My 5 yr old thinks that white shiny rocks are diamonds. He is always on the hunt for them. He asks me if his rocks are diamonds. He gets really upset if I say no. He is totally obsessed. Its the first thing he talks about when he wakes up and the last thing he talks about before bed. Is it normal to lie to your child and tell them they are diamonds? He seems devastated when I tell him they are a different kind of rock.
Its a phase.
He won't get damaged by it, when one day he knows the truth.
He is normal.
Kids this age, do not know, fully, what fiction and non-fiction is.
Oh Lord, my son was train obsessed. We lived near the tracks and would have to run down to watch it pass - which was daily at the least. He had a train everything from about 2-5 years old. He had to count, out loud, the cars on the train when we got caught at crossings - I think he did that until about 10.
So - yes, normal. They get obsessed. Now you could get him a book on geology that would teach him about rocks and how gem stones develop. Oh, I had a rock tumbler when I was kid - I could put in any kind of rock and it would polish it. I had lots of rocks as a kid.
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/9660358/?catalogI...
It's normal. My daughter did it.
I would say "What do you think? Do you think they are diamonds?"
If he says "Yes" then go with it. You could say something like "well, they certainly look like diamonds" or "They are very pretty!"
He will become obsessed with something else eventually.
What I say in a situation like this is, "wouldn't it be wonderful if they were diamonds." No need to correct him at this age but also no need to agree with him either. He's using his imagination which you want to encourage him doing.
variations: I'd love it if they were diamonds. or Diamonds are beautiful and so is this rock. What would you do if this were a diamond?
And then, get a book or look up diamonds on the Internet and learn all about diamonds. Let him come to the conclusion that these are not diamonds through exploration.
Yes, this is normal. And.....the more you insist that they aren't diamonds the more determined he'll be to convince you that they are.
Go online and get him some Herkimer diamonds!! These are clear, doubly terminated quartz crystals. He may be a little rock hound in the making. I would encourage him to learn about rocks, your local geology, and all the cool things he can find in your area.
Normal. My son thinks every black rock is coal and won't hear anything else.
This is what's known as a teachable moment. Go get books at the library and explore things with him. Try to find a museam with a rough cut diamond. Look at the crown jewels of London. Talk about the skill it takes to cut a diamond. Talk about the different shapes and cuts of diamonds. Find out about rock, ignious, sedamentry, and metamorphic. Make cookies that look like them (there are recipes on the Internet). Watch The Magic School Bus episode about rocks.
The difference in how you treat this moment in time will make all the difference in an intellectually curious child.
I had a little paleantologist many years ago. She was obsessed with fossils, rocks, geodes and collecting stuff from nature.
We learned together about all that stuff. Lots of rocks are rare and have interesting information about them if you research a bit. We never lied. Just said "maybe so" if we really didn't know what it was and tried to find out what we could about the interesting ones. We've met rock hounds who were happy to impart info and at four my daughter found a bunch of shell fossils at a dry creek bed we used to walk near. I was stunned when she asked "are these fossils" and sure enough they were!
No need to tell him they are diamonds, the truth may be far more interesting. Enjoy his wonder at the world and his drive to investigate.
It's such a sweet part of childhood!
Buy him quartz crystals, tell him it's the closest thing to diamonds you could afford but that they are all his, to keep, forever.
Buy him a rock book, one with pictures. Geods and semi-precious stones are beautiful. Also buy him a wooden chest (Hobby Lobby) to keep his treasures in. :)
This is wonderful wishful thinking on your son's part. My son still brings me bits of colored glass from some art pavers which have slowly disintegrated in the garden and will still tell me "I found gold!" He's six, he knows it's not real gold.
Get a basic mineral identification book from the library. Help him identify it. (Is it quartz? Mica?) And then tell him "it's okay to pretend it's diamonds, but just so you know, most people will be confused because they call it quartz/mica/whatever it is." Do show him real diamonds and let him know that it IS fun to play that his stones are valuable and that it's okay to collect them in a treasure box. A simple empathetic statement "It's fun to play they are diamonds, huh?" might just be what he needs-- permission to imagine and understanding from you.
I think it is as bad as lying about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.
I see it as you dreaming with your son and it will be sweet memories when he is older. If you do not feel comfortable lying then go with the "It sure looks like one."
Why is he so into diamonds? Does he play a game with diamonds like mine craft? i think diamonds are very popular because of min craft.
Find out what kind of rocks they really are and help him with his own mini rock collection.
Normal.
And wonderful!
Indulge him.
You'll never look at a white rock the same way again!
That's pretty cute! You could have a kid who obsesses over dinosaurs and/or trains. My son's 3rd word was "backhoe". He dreamed about large equipment, Thomas the Tank Engine and dinosaurs, and he could name every dinosaur that lived, all the Thomas universe engines, and most large equipment. I learned some of their names from him!
I think that I would humor him at this point and just say "I'm not sure, honey. Here, have some toast..."
You never know. He may end up being a geologist!
Normal. My kids do it (thought not just pretending they are diamonds... sometimes other things). When they pretend play they get mad if I don't play along. It's not considered lying.
I think obsessions are pretty normal when kids are young...as are rock collections. My almost 4 year old loves to bring home "special rocks" (usually pieces of concrete!).
As for the "diamond" thing, I would talk to him about why he likes diamonds. Is it because they are shiny? Does he know about other shiny rocks? Does he know what jewels are? Etc. Maybe that can help you narrow down why he is so devastated. Is it because you aren't playing along? Or does he want to be "rich"? What does he want to do with all his diamonds?
I like the ideas others have put forth about getting a basic mineral/rock book and trying to really identify them. And 5 is NOT too young understand the difference between fact and fiction. We do a lot of pretend play with my girls. Sometimes, they don't tell me we're playing pretend, so when I reply with "no, that's not an X, it's a Y" she'll say (in her grown up voice) "MOMMY. I KNOW it's a Y...we're just PRETENDING. :)
oh boooooooo to everyone saying tell him the truth. what about imagination and being a kid and having fun? i'd say they do like like them...quite possibly...if not they sure are as pretty as them, lets see if we can find more...we'll be rich=)
you can tell him once the technial meaning if you think he'll like it but why not make it fun? imaginative play is good for the mind. my daughter loved looking for fossils when she was 2-4 and we would often find marks in the ground from other things and pretend together we found some amazing dinosaur fossil. she would also learn real things along the way. have fun with him. when he wakes up tomorrow have a pronted out or handwritten scavenger hunt to find diamonds or a map to where they are. go on a hike and explore and find a "cave" and diamonds
I think it's normal, 5 is still very little. I don't think I would lie to my child and tell him/her that they have found something really valuable like that, I would just look them up (with his help) and explain what they really are and help to explain how special what he has found really is. Just because it's not a diamond doesn't mean it's not cool, ya know?
My youngest is 5, it's a great age!
Just play with him have a treasure hunt and find all kinds of things. Children need their imagination engaged. It's an absolute imperative part of life and growing. It awakens the heart and mind. Just go with it and have fun. Let yourself be a child.
It's not like he's going to actually believe that rocks are diamonds all his life. And who knows maybe he's going to be a geologist when he grows up.
no, not normal to lie to your kids.
i don't get that at all.
i love rocks, and my kids loved 'em too. my younger still does. help him collect them, label them, keep a cool rock collection, get rock books and go to museums like the smithsonian's natural history. during our entire homeschool career we almost never got out of the rocks and minerals section.
your kid will be more devastated if you get in the habit of lying to him. surely you can find ways to let him follow his passion appropriately.
khairete
S.
Sounds like someone needs Minecraft. ;-)
Kid's imaginations are great. I wouldn't lie to him about "Is this a diamond?" but I might deflect - What do you think it is? and I don't know what it is.
Get a Rocks & Minerals guide with color photos. He will get a big kick out of comparing his found rocks with the photos to try to identify it. They also make a gemstone guide, where he would be able to see diamonds and other shiny things.
Look around to price shop, but here is a place to start -
Rocks & Minerals: http://geology.com/store/earth-science-books/rock-and-min...
Gemstones: http://geology.com/store/earth-science-books/gemstone-boo...
I have the Smithsonian Guide books for both Rocks & Minerals, and Gemstones. Other versions may be better suited to your child.
Well, they want the world to be the way they want it. Diamonds are special :)
Perhaps hit the bookstore or library and find a book on rocks and crystals so he can discover all kinds of rocks and see that all rocks are special in different ways.
I wouldn't lie to him, especially just to keep him from getting upset. I would tell him they're not diamonds, but he can pretend they are if he wants. That way you're not limiting his imagination, but also not lying. You can also enlist his help in Googling rocks and finding out what kind they really are.
Obsessions can be very normal at this age. Kids can obsess about anything. Mine obsesses about baseball, yours about diamond-like rocks. I wouldn't worry about it at all. My son would probably sleep in his baseball uniform if we let him.
Don't tell him they are different, just go with it. It's cute.
Years ago, when one of my kiddos was that age, there was a fossil kit. It came with a book...a small fossil...a small pointed hammer...a brush and a magnifying glass I think. I threw in a few other books on geology...and off he'd go on a dig in our back yard.
He had lots of fun....Maybe try something like that.
Yes, it's normal for him to think they are diamonds.
No, its not normal for the mom to lie to him to make him feel better.
Maybe read some parenting books. Good luck.
