other parents. Remembering back to the toddler years or if you're currently living them with your child - did/do they have an obsession with things?

For instance, my son (2 tomorrow) is obsessed and has been for months with balls. His favourite is basketball but nearly any one will do. If we're drawing, he asks me to draw basketballs. If I need a bit of a break and turn on TV, he will ask to watch basketball. I have seen every available basketball game on YouTube (no cable, just Netflix, YouTube and Crackle on our Xbox). 

If we go to the store and he sees a ball and I don't buy it, he throws a tantrum. (This doesn't mean I necessarily buy it, his collection of sports and play balls of all varieties is big enough). 

A lot of kids have their favourite toy or blanket to bring with them at this age. When we leave the house, whether for a car ride, walk to the bus stop to get his big brother, bike ride (in his biking trailer), stroller, or his wagon, he brings a ball. I don't mind but I am quite fascinated by it. I'm also not worried about it, he does play with other toys, loves to play games with everyone, likes other kids but he really is fascinated with balls, sports that include balls (baseball, soccer, tennis, basketball, football). 

My oldest son (10) had his "Bella", a stuffed dog named after his grandparents' dog when he was this age. 

Ball in our house is an adjective, verb, now, pronoun etc. He gibber-jabbers as toddlers do "blah, blah, blah basketball, blah, blah, blah soccer and tennis and I do play basketball." He even sings songs about them lol. He just loves them. I could go on but will stop here.

So yeah, any of your kids have similar obsessions/any obsessions as toddlers? This is my second, as I said my oldest wasn't noticeably more keen on one thing as my youngest is.


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## FrenchFry

Cars.

My son loves any and all cars, and it hasn't stopped! He's a past toddler stage, onto being a pre-schooler and the only thing that has changed is now he recognizes logos, words and types of cars that he loves pointing out to us. His favorite right now is Volkswagen, especially the Beetles and Buses. Also the "Tour-Eggs" 

When we leave in the morning, he brings a car and his sip cup with him to the car seat and gets mad if he forgets the car and will ask us to turn around.

Around your sons age, he would absolutely throw fits about getting cars, especially cars that fit sets. He's stopped that for the most part, but a VW I'm pretty sure would be a kicking on the floor type fit.


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## EleGirl

When my son had stages where he'd obcess over something. The later on he's find something else. 

When he was that age he's watch the same movie over and over.. bambi, all dogs go to heaven, etc etc.. it go to the point that I had the words for entire movies memorized because he'd watch them so much. (I was cooking dinner, etc but could hear them).

Then it was dinosaurs.. and he had a stuffed on that was his baby.

Then there were power rangers... everything power rangers.

At about age 6 he was obsessed with the old black & white movie of the Titanic. He was an early reader. So he had me get him books about the Titanic. 

I think it's a form of hyper learning or emersion learning that children put themselves through... a rather natural way to learn.


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## Almostrecovered

Blue's Clues

Son carried his notebook around everywhere and drew clues


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## soccermom2three

My 19 year old loved Blue's Clues too. She had a Blue's Clues themed party at 3, I think.

My now 16 year old was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine from the age of about 2 to 4. He would have to take an engine with him wherever we went. When he was about 3 we took him to a Thomas event where they have a life-sized Thomas engine pull train cars for rides. The look on his face was priceless when he saw the life sized Thomas.


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## CantePe

All my kids are obsessed with music, art and instruments. Makes sense because of the line of work we do (DJ entertainment business and I'm a book cover artist at home)


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## Wiltshireman

With 5 children (oldest now 19 youngest 4) I think we have run the full gamete of obsessions. 

A favorite soft toy that has to go every where with them,
A kids TV show that they would watch for hours if you let them,
A breakfast cereal they wanted for lunch & diner as well,
The same bedtime book that you had to read to them every night for a month.

Most of these fades come and go but somethings DO last forever as evidenced by the now threadbare teddy on the chest of drawers that my wife has had all her life.


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## notperfectanymore

SHARKS! lol when my nephew was 2 it was allll about Sharks, then came Shark Week on TV....we went thru so many drawing pads drawing sharks...and he still has a Shark horn on his bike, lol. Even though he is older now, he laughs about how much fun we had watching Shark Week....too precious.


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## dubsey

Lightning McQueen. We have no less than 4,325 of the various versions of him somewhere in this house.


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## Anonymous07

My 1 year old loves cars! If he forgets to bring his toy car along, he will pretend he has one and 'drive' it around in the sky making noises. So far, no tantrums over them yet though.


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## FrenchFry

dubsey said:


> Lightning McQueen. We have no less than 4,325 of the various versions of him somewhere in this house.


We've moved on from "Light Cream" and now mostly he wants Chick and the purple one. Mater is strictly for cleanup.


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## Anonymous07

I think my son's obsession has moved on to balls. He has figured out how to say that word and now everything is about it. He has been carrying around a green tennis ball all day today and won't let it go. He took it with him for his nap, too.


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## turnera

Miss Taken said:


> If we go to the store and he sees a ball and I don't buy it, he throws a tantrum.


I have to be honest with you. it's an adult's job to TEACH a kid that any kind of obsession is unhealthy. Don't you read about healthy parenting?


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## Miss Taken

I think it would be a real stretch for me to worry about this. Most kids have a favourite thing or two when young, it is usually a phase. Most toddlers (my son just turned 2) will throw a tantrum or two if they don't get their way - especially when tired or hungry. Moreover, especially before it sinks in that tantrums won't result in getting what they want. 

My son FTR, is actually quite good at catching/throwing basketballs for his age. Like my oldest he is athletic already and will probably be proficient at sports. Still he has other interests and is very social already. Perhaps my mistake in writing this post was using "obsession" as it is hyperbole and seemed to make you think this was at all a real problem.


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## turnera

A tantrum or two, or every time he sees a ball?


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## Miss Taken

turnera said:


> A tantrum or two, or every time he sees a ball?


A tantrum or two.


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## Almostrecovered

NSFW- but so funny about the toddler mind
Dana Gould. The Great Cheese Stick Fight. [The...


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## Miss Taken

Almostrecovered said:


> NSFW- but so funny about the toddler mind
> Dana Gould. The Great Cheese Stick Fight. [The...


Reminds me of my toddler and his vitamins. He calls them "one a days" because we all remind him he can only have one every day. He doesn't get it yet so will ask over and over again to have another "one a day".


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## Miss Taken

Miss Taken said:


> Reminds me of my toddler and his vitamins. He calls them "one a days" because we all remind him he can only have one every day. He doesn't get it yet so will ask over and over again to have another "one a day".


Or this one... like yours, also NSFW

Kevin Hart Daughter and My Juice - YouTube


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## JustTired

My daughter's current obsessions:

Monster trucks (yes, I am serious)
Monsters (we tell her monsters aren't scary, they are interesting)
Dora
The Lorax movie
Shrek the move


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## NobodySpecial

Miss Taken said:


> Just a (hopefully) lighthearted question to other parents. Remembering back to the toddler years or if you're currently living them with your child - did/do they have an obsession with things?
> 
> For instance, my son (2 tomorrow) is obsessed and has been for months with balls. His favourite is basketball but nearly any one will do. If we're drawing, he asks me to draw basketballs. If I need a bit of a break and turn on TV, he will ask to watch basketball. I have seen every available basketball game on YouTube (no cable, just Netflix, YouTube and Crackle on our Xbox).
> 
> If we go to the store and he sees a ball and I don't buy it, he throws a tantrum. (This doesn't mean I necessarily buy it, his collection of sports and play balls of all varieties is big enough).


This fixation thing is totally developmentally normal. The mom dies not buy = tantrum is too.... BUT now is the time to very calmly say nope, sorry. If he cannot recover from the tantrum, it is time to leave the store. Period.

You can be very empathetic to your kids interests without starting the whole tantrum game. The sooner that one is nipped in the bud the better. There is a great book (http://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Kids-Will-Listen/dp/1451663889) that talks about the light side of understanding what is going on in the little beast's head (JK!) and another one on effective limit setting (Setting Limits: How to Raise Responsible, Independent Children by Providing Clear Boundaries (Revised and Expanded Second Edition): Robert J. Mackenzie: 0086874512122: Amazon.com: Books). Both very good reads.





> A lot of kids have their favourite toy or blanket to bring with them at this age. When we leave the house, whether for a car ride, walk to the bus stop to get his big brother, bike ride (in his biking trailer), stroller, or his wagon, he brings a ball. I don't mind but I am quite fascinated by it. I'm also not worried about it, he does play with other toys, loves to play games with everyone, likes other kids but he really is fascinated with balls, sports that include balls (baseball, soccer, tennis, basketball, football).
> 
> My oldest son (10) had his "Bella", a stuffed dog named after his grandparents' dog when he was this age.
> 
> Ball in our house is an adjective, verb, now, pronoun etc. He gibber-jabbers as toddlers do "blah, blah, blah basketball, blah, blah, blah soccer and tennis and I do play basketball." He even sings songs about them lol. He just loves them. I could go on but will stop here.
> 
> So yeah, any of your kids have similar obsessions/any obsessions as toddlers? This is my second, as I said my oldest wasn't noticeably more keen on one thing as my youngest is.


Obsessions as toddlers. Different ones as they hit preschool, elementary.... My 13 yo is now into gaming and card games.... They are just interested. All good.


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## lenorasuber

My toddler is obsessed with his new preschool. I think I had made a good decision of taking my kid to Long Island preschool, which provide him physical as well as emotional comfort and support to grow. They have many programs for infants, toddler, preschool etc. I am happy to see my child's growth and happiness.


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## Feelingsadnlonely

My LO is a week shy of turning 2 and she is OBSESSED with deodorants, hair brushes, our shoes and remote controls! Don't know why? She has all kinds of different and expensive and less fancy toys but could care less about them. 

She's my first but maybe it's just a stage? It's funny, she will literally take my hair brush with hairs on it and want to bring it to a restaurant, the park or to bed! LOL 

The one thing that can get annoying is she takes one shoe and somehow hides/looses it so when I'm looking for my shoes, there's only one! Then it's like a scavenger hunt from there! :scratchhead:


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## Maneo

It is a stage. I've had three and all had different things and different degrees of attachment and all grew out of it. Now working with a fourth who is 15 months old and his current thin is his Horton the elephant little lovey soft thing that he needs in his little hand to go to sleep and carries most places with him. We have a spare ready if/when something happens to the first one. And we try to stay calm about it and redirect him if he seems to be getting in a panic about where his Horton is. My experience has been if the parents don't make a big deal over it, the kid won't and the fixation will pass.


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