My 2Yr Old Daughter Plays Alone but I Want to Make Sure This Is Normal

This is completely normal for this age IF: she makes eye contact with people when she talks.
And she talks
And she plays "appropriately" with other toys. As in if she plays with instruments, she uses them AS instruments (in addition to perhaps using imaginative play with the same instruments as other items.)
The main thing to worry about is if she does not play with toys AS they should be played with.
(ie, if she plays with dolls, she plays like they are dolls. Or if she plays kitchen or food, she plays like it is a kitchen or food. ) When they do not play with more than one type of toy or do not play toy-appropriate play, is when you worry for anything under the autistic spectrum. My daughter did this organizing thing with her "little people" for months but she also played with them AS people and made up stories, etc.

I'm just another mom to say that it is VERY COMPLETELY NORMAL! You may want to videotape her doing that to show her later when she gets older the quirky things she did when she was little. I bet she'd find that funny. (I record the weird things that make no sense to me that the kiddies do- it's entertaining!) You have a great day as well:)

Totally normal. Unless she isn't starting to talk or has other issues that you are concerned about. This is a great skill she has developed to keep herself entertained. I love it when my son gets engrossed with things like this, so I can have a little break. He is 3 and loves to shove things through the windows of his toy house - as many things as he can fit. Any opening he has, he likes to see what fits through it or not and how much stuff he can cram into it. I think it is just their way of learning about the world.

My daughter is nearly 29 months old, and she plays similarly to what you are describing. She can spend a good 15-20 minute chunk of time moving a group of her Little People from one container to another as they "ride" from place to place in our living room. She also likes to line them all up and is proud to show them to me in their neat arrangement. I often hear her talking softly to them or about them while she plays, too. I think it is completely normal. But, as other moms said, you should talk to your pediatrician if you are seeing other troubling patterns,

Best wishes,
Jennifer

My dd is just a bit older than yours and she does the same thing on occasion. She's very concerned about order sometimes. I've seen other kids do the same thing at playgroups (these kids are all 2 as well). I think it's pretty normal.

I think you should be thanking God that your daughter can entertain herself!

Seriously, this is perfectly normal, I imagine there is some "storyline" running through her mind as shse is doing all of this. That is truly wonderful that she can occupy herself and play independently, and I imagine that makes it much easier for you to tend to the baby!

It could be something, if there were other symptoms, then I would talk to my pediatrician. If this is truly the only thing, it probably is comforting. My son started Sunday school and they use the Montessori method and they have them pour water from a small picture to a cup and back again, or they'll move rice from one bowl to another with a small spoon, he loves it. He'll do it until you force him to stop and now he try to get stuff out at our house to do it to, literally moving all the rice from one bowl to another then back, it calms him. hope that gives a little insight...good luck

Hi S.,
I had to chuckle because my 2-year-old daughter does very similar things. Her pediatrician says it's normal for her. I have a ton of twixit clips in different shapes and colors in a clear box, and she'll dump them out, refill, and repeat. She just recently started taking her crayons out of a tin box, lining them up like a train, as she says "choo choo," and then fills it back up, and repeats. This has gone for an hour before. She is very conscious of her order -- I say it's a little of her dad's Type A personality coming out. haha. My daughter is totally normal and has the vocabulary of a 5- or 6-year-old according to her pediatrician. So, in comparison, if this particular action is the only one you're concerned about, I'd say it's normal! Hope that helps!

My DSD used to take her tiny dolls, stuffed animals, etc and line them up in a particular order, then pick them up, walk in a certain path to the kitchen and then line them up in the same order....pick them up, take the same path back to the other room and line them up again...very methodical. I think it's a blessing though because almost 5 years later, she is in 2nd grade and at the very top of her class making straight A's and reading 2-4 grades above grade-level. Perhaps her methodical behavior has something to do with it..? :)

Totally normal! Take advantage of her taking out and putting in! Get some plastic shoe boxes (at Dollar tree or walmart) and put all of her toys in boxes (I have boys, so 1 box is for ninja turtles, 1 box for cars, etc) and put a picture of the item that goes in that box on the side (I put it on the shorter side and they stack 2 high under the boys' bunkbeds!) This way they have all the pieces to whatever they are playing with and it helps to teach them organization! I wish I had been taught that way as a child! And enjoy your little girl! I'm surrounded by boys! (that Of COURSE I wouldn't trade for ANY girl!) haha!

I believe that is normal. My girls did similar things. They each had their own little toys they liked, and would spend a long time just carrying them around in their hands, lining them up, putting them in circles...we of course don't see the fun in that! But apparently it is a blast! I wouldn't worry. Sounds like she is great at keeping herself occupied with the simplest things...what more could a mother ask?
K.

Be happy and thrilled that she can engage in imaginative play. I'll bet if you ask her she has a whole story that goes along with what she is enacting. So many children want to be entertained constantly by you or others. It is a great skill to be able to entertain yourself.

If that alone worries you than I would say she's fine. It is PERFECTLY NORMAL for that age group to play solo. They don't really get the whole play together concept yet. The car thing COULD be a sign of autism BUT if this is the only thing that she does like that IS NOT likely. My 3 year old son is obsessed with lining his cars up in a line every time he plays with them. He is very organized with all his toys all ready (he puts them in specific toy bins by type, he has specific upstairs toys and downstairs toys, etc.

That said if you're concerned about other things similar to that which she does check out this article from Mayo Clinic.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/autism/DS00348/DSECTION=...

If you think she has additional symptoms talk with her Dr. right away early intervention is the key with Autism.

OCD, autism, those are 2 words that come to mind. YOu will have to moniter her activity for a while to get a definite list of her odd habits and then look into these 2 options for starters.
Not trying to scare you but the sooner you find out if she has an issue the earlier she can get help and better off she will be. I had 2 friends that ignored obvious symptoms until their child was well over 5, perhaps they were just in denial, either way it was harmful to that child to delay help.

Of course it could just be a normal phase as well. Keep an eye on it and mention it to her pediatrician.

S.,
This sounds like your daughter may have a mild case of autism. I have worked with a child that had autism and this is how he was when he was diagnosed, he preferred to play alone instead of with his older brothers or other children. It may not be a bad idea to talk to your ped. and see what they think or suggest.

I think this is normal. Also, think you should be happy that your daughter is entertaining herself at this young age. My daughter, at age 6, is still very manipulative and attention seeking. My daughter seems to constantly want attention because I have spoiled her since infancy.

Like the others said, perfectly normal. = )

This is normal. my son, same age as your daughter, loves to push everything off the coffee table and pick it up, over and over and over again. They find activities that they like to master and control. My daughter used to take things out of drawers and put them back, and she is not autistic. Kind of makes you wonder why we buy all these toys when such little things occupy them so well.

I have a son that was placing little cars in patterns by the time he was 1yr. and has always enjoyed playing alone. He is now almost 10yr. He is very bright, math comes so easily to him and he still likes his alone time to play. He also enjoys playing with others and makes friends. He is just a little shy. It has been my experience that every child is different and we try to celebrate our differences.

S.,

My daughter did stuff like that at age 1 and 2. She is now 4 and doesn't do as much repetitious play as she used to. She still needs her alone time though since her 2 year old brother is always bugging her. lol. If there are no other actions that suggest autism, then don't worry about it. Be sure that she is playing with other children and she is communicating with you. As long as you can do those things, let her play by herself, there is nothing wrong with it.

I would worry about autism only if she's unresponsive during that activity. Can you communicate with her when she's doing it? She's fine. If that's the only activity she does that worries you, don't!

There's always checking with the doc to get your peace of mind.

This sounds like my son at that age. Even now, he'll play "Parking Lot" which seems so strange to me...he's got a tub of literally hundreds of cars, and he'll line up as many as possible on the lid. He's developing physically ahead a little, and emotionally is right on track. It's just something he likes doing. I think he did what you described for a few months, maybe it was 6 or 7 though. It was just how he played.

Yes this is completely normal. At her age she isn't old enough to play well with other children so she plays alone. As far as the can is concerned she is learning there are alot of different ways she can use the can. Different things the cars will do in the can and sound in the can and orders she can take them out and put them in. She will line them up and put them in different order on the floor because she is learning that they can be put different ways. She will do this with lots of things. As long as she's happy things are going well. If she can't figure something out and gets mad don't respond let her work her way through. She needs to learn things don't always work the way she wants and it's ok but it's not going to get your attention. If you respond she will turn to you for help everything things don't go her way and expect you to fix it instead of trying to fix it herself first.