Everything has to be perfect?

Lu

Lu

I know that toddlers get like really into routine, and can be really obsessive about their interests. But my kid wants to do things step by step perfectly, and sometimes he adds steps and he gets really frustrated if we don't do all of it the "Right" way. Is this normal?

For instance he turns on his nightlight and noise machine and then he turns out the big light. Then he wants to be rocked which all seems normal but he alllsssoo wants his baby blanket folded into a pillow with the fuzzy side up and his monkey blanket folded like a pillow onto of the baby pillow and when we lay him in his crib we have to lift his head onto those blankets and then tuck him in. And if we mess those up he kinds freaks out that it isn't done right.

Or like, we went to the lake the other day he was standing on the ledge and I grabbed his hands and "Your soo brave!" And pulled him into the water and swisher him around and wanted to repeat that same action like a million times. Is this kinda normal behavior? I'm such a worry wart lol.

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COMMENT (6)

Co

Posted at
For us, yes. She's super intent on things being done a certain way and emotional when it doesn't get done right. Also, yes. She always wants to be so repetitive with everything that she found fun especially because she's hit her "threes" early and it feels like we are correcting her behavior and telling her no all day now so the fun things I think she super latches onto.

Em

Posted at
Toddlers are very specific. They’re just learning how to be able to make decisions on what they want and how they want to do it and so take this to extremes. My toddler will freak out at me if I put her in a shopping cart and don’t do the seatbelt up in the first 2 seconds (she knows it needs to be done and if it’s not done instantly, it freaks her out). Also we have to wrap her up as a burrito after a bath immediately and for at least 10 mins before she will consider getting dressed. She HAS to have the matching plate to her silverware for dinner (god help us if I serve on a Peppa pig plate and give her a Disney Princess fork). Deffo a normal toddler thing...

Ni

Posted at
Yasss girl I came for this. At bedtime every night , my daughter wants a piggy back ride to get her milk out of the fridge with one scoop of Nesquick and she Has to scoop it. It can not be shaked. The chocolate powder has to sink to the bottom (she checks to make sure by looking for a brown ring around the cup). Then she needs the ‘cozy blanket’ wrapped on her like a burrito and if her toe is poking out or if anything is not covered, game over. Then it’s Paw Patrol but it has to be the Dragon episode. Or else... full on meltdown 🤯 If all of that is successful then I can breathe a small sigh of relief

Li

Posted at
I am pretty sure the repeating a thousand times thing is normal, just like being attached to routines. I'm not sure how much attachment to the routine is normal.Nowadays my daughter won't put her socks on simply. She'll put one on (or let me do one) and then she'll play that get other foot is scared and we need to play out the whole thing with reassurances and checking for scary things and giving the foot time to make its mind up. Every. Single. Time.Sometimes she gets an idea in her head, like the neighbor kid started crying because mine took her toy duckies away, and she repeated the discussion on it until I refused to take part in the conversation (it was nap time). Why did she cry? Because you took her toy away. Why did she cry? Because... Why did she cry?... Why did she cry? Again and again and again. I tried explaining it in different ways and it doesn't seem to make a difference at all, she will still repeat the same questioning again and again.We had the same repeating thing with blowing bubbles, pushing toy cars, tossing her into the trampoline, squirting water in the bathtub... She usually goes at it as long as she can.

Li

Liz • May 29, 2020
I'm pretty sure they repeating things until You have enough of it is normal 😊

Lu

Lu • May 29, 2020
Oohh man, thank you. This was very reasuring. My kid does exactly this! I thought maybe it was anxiety driven or something and I started to worry! Thank you!