This may sound like a really strange request. :) I am just wondering if any other moms have experienced this with their toddler. Our 2 year old son has a few stuffed animals that he likes to play with and in general the play seems "normal." One thing that seems so bizarre to me though is that occasionally he will get really intense and squeeze the eyes of the animal with clenched teeth and makes an agressive grunting/groaning sound when he does it. It kind of freaks me and my husband out but we attribute it to just weird childish behavior. :) I am somewhat sensitive to odd behaviors b/c I have autism & mental retardation in my family. Our little guy is talking, singing, moving, developing and interacting completely normally. I don't see any other weird behaviors.
totally normal
They are trying out various emotions and actions in a safe way when they do this. It's ok.
Try not to over analyze your childs behavior. They will do crazy off the wall things. Learn to accept it as part of their unique personality or use it as a teaching moment. All kids do things like that, be thankful he isn't acting it out on people!
NORMAL! Role play with various emotions is very typical and in fact healthy. My daughter puts her dolls in time out sometimes when she is pretending.
As far as I know, it's totally normal. If I'm picturing it correctly, my daughter (3) does the same thing. She'll do the same thing when she's hugging me sometimes and I love it. :)
Hi K.,
Make sure he is not mimmicking any behavior he sees in his environment. It could be from outside, tv,pet or anywhere,just continue to observe and see if it's just a phase. Many children have interesting behaviors, and they grow out of them as they get older.
All the Best!
My kid does this too - he has a Snoopy that he takes in the car with him and he likes to bite on his feet and his nose. I just tell him "Aww, honey that hurts Snoopy! Remember, no biting! Biting hurts!" and he'll respond with "Snoopy? You okay? I'm sorry!" He also likes to 'change Snoopy's diaper', kiss his boo-boos, make Snoopy sing and count and do the alphabet with him. And, just like another poster commented he too will put Snoopy in time out "Snoopy! Not nice, time out two minutes!"
Sounds fairly normal. Yes it might be a way for him to relieve some stress but you can also begin teaching some empathy as well by letting him know that the squeezing "hurts" the stuffed animal. Model caring behavior by maybe cradling the stuffed animal, patting it's head, and asking the stuffed animal "Are you okay? I'm sorry you were hurt."
Oh and for what it's worth...my son loves to take off his clothes at the end of the day, run around naked exclaiming "I'm a butterfly" flapping his 'wings'. Weird, yes, but he's having a good time in the privacy of his own home and being silly.
My daughter does that when she is a little stressed. I think it is pretty normal. They are just learning about social interaction at that stage and so biting, hitting, throwing etc is all pretty common. Provided he isn't doing this to other children, I would let it go. I don't think it sounds at all like autism which is more characteristically lacking in affect and social interaction. Enjoy.
Both of my daughters have done this, my nephew did it, my little cousins did it, and a lot of kids I babysat and kept in daycare have done this around this age or a bit younger.
I think they do it to play with sounds and actions.
Unless he is spacing/zoning out while clenching teeth, etc. I would not worry about it. If you notice anything that concerns you like that, then a neurologist can do a quick EEG to rule out seizures if it will ease your mind.
M.
My son is almost three and does this sometimes when he is really excited. I then show him, that he can smile, and pet the animal nicely. It's some type of excited reaction I believe....
What TV shows do you let him watch? TV can be a key factor in a lot of behavior. Also does he wrestle with is dad or any uncles or older cousins.
I do not think it is abnormal from the stand point that is he a young man and they have testosterone that can cause them to do weird things. But what may add to it is seeing wrestling on Tv or wrestling with friends or relatives.
With autism in your family you know that your son does not fit into that at all, with all his normal behavior and development, especially the interacting. His actions are probably just those of a persistent explorer who wants to know about these eyes and wants to get them out. Of course he does not realize that the stuffed animals will not be able to be fixed. Your only concern is that he gets one out and swallows it, chokes on it. Most likely they have passed the test of being safe and this cannot happen. One way to look at it, they are his toys and he chooses to develop his exploring, small motor abillities with them, so let him go ahead. He just won't understand or care about trashing them and I would not bother yet to try to teach him about that. If there are some especially lovely ones that you want to save, put them away and let him have his way with the others. Kids his age are fascinated with shinning eyes, and that goes for live baby eyes. Watch him closely, I mean closely, when around an infant so that he does not explore its eyes by poking them. One thing you can do is get a doll with eyes that open and close, he will love exploring those. Some kids are aggressive. I attribute it to genetics and survival of the fittest, i.e. the most aggressive. This is perfectly normal, although a good number of people will assume that it is learned behavior from his home environment. Most who have parented a few of our little darlings know that is not the case. For those who are discomforted by your child's grunting, etc. just pass on what I and the other moms have said to you.
