Just wondering if anyone else's toddler does/did this...

Question

My son is 2, 3 in November and by almost all accounts my son is perfectly normal and, of course like most mothers, i see him as above average. he already "reads" to me at reading time and he is very good at coloring in the lines and doing his own special drawings. he's very verbal and has a big vocabulary. counts to ten, understands abstract concepts, is very reasonable about what he wants and how he gets it, and his memory is just uncanny.

i only have one issue and i don't even want to call it a problem since its probably not, its just strange. half the time he is "woody" from toy story. although sometimes he's buzz. and sometimes i'm potatoe head. lol he hasn't seen this movie for what seems like a year, but at least 4 or 5 months. but he acts it and other movies out all the time. its his favorite kind of play. and of course he has props and now likes others to join in. i even caught him acting out that commercial where the little girl in the grocery store says, "i don't like chicken..." blah blah blah. lol

now i've always thought he went further than i did as a kid with the acting like other characters as i just acted like animals from time to time. but sometimes when we tell him he's not woody, he's jack, he insists that he is NOT jack. he is woody.

there are times that he insists he is jack sometimes too. but we just can't get him "out of character" once he has decided he's playing.

anyway, should i worry/wonder if there is an underlying issue or cause that would make him want to act like cartoon characters so often? he's an only child right now so i'm assuming it has something to do with the fact that his only play mates are me, his dad and our friends...that are our age.

should i or HOW should i cultivate this creativity and imagination he has?

Answer 1

You know I am a mom of two toddlers and with imaginations that go forever. My daughter did the same thing at 2 and my son who is 2 right now is doing the same thing. He is just a kid and you know imagination some say can take you any were. Just let him go with it and play along sometimes. But also remind him he is who he is. But don't discourage him. He Will stop my daughter did. My mom said I did the same thing and I'm just fine.

Answer 2

My Son was the same way and we just let him be.  Every time someone came over he would disappear down the hall and come out dressed up as some character and act like the character.  It was entertaining, that's for sure!  He even won some free acting classes at school one time!  Thought he would be an actor when he grew up, but instead he is a middle school art teacher and has his own wedding photography business!  He liked to wear one of my old plaid smocks I threw in the kids dress up clothes with his cowboy boots.  Yes I got plenty of weird looks at the store, but I didn't care, he was happy and that's what was important!  He even wore those boots with his swim trunks!  He dressed himself up as a magic elf on St. Pat's day with a cotton beard colored red and all.  His bus driver took a picture and sent it to us!  He's doing fine, just let him be who ever he wants to be and go along with it!  You'll have a HAPPY and healthy boy and that's what you want, right?

Answer 3

It does not seem entirely strange. I would try to get him around some other kids though. Hanging out with adults all the time can be pretty boring. Get him in a play group or something. If you are really concerned about his cartoon acting I would bring it up at his next doctor's visit, or just email the doctor to see what they say.

I think he is just being a kid. Good luck!!

Answer 4

This is completely normal. When my brother was young he went through a phase where he wouldn't respond to anything but Luke Skywalker. He's just entertaining himself and exploring things.

But maybe you should get him some playmates his own age!

Answer 5

yes and I am going to take flack from other moms but I draw the line at this after about 5 hours when he is no longer his given name. I say OK that is enough I implore other mothers who can take this for days on end BUT i cannot. I have taught him that having an imagination is WONDERFUL but when mom says" It is real time" he understands it. it took a while for him to understand but now he will be 4 on his next Birthday and I must say he is quite a good child.  Like yours he reads , ties his shoes, dresses him self ( never matching but he wants to SO i let him) I spoke with a psychologist to make sure this was not harmful and she said NO that it was good for him to understand the difference between real and play.

Just so no one thinks that I am some kind of nut  bag control freak I am not  i play imagination games with him all the time and he is very loved and cared for. He wants for nothing emotionally, physically or mentally. He's a very happy child

Answer 6

Your child sounds like he has a good imagination and has developed some very good thinking skills for his age.  Play with him!  Foster that creative energy!  My 5-year-old still gets so into character when he is playing that sometimes I can't even give him any instructions, I have to give the instructions to whomever he is being. In some cases, he is a train or an airplane.  My 5-year-old is already reading, and he can draw and write his own stories like you wouldn't believe.  Show him how to make books with  his drawings--staple the pages together and then "read" his creations together.  

He sounds brilliant to me--very right-brained and possibly even gifted.

Answer 7

I have a three year old and he does that too. Its just little kids. The only other thing I can think of is that it may be his way of doing things he thinks he can't. For a while my son kept pretending to be some character when he was jumping on the trampoline but he'd only jump on it when he was a character. He wouldn't when he was just Daemion.

Answer 8

I think it's normal.. he has a favorite character and he like to be him... my daughter is 3 and when she wants to be a puppy she's not done until she says.. LOL even if i'm taking the garbage out and shes on all fours woofing behind me.. LMAO he just has a GREAT imagination... it's his way to entertain himself

Answer 9

Well, my opinion is that he obviously likes to act or pretend to act. It's good that his imagination is rolling, and he's not just some ol' potato on the side of the road, ya know? Don't insist that he is, in fact, Jack when he thinks he is Woody... For instance, go to him and say,

"So - Are you Jack or Woody today?" or "How is Woody/Buzz today? If he insists that he is Jack, just go along and agree, say you're sorry, he just looked like a handsome cowboy today... Make him feel good, but don't discourage him. Hope that helps. (:

Answer 10

Pretend play is fantastic and important.  My 2 1/2 year old does similar things.  He is always changing who he "is"--sometimes he's Spiderman, Batman, Daddy, Mommy, a knight, a doctor, his friend Cody, etc.  If you try to tell him anything else he'll correct you.  It's just a great use of their imaginations.  Just play along and enjoy the moment. :-)  Certainly don't worry.

Answer 11

lol i think this is normal, my 2 1/2 year old is a puppy dog most days.... it is quite amusing!

Answer 12

Absolutely normal!  A vivid imagination is a terrific thing!  Do NOT try to stunt him.  Except, of course, when you really NEED him to come back to reality, maybe trying to get him home to Jack (being his real name?) sometimes.  

One thing you might do is try to get him involved in a play group or something, where he is exposed to some kids his own age.

I have a daycare, and I have two little girls who insist they are kittens, or sometimes a mommy and kitten, all the time.  Even when we take walks around the neighborhood, they are constantly mewing.  It´s just part of growing up.  Imaginative play.  Foster it, give him props and costumes.  Help him expand his repertoire by giving him MORE things to use as bases for his imagination...find a show that you think he would like.  

My son (also an only, with a wild imagination) cut his literary teeth on Don Quixote and King Arthur, and his first really favorite movie was Star Wars (episode I - kills me that he doesn't really get Luke and Leia and Han!)  He's 9 now...what do you think his favorite toys arë?  swords and light sabers!  Still!  Yours will probably still be playing cowboy for years!  Don't make him stop!

Answer 13

This type of behavior is perfectly normal. My daughter used to pretend she was the white cat from The Aristocats. And my mom tells me that I used to pretend to be Tinkerbell. It's perfectly normal and should wear off in one or two years. It helps to try and distract your child sometimes though with stories about other characters and not the one he is used to portraying the part of