Did/do any of your kids have obsessions as toddlers or preschoolers (or older)? Please tell me your stories and make me feel better! I've seen other kids get really into cars, trains, dinosaurs etc., but my child goes WAY beyond the normal interest I've seen in other kids. I'm curious as to whether or not these intense obsessions are really associated with high intelligence (as our pediatrician says.)
LB, my three-year-old son, is OBSESSED with balloons. Actually...obsessed is probably an understatement. From the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed, he is talking about, playing with, or drawing pictures of balloons. Our whole house is filled with balloons (my excuse for not using the treadmill). He can tell you the difference between latex and mylar balloons, how latex balloons are made, and why balloons filled with helium float--while balloons filled with oxygen or carbon dioxide do not. Recently he told me that the picture in his "Eeyore and the Balloon Tree" book is "wrong" because it shows Christopher Robin blowing up the balloons with his mouth on one page, and the balloons floating on the next...he was upset and puzzled until he decided that the wind must be blowing them up in the air. Oh yeah, and he also has an imaginary balloon shop equipped with balloons, helium tanks, and ribbons/strings. He has a supplier/distributor he goes to if he runs out of certain balloons.
He has had this obsession with balloons since before the age of one. We used to get so annoyed back then because he would throw fits in stores if he saw a balloon and we wanted to leave. He wanted to just sit there and stare at them. I remember taking him to a birthday party when he was 18 months old and he refused to go play with his friends in the bouncy house. Instead he walked around for two hours pointing to all the balloons, and saying things like, "Yellow balloon, blue star balloon, happy birthday balloon," etc. Thankfully at three is able to leave the darn balloons and socialize with friends so I'm no longer worried like I was about his social development.
LB did have a couple of other intervening obsessions over the last few years as well. From sixteen months old to about 24+ months he was intensely obsessed with letters and numbers. (He's not yet reading now, but I believe he's on the cusp.) Not only could he recognize all the letters and numbers (without me "working with him") he would see them in other objects. One time he bit off a pretzel and told me "D!" He picked up a tape dispenser and yelled, "Nine!" then turned it upside down and shouted, "Six!" He also got down on his hands and knees and studied the swirls on a rug and pointed out jubilantly, "A! C! J!" Then for a while he was obsessed with musical instruments and could name and identify every single one by sight (and many by sound as well) before the age of two.
I've been lurking for a while but just randomly decided to post today. I have no idea if LB is gifted, so you all can kick me off if he's not, lol. Fortunately LB is now very sociable and has a lot of friends. He can leave his balloons and play with other things that his friends are interested in, so I'm not worried about autism or anything like that. It's just a little awkward at times to explain to others about the obsession, and I have to admit that I am very, very bored with balloons...but a long time ago I decided to just fly with it and "embrace my inner balloon." We read balloon-themed books, make weekly trips to the party store, and watch balloon-related videos on youtube.com, etc.
Anyone else in the same boat with obsessions?
