Yup. We had it, too, at about the same age. DS8 had this elaborate series of kisses and hugs that had to be performed in the right order before bed. The ritual got longer and longer before I finally decided that enough was enough and give him a limit on how many ritualized kisses I would allow. (I forget how many, but fewer than he was used to.) That helped. Once in a while I would just interrupt the ritual to hold him in a really good bear hug. That helped, too.

He got bored with it eventually and quit altogether. Every once in a while he pops up with some new ritual, but it doesn't last long and it doesn't interfere with life in any significant way. I just set limits on how much I'm willing to tolerate, and since he seems able to control it, I think it's more of a game than anything.

If your DD doesn't seem desperate about the ritual, like she can't control herself, then I wouldn't be too worried about OCD. The lack of control is when it's troubling, I think. (Though I'm not a psych!)

On the contrary, actually, I suspect she enjoys the fact that she's getting to control you! wink


Kriston