Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Gifted Kids and Obsessions?

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?

funny on came to mind... DS around 7, hopped on one foot much of the day. His mind is very interesting.

I would say DS4 is really into vehicles but goes way beyond with anything sticky. As a baby DS was over the moon with post-its but uninterested in stuffed animals or other cute baby toys. DS's interest in adhesives has gotten more sophisticated as he's gotten older. I wonder when it will eventually diminish and/or go away.

Your son's obsession sounds fascinating and fun. What a neat kid.


LB sounds gifted to me. + you wouldn't get kicked off if he wasn't. Please stick around. You've done a great job nurturing his interests.

I got some coffee on the keyboard reading this because last night, at about 4 am, while trying to get DS back to sleep, DH and I had a *fight* about how dead a balloon has to be before we can throw it out. There are several candidates for the garbage can hanging around right now. We decided the ones worse than the blue one could go, but the green one is staying a little longer, and any that are in better condition.

The blue one is sitting precariously close to the kitchen garbage as I type.

Also, no eraser is safe in our house. Especially kneadable ones. At the museum once, DS stole, over the course of about an hour, three kneadable erasers from a sketching class. It must have been an interesting discussion when they got back to class.

And I never realized how many locks there are in the world until I started having to stop and talk about each one. At nearly 11 mos, DS knows that key-cards, key-fobs, and traditional keys are related, and can ALMOST turn a key in a lock if I put it in for him (they tend to hangup partway, and I'm not allowed to use a key-card or -fob anymore

I don't know if he's gifted either. He's way too young. But I really like the discussions on here. I sometimes feel bad that I might be diluting the environment, but I'm being selfish and hanging around 'cause it helps me I also find it kinda useful to think through my childhood (I was assessed as 2e, but it was called GLD then), and try to be aware of the things that went not so good for me. And reflect on my friends, my tutoree, and other gifties I know, and so on. If he's not gifted, at least it's keeping me amused!

My kids have a thing about wanting to keep balloons around forever, too! LOL! Unfortunately for them, when they start getting 5 or 6 of the little shrunken ones in their room, I'll pop one or two of them when they're at school. I can't do all of them or they'd notice. But their rooms are such a mess that they generally don't notice just one or two!

My GT DS8 recently found out that he can get a helium filled free balloon at grocery stores if he asks to a store person. Ever since, every grocery store visit has been associated with a balloon collection. I got so annoyed that I suggested to buy him a pack of balloons and an air pump if he stops asking for free baloons at the stores. He refused it only because his balloons should be helium filled and float nicely.

He told me that balloons have tiny little holes. Balloons eventually deflate and no longer float since the air in the baloon leaks out slowly from those holes, ahh. He's also a big fan of ballons tower defense computer games...

I am sure when he gets older he will move on to other ones. Hopefully they will be shorter lived and maybe more interesting, ha ha.
I am the exact same way. OK maybe it isn't things like balloons but, I obsess on a subject until I feel I completely understand it. A lot of them tend to be certain crafts embroidery, sewing, knitting etc.
Right now it is running which is working out well for me so far. They sound like nice little hobbies but, I do take it to an extreme. I will read every blog on running I can find. I will read book after book on the subject. I will listen to podcasts. I will research all types of equipment. I will go into the special foods and all types of stretches and running injuries.
Only my DH knows how I am about my obsessions. Otherwise I seem fairly normal (I think).

DS seems to be the same way.