Can anyone explain why my 25 month old son obessisvely lines his toys in a straight line?

Question

No matter what he is playing with, may it be cars, pencils, books... he insists upon arranging them in a straight line. My health visitor asked me specifically if he does this but cannot/ will not give me a reasoning behind this. Can anyone help or even let me know who I could contact?

Answer 1

My son does the same thing, he is 22 months, and he is perfectly normal in every other way, I wouldnt worry about it, unless you notice odd behavior in other ways.

Answer 2

I think this is normal......don't worry it's not a sign of any disorders or anything. See if you can teach him to make patterns while doing this. Such as red white red white ect.

Answer 3

yes it's a p***s extension thing. Only boys do it.

Answer 4

It could be something but might just be nothing.

My oldest son does this, simply because he is very organized and a bit obsessive over detail.  Yes it is true that autistic kids tend to like this form of play too, but it is only one characteristic.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  Only worry if it controls his actions and he is stressed or frustrated when it cannot be that way.  When it goes over the top and interferes with his natural play it then becomes a little more of a worry.

Answer 5

sounds like ocd, its not the end of the world hopefully he'll be tidy when he grows up :)

Answer 6

it can be an indicator of autism and related disorders, but needs to have other indicators for a dignosis. Does he also play with them the "right" way? Does he respond to his name? have an age appropraite vocabulary ( about 4 dozen words and some 2 word combinations)? Does he make any wierd motions, such as flapping his hands when he is excited or upset?is he unusually over or undersensitive to sensations such as touch, taste or smell?

My 12 year old is very mild on the autism spectrum...so mild he is considered to just have multiple delays. he did not say more than a few words until he was 22 months old. He was sensitive to sounds, and food textures, and had horrible tantrums over little things. most people just think he is quirky.

My 33 month old did not talk til he was 31 months old (and had been in speech for several months). he is undersensitive to large motor activites, so he goes out of his way to do dangerous things like walk on my waterbed and climb things he shouldn't. But he is over sensitive to things like tags in his clothing. as far as we know he is not on the spectrum.

Answer 7

I did that too, my parents told me. Today, I am complete neat freak and must always hav things in a certain way.

Answer 8

one of my son's did the samething about the same age. I told the pediatrician and he said he was going to refere me to a specialist to rule out autism..my son had additional issues he was not speaking so... anyway after months of therepy (speech and physical) he started talking... he was just a late bloomer and he is my brightest and most socialable boy. I think it is more about the child is able to match things up and enjoy the game. but please look for any odd  behaviors or shortcommings and talk to your doctor.

Answer 9

Could be just that he is incredibly neat, or maybe OCD in the makings. Don't worry about it. It's probably a good thing.

Answer 10

It's not necessarily OCD, but you should talk to your doctor if you're really concerned.  It's just his personality--it's called "melancholy". Melancholies are perfectionists and have to have things just right.  I know--I'm one! And I'm not obsessive-compulsive. :)

Answer 11

SEE A DOCTOR HE COULD HAVE EARLY SIGNS OF OCD

Answer 12

my son does this too. and he will also put them in piles by the color. he is just having fun and learning. dont worry about it too much. he should be ok.

Answer 13

ha..i wish that my child would do that she throws everything around the room....

be happy dont worry

Answer 14

Its totally normal, my nephew has been doing this since he was a little over 1, and he is 6 now and still does. He is not autistic and is a normal little boy. I think all young kids are a little obsessive. Think about it, there is a reason why companies make kids plates with dividers, kids don't like different foods touching each other etc. I would not worry at all.

Answer 15

I used to work with Autistic kids and some showed the behaviour you have described above. There are plenty of people that can offer help and advice. This is the main one in the UK.

www.nas.org.uk

Answer 16

its normal for a baby to do that... he'sjust going to grow up to be a well organized person... don't worry much about it could be just a phaze... or it could be his way of playing with his toys.. everyone had they're way of doing something his is just a bit different

Answer 17

My son was doing it since he was 1 1/2 (hes now 3). Just something he does. He's gotten a little better but its just his own individual behavior. Just part of him. And we love every part.

Answer 18

My cousin started doing that when he was about 2 and he has a mild form of autism.. just something to think about.

It could also just be his way of learning and playing right now..

Answer 19

I feel your pain.  I have a 25 month old grandson who keeps reading his books back to me.  I think he is not actually reading them, he is just repeating what he has memorized, even when to turn the pages, but there's more.  This kid was walking at just 10 months!  He also knows the words to some songs and even starts singing them as soon as he sees the beginning of the video, even before the music begins!  How can we find help for these poor kids!  Hey, what if this abnormal behavior was actually good.  Like maybe they had so many things done right in their rearing that when they come to a decision, they have an edge over their peers and tend to choose the correct path more often than not and would rather tell the truth than a lie, be careful rather than take big risks, say a kind word rather than a hurtful one or none at all.  If that were the case, then maybe we should stop worrying and start giving thanks that our children are abnormal, above average on the bell curve.  So many people have found problems with their children who are below the bell curve, which means there should be an equal number of children above it and we are some of the lucky parents to be blessed with one of those children!

Answer 20

I'm just guessing but some forms of Autism or other kinds of brain affecting illnesses cause this kind of behavior...It's like obsessive compulsive or something...But thats just a guess...

Answer 21

My 25 month old is compulsive about putting one toy back when he wishes to play with another.  He also is very specific about putting things back exactly the way he found them.  they like order at this point and don't do abstract thinking quite yet.  My daughter was the same way and now at 5, it is like pulling teeth to get her to clean up.

Answer 22

Actually, lining them up isn't as much a sign of autism as making color patterns and things like that.  Either way, you should ask a real doctor instead of us.

However, I had a friend once in highschool who was on some medicines for autism.  He had been diagnosed with it as a child for this reason.  He did horrible in school, had flunked a grade, and was in special classes for kids with learning disabilities.  he also got into a lot of trouble.  Then, when he was 16, they realized, they were wrong all along.  He never had autism.  He was misdiagnosed.  He didn't have anything.  They took him off the medicine.  His grades shot up to As and Bs in regular classes, he stopped getting into trouble, he had no more problems in school.  It was the medicine that was causing it.

Now, I'm not saying you should ignore what the doctors say or anything like that.  But you shouldn't put him on medicine when he gets older just because he was organized when he was 2.

Answer 23

May be he just likes things to be in an order. When did he start it? how do you keep your house. My point is he might have learned it from you or some of your friends places you visited. And once he did he might have liked it.

If he is doing everything else just right.. I mean other activities, I would not even worry about this and would rather boast to others about it.

Generally, during that age kids do line up toys and everything else during play, but by the end of their play, the toys will be back messed up every where.

Wait for one more year and then depending on how he is with other activities, you can ask the pediatrician if there is anything wrong.

My friends kid was so good at puzzles when he was 2. He used to do them mechanically checking each and every piece if it would fit another piece. He used to do it fast too. Later he lost interest in it. But he is hyper active. But I don't think he has any problem.

Answer 24

I've read that autistic children will arrange toys rather than play with them.

Answer 25

my 28 month son do that thing too but i'm not bothered cause he just wants to arrange his toys and get excited seeing it all lined up..kids do that...

Answer 26

It can be a sign of autism or OCD but it's not necessarily the case. Some kids just like to line things up. If he never actually plays with his toys and ONLY lines them up then I would be more concerned.

www.childbrain.com

Answer 27

ocd

Answer 28

maybe he has OCD or something.

Answer 29

maybe he has ocd itstands for obsessive compulsive disorder which means every thing has to be really neat and straight

Answer 30

it may be ocd or a form of autism. Or it could simply be nothing at all. Contact the health visitor and ask why he/she wanted to know this info.