My daughter will be 4 in Oct. She has the same weird things that we have to do every night at bedtime. She has to read the SAME book every single night for the last 3 weeks, then we go to bed and we have to turn off her light before she'll then make us ask her how many hugs Daddy gets. So she'll decide on the number and then with the kisses it's the same thing. Then it's my turn to do the same thing. Then, she'll ask me what the garbage truck does and what Toot and Puddle play (she's asked the same questions every night for 6 months) and then she'll ask for her water and remind us to keep her door cracked open just the right amount.
During the day, she is very, very normal (crazy and active) so it's just a bedtime thing. Is this fairly normal or is she a little on the odd side? She's adorable any way you slice it! :)
Thanks ladies! My oldest just didn't do this. Good to know that my kid isn't the only one keeping mommies and daddies on their toes at bedtime. ;)
If the only time she "has the same weird things" you need to do is only at bedtime, no, it's not OCD ; )
Normal and adorable as Rosebud pointed out. Make sure to write all this down (You've done it here, copy and paste) You'll want to remind her when she's the ripe old age of, oh say 9 that she used to do this ;-)
I'm votin' for adorable.
Normal! Ever since my oldest was about 3 (she will be 9 in a few weeks), we have said the same exact thing as we tuck her in:
Me: "Night night! Sleep tight!"
Her: "Don't let the bedbugs bite!"
Both of us: "Sweet dreams!"
And then I kiss her and poke her nose. And then as I leave her room, she always says, "Mommy?" And then follows it up with some completely random statement. Tonight it was, "Can you go check my teacher's blog and let me know if I have any projects due tomorrow?" (Huh? It's 9:00 - what was she planning on doing if something WAS due? lol)
So, yeah. I think kids enjoy having a routine at bedtime. It makes them feel like life is safe and predictable, which is a nice thing when you're drifting off to sleep.
My son will be four in November and his bedtime routine sounds pretty similar in terms of repetition and adherence to a schedule of seemingly strange behaviors. I think its pretty normal.
I don't think it's odd at all. To her, it's comfortable and familiar before you leave her alone in her bed for a really long period of time. She'll outgrow it. :) In the meantime, take a deep breathe, and get ready to repeat yourself for awhile!
It sounds to me like she has a routine that makes her comfortable all figured out.
She's not even 4 yet.
Bedtime routines are very important because it is the settling down and feeling the safety of the routine.
I wouldn't venture so far as to say that she's OCD.
For instance, if she says she wants 8 kisses, do you give her "one to grow on"? Meaning 9 total kisses? Would that freak her out or would she find it fun?
Patterns in children this young do not have to signal a compulsive obsession. Especially if you can have fun deviating from it and she's still happy.
We like our kids to have schedules and routines. It makes them feel more comfortable in my opinion and there's nothing wrong with it as long as they don't panic at the slightest deviation.
She sounds pretty okay to me.
Just my opinion.
Sounds totally normal to me. Kids like repetition, they love you so they want a long drawn out routine. Just go with it, you know when to cut it off and tell her to go to sleep.
At least you have a routine in place that works for her. It's very normal to want to hear the same story over and over, my kids were like that too. I can still remember some books I read by memory since I read them so many times.
I'm sure she'll make some changes soon, you might try to encourage a different story or discuss something different with her rather than the garbage truck and Toot and Puddle just to get her thinking...
Anyway, feel blessed she has a routine and you can walk out at the end of it and she goes to sleep, unlike lots of moms on here recently that can't get their kids to stay in bed ;)
She is not OCD, she's just "almost 4" and sounds like a precocious, sweet little jewel.
both of my kids do this--VERY particular about the order of operations when it comes to bedtime. Kids are silly like that :) Even my almost 1 year old reaches for her lamp to turn it off, then helps me straighten out the blankets on her bed before we sit down in the rocking chair. She even puckers up her lips for me to give her a kiss when I lay her down (after she's already been asleep for 5 minutes or so). I think you should write it all down and keep the memory--one day when she's a mama she would love to read it when her own kids are doing it
Bedtime rituals are so normal for kids.
Although the routine changes a bit as we get older, most adults like doing the same things before bedtime too.
My husband (and now my son, too) both like to check that all the doors are locked before heading to bed.
I like a cup of chamomile tea as part of my settling down.
When my son was young and wanted me to read the same story again and again and again, I started adding a second story (we'd start bedtime a little earlier).
We'd have something old, and something new - and he could pick which one he wanted first.
He's 12 now and I'm really missing all the Dr Seuss we use to read together.
After the fourth of July, my son asked me what the "smell" was. I said sulphur. He asked me one time while walking into his daycare what the smell was and I said "exhaust" thinking it was a car that he was smelling.
Our ritual now is...momma what's that smell...i say exhaust. He them asks, momma, whats a firework smell like, I say sulpher. He's asked me this since the 4th of July. I finally had to tell my other half the questions he ask because he got REALLY upset when his dad didn't come up with exhaust and sulphur as the answer. We also have to say "horizon" when coming up with where the sun goes...my older children NEVER did this.
Its just how he learns and processes. We're adapting.
But there are moments when I wanna say the smell is bacon...or fireworks smell like toast...or something random just to get him to stop. Meh...pick your battles.
Sending good thoughts your way. :)
