Sorting and Lining up Toys

Until you have something to worry about, don't worry. There are many reasons why he is doing this. I hope it means he is quite smart and analytical. Enjoy this time because it fun to watch the "light go off" when he realizes something new and it is imprinted in his little brain. Having had 3 of my own, several grandchildren and a day care, I have seen many examples of learning. Go, little man! By the way, my 2yr old grandson picks up everything that isn't in its place and puts it where it belongs. Good luck!

I have a three year old daughter, that has done that since she was 1. She is extremely bright and talks like a 4 or 5 year old. She is very exact and methodical in her play. She is also very proud of herself when she does it. Now she has started stacking things. I think it is just a form of play.

Does he talk yet? Does he make eye contact with you and others? Is he affectionate? If the answers to these questions is "yes" then he is probably just bright and orderly. I was like this and grew out of it. If the answers to these questions is "no" then perhaps he has mild Autism which can be easily tested. The sooner you know, the easier it is to work with him on it.

Hello S.!!
I'm pursuing a degree in Family Studies and Child Development. Even though I'm not an expert, I have been studying autism and I don't think you should worry!! I understand that Autism is an alarming thing to be concerned about these days, but not every child that likes to organize is autistic. My son turned two in September and he is EXACTLY the same way. He is very advanced in a lot of areas. He also lines his toys up. His trucks have a specific place, he lines his toys up on the edge of the bathtub while he's taking a bath, he eats his fruit snacks in order of color, etc!! However, he is a happy, healthy, social little guy that is completely normal. His daddy is an engineer and he simply has developed a lot of his characteristics for mathematics and structure. If it eases your mind, talk to your pediatrician, but don't worry. As long as yoru child does not get violent when frustrated or often seclude himself and avoid eye contact, you should just rejoice in his giftings! Good luck to you and your little man! Keep us updated!

My daughter used to take out all the VCR tapes & either line them all up from one end of the room to the other (that's a LOT of tapes), or put them in even stacks. She would do this every day for almost a year. She would color coordinate EVERYTHING. If she was wearing red, she would wear ALL red - and then have to sit on her red chair. Her Teletubbies all had to be sat on their coordinating color chair (lined up in a row). I started worrying at the time about OCD (which indirectly runs in our family), but I just let it go & she hasn't done it since last winter. Some of the posts you got would make me worry, but I don't think you have any reason to worry. My daughter still has some quirks, but that's what makes us all unique. If it starts interferring with things - that's when I would start looking into it. And he has a 2 year well check up coming up - you could always discuss it with your pediatrician. But I think he's gonna tell you that he's fine!

Hes a perfectionist and he knows what he likes and dislikes my son is the same way he is almost 4. He arranges his clothes and folds them the way he wants he is anal about how I fix his hair and his toys are lined up by size. So I dont think you should worry about it you never know maybe he will grow out of it.

www.janetesho.freelife.com

I just saw Jenny McCarthy on Oprah talking about Autism with her son and this is one of the signs. Go online and find her book, I think she has some really good advice.

I don't think that is normal but I don't know what catagory I'd put it in. You may just want to watch it and make sure he doesnt get OCD. I had a friend like this (although grown) It doesnt go away. He had to have everyting in its place and nothing mixed just like that. If a roomate put even the telephone pen in the wrong place it would frusterate him. SO keep an eye on it and talk to the ped at his next appointment just to make sure. He may just be going through a phase but not a bad one :) Good luck

S.,

If you are in Nevada, I'd highly recommend calling Nevada Early Intervention and asking for an evaluation for your son. If you aren't in Nevada, there should be a similar service in your area and your pediatrician can give you more info. The types of behaviors you are talking about are red flags for autism. That isn't saying that your son definitely has autism but I would definitely be worried and I'd definitely have an evaluation done. My son is 4 and has autism and I have learned that early intervention is critical to long term outcomes. There is SO much that can be done and it is best to start early the ages 2-5 are really critical for getting services and having them be the most effective. I would think there are probably other reasons that a child would show obsessive behaviors too and you really need a professional evaluation to figure out what is going on. In my experience, these types of behaviors are NOT normal and I can't tell you enough how much I would NOT ignore them. As far as asking your pediatrician, you may or may not get any real help there. My pediatrician denied that my son had any sort of an issue until he was over 2 (I had been suspecting that there was something going on since he was about 9 months old but it was all vague stuff - he was and is extremely social and not anything at all like the public perception of autism. At one point my son did something in front of our pediatrician and my doctor specifically said "well, you know he doesn't have autism." Well, he does. Most pediatrician know shamefully little about autism. You really, really, really need a developmental specialist. If they tell you nothing is wrong, you can probably quit worrying. If you pediatrician tells you nothing is wrong, I'd still worry until you have an evaluation done by a developmental specialist. Early intervention evaluations are free. All you have to do is make an appointment and show up. If they determine your son need services, the services are free also.

T.

I, by no means, am a professional (yet) on child development. I do know, however, that my son also did this, as do two children about your sons age that are in my daycare. My son is four now and he still likes to line up cars, loves to sort and classify items and is very orderly, clings to a schedule and very particular about many things.

I am a perfectionist when it comes to organization and organize and reorganize my cupboards at least twice a month. My house is still messy, but open any cupboard and you will see that I am a perfectionist. I just think that it is a personality trait.

My son used to make me put certain shoes on with certain outfits and certain jackets on with certain outfits. I do think, in my opinion, that my son has more common sense and more advanced cognitive thinking skills than other children his age and I am not worried one bit about the little 'anal' things he does.

Hi S., did anyone respond to you? I don't know if they did or not, but I would talk to your Pediatrician. It could be a variety of spectrum issues. I.E. Autism or Sensory Processing, or a gifted situation. Start with your local school district as well, a program called ChildFind or KidsFirst. They test children under 5 years old for free (upcoming to the school district). This is where I began with my son having tests run as he was entering pre-school for the first time as a 3 yr. old. Grant was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. I hope this helps. P.S. Just asking is a start! Don't be worried. I wish you the best.
L. W.

Hi, S.

Both of my daughters exhibited these same characterstics as well. My youngest would (and still does at times) line up all her books in her "library" either on the floor stack them perfectly on the shelves. She'd do the same with anything--her choochoo train, VHS tapes, cards, magnets on the frig., shoes etc... you name it, she'd line them up.. sometimes by size, sometimes colors, sometimes in no order. I think (hope *grin*) that it's normal. She's
4 1/2 now and her sister's 8 and they both do it at times but not as much. Both girls are intelligent and quick learners and the oldest good in math. I have been told it's signs of an analytical mind....

So, I think it's normal! heheh

L.

My now 10 year old son lined his toys up as well, along with the same frustrations your son is having. He still sometimes lines things up, but has gradually stopped, though he is very organized, everything has its place, he is very bright and excels in school, so maybe this had something to do with it. None of my girls have exhibited this behavior, so not sure if its just a boy thing, but I consider it pretty normal.

All is well with your little guy ;) Mine did the same thing when he was young... he is very much a neat boy now. And I am a little "OCD" so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it ;) But do not worry. All is fine.

Thats funny that you say that.......it reminded me that my son also did that with his toys. He would line them up one by one until they were in a perfect line. He did this with his hot wheel cars and if anyone dared to move them, he would get upset with them. He is now 4 and hasn't done it in about a year or so.

i have a 28 yr old and a 17 yr old. they are like black and white. when my oldest lived at home i fought with him constantly about his room. i finally jus closed the door and dint go in there. if he needed something washed he had to bring it out. occassionally i would go it with a rake and rake stuff out just so nothing would grow but i never went in there. to this day, if he has a penny in his pocket , it is burning a hole and he has to spend it. on the contrary. my 17 yr old has always been a neat freak. he keeps everythign he wons in order and dusted and neat. he vaccums hsi room every morning before he goes to school. cleans up the bathroom before he leaves in the morning. there are no clothes scattered all over his roo etc. when he gets money he irons the bills, puts them in his wallet in order of denomination and by the numbers on them. he has done this since he was 4 yrs old. i would set the iron on low and he would spent a lot of time ironing. he doesnt spend money unless it is an absloute neccessity. we opened his savings account when he was 4 also and he has been saving half of his allowance since then. he also asks for extra jobs around the house so that he can makemore money. even when hw was small we sould go to the store and he would see a toy he really liked and he would just hold it until we left eh store, he never wanted to spend his money for it. i got a little wrried that he was becomeing OCD and had him checked out but the doctore told me he is just a neat kid. so dont worry. being organized is a good thing

My daughter did, still does, the same thing your son is doing. It was a concern to me at first because she would get so frustrated if something didn't go the way she wanted it to go. For instance, she has a toy bus and puts little people in every seat on the bus and they have to be placed in there perfectly. If one person didn't fit the way she wanted them to or if they fell over, she would knock the whole bus over and be upset. She is three now, and still shows signs of this, but she doesn't get as frustrated anymore. I think because I've showed her to just keep trying again and again till it works or to just relax if it doesn't. She didn't quite understand that when she was 18 months. My mother is very OCD (over compulsive disorder) so maybe she gets it from her or I've had many people tell me its because she is a Virgo. Who really knows, but she is extremely bright and I love that she is so intuitive to do things the way she does them. I'm sure your son is the same way, so I wouldn't worry too much about it being normal behavior.

I think that this is a wonderful thing. This is the kind of things we try to teach in the montessori schools to our two year olds. I think you should be excited and work with him on other ways of lining up and sorting toys! if you would like some ideas of activities I would be more then happy to give you some ideas! J.

I wouldn't worry, my daughter used to do the same thing. The only reason you should worry is if your son doesn't talk as much at all and if he is violent when frustrated. Those are warning signs of autisum. but if he is just lineing up and sorting things don't worry my daughter once came to show me that she had lined up her dolls from tallest to shortest and by color and the boy dolls were in a seprate line also from tallest to shortest and by color. I really hopes this helps you.

My son likes to line up his trucks, not in any particular order though. I had heard this is an early sign of autism, so I mentioned it to our pediatrician at his 18 month check up. He didn't seem too concerned because my son makes good eye contact. I will, however, (and also suggest to you) to continue to monitor him. On his next appointment with the pediatrician, talk with them about your concerns. Two is still young to make a diagnosis of autism, so just keep an eye on him. FYI... from what I understand you can't stop autism if it is there. You can, however, help your child develop as normally as possible if you discover it early on in life and prevent him from becoming completely dependent on you. I would just observe him and any other warning signs definately check out. Good luck.

Hi S.,
I have a 4 year old daughter that does the same thing. I think it just gives them something to have control over. I dont think their is anything wrong with it or anything to worry about. Besides what's so bad about having things orderly? Maybe he'll keep his room nice (grin).

Don't worry, it is age appropriate and not at all unusual. He may gravitate toward "orderliness" in other areas and be interested in math and music. Acknowledge it, but don't call too much attention to it. See what happens if you stack blocks together and knock the towers down. Let him know that it's OK that they are scattered, even fun! Finger paint with something messy like yogurt or pudding. Help him escape the "box" a little.

A little about me:
I am a mother of five, preschool teacher and write for baby television.

My son did the same things! Actually - he still kind of does occassionaly - but not as much (he is 7 now. When he was three he loved puzzles too - I wouldn't worry about it if it doesn't interfere with daily activities - I just think he'll probably be the kind of person that likes to have things "just so" - like my son does.

I think you could look at both ends of the spectrum---advancement vs. developmental (i.e. autistic spectrum disorder, sensory processing disorder, etc.). One very inexpensive and benign way to find out is contact your local school district and have a developmental evaluation done. I think it would help allay any fears you might have on missing something RE: your son and it's free.

Best wishes!

Is he social to other kids? Can he look you in the eyes, is he verbal about feelings? Does he like hugs and snuggles?
I would say have your Dr check him out if you are concerned. Some kids are organizers. My daughter had different issues as she grew, no strings allowed on her socks, they had to match (not anymore she could care less), she had to have her animals in her bed a certain way. She grew out of her little things but some kids are just like that. You can have him evaluated. There are so many levels of autism, spectrum disorders that a professional should really call it if you are really worried.

Shelly, I would just mention this to your ped. My oldest daughter was/ is very anal. When she was about one it all started. She would come home from daycare and take off her shoes and jacket and place them neatly under her rocking chair. Everything else at home had to be in a similar fashion. The big kicker, we were at Sears, and she screamed until I let her out of the stroller, it was because the was a pair of panties on the floor. She walked over and hung them up and was then fine. I freaked. Her ped evaluated her, and said there is a lesser form of Autism, PPD, pervasive personality disorder, but she did not have any signs of distancing herself, or being non reactive/overreactive to certain stimuli, so she is likely just anal. She is 7 now and this is definatly true. She wants things how and when she wants them, and is very scheduled. I just try to make her be a little spontainious every once in awhile.
If he is "normal" in the other aspect, don't seem concerned, infact having a process will likely help him in later life to "keep his affairs in order".
Good luck Shelly,
S.

It sounds like your son should be evaluated for autism. Research what it is so you can understand it better and find your son a good psychiatrist who can evaluate him and give you some peace of mind. All kids are born with different problems. I have a son who's bipolar and a daughter with severe ADD and Depression. With the therapy they are receiving, my kids are doing much better and I'm doing much better understanding their limitations and their strenghths.

It could be really good or really bad. I think it's a little advanced. It definately would make him easier to entertain and set him up to be really good in math and science in the future (classification, pattern recognition, etc.). What a useful hobby! However, I worked with quite a few kids with autism and autism spectrum dissorder who tended to love doing this in excess. This doesn't mean that your child has this but if in addition to this he shows speach or social delays, or if he just can not recover when you make him mad by messing up his order you might mention it to your pediatrician or contact early intervention.

Shelly, I don't mean to freak you out, but from what I understand, this is definitely a red flag for autism. You should have your son evaluated as soon as possible because early intervention is key if he is diagnosed on the autism spectrum. My neighbor has an autistic son and has a great deal of information if you would like her information, let me know. I'm sure she would be happy to point you in the right direction.

Autism pops into my head immediately~ I would have him tested..the earlier it is detected the earlier it could be cured.

I am a pediatric nurse and mom of two boys (2 and 5 yrs old). I would strongly recommend that you have a discussion with your pediatrician. Some of these activities can be chalked up to normal personality traits, but if he is doing this incessantly and is becoming compulsive about doing it and doing it "just right", you should run it by your pediatrician. Some of these behaviors can be characteristic of Autistic Spectrum Disorders. With the small description that you gave, it is hard to determine, but I always recommend airing on the side of caution and running things by the doctor. It is also okay to say to the doctor "I have heard that these behaviors can be characteristic of a bigger issue, can you help me determine if this is normal or not" The simple fact that your "gut" lead you to ask a question, tells me that something in you is concerned. As a mother, you ALWAYS should act on what your gut is telling you. It never hurts to ask a question, and at the end of the day if its nothing, you will sleep better knowing that everything is fine. One other thing - if the doctor doesn't take your concern seriously or acts as if you are overreacting, you need to find a doctor who will take you seriously and respect your gut intuitions (even if they end up being wrong) - I don't know your pediatrician and they may be wonderful, but I always give that advice to people because at the end of the day that is one of the most important characteristics of a good pediatrician. Hope this helps - feel free to send me a message if you want to talk further. I don't usually do a lot of responding to these things, but this really caught my attention.

Hi S. -
Yes, this is normal and important for development. In our family, we are professional fine artists, and my son started lining up objects as soon as he could. Now he creates beautiful "piles" made with toys and items he finds in our home (pillows, shoes, etc.). We take photos of these sculptures, with him proudly standing next to each creation, and are putting these in an album with his drawings and other artwork. In this way, we support his creative development and ability to successfully maneuver objects.

Being creative and knowing that it's okay to do so, is so vital to a person's happiness...it's especially important to encourage this early on.

Have fun with it! - L.

S., my son did the absolute exact thing when he was 1 and half and he is now 7 and still does it. He took that after me. He just likes to sort things out and be organized. It actually is a sign of advancement especially in mathematics. He is so bright in math. I too love math and do well in it.

By the way my son is very talkative as well. I am also analytical and very organized. He surely took after me!!!!

I totally agree with Loni H!

I wouldn't worry a bit. It's a positive thing!

It's an interesting question - is it normal, advanced or should you be worried? My son also went through a "sorting" stage between 1 and 2. I think it's something normal that kids do. He is close to 3 now and still pretty obsessed with certain things being 'perfect'. Some of the things he does are probably pretty advanced, but he still doesn't talk much -he's more of an observer. I'm told the things he does are similar to the things my father did when he was a baby (my father is an engineer). So, that might be reason to worry, depending on how you look at it. :)

If you ask me, your son is perfectly normal. My son does the same thing. I can't remember when he started doing that, but he has been doing it for some time now. After speaking with other parents, of boys, their sons did the same thing when they were young boys.

Hi Shelly,

My son does the same exact thing. It began when he was 2 and it's been almost a year and he still does it. I can clean up his toy room and hours later when he returns and notices, he takes the toys back out and puts them back in the same places as they were when they were scattered all over the floor. He lines up his trucks and cars in a perfect line and will even line them up from biggest to smallest. If i move one or turn one around he gets very frustrated with me. He also restacks bowls in the correct order of size or will re- arrange things to make them look nice and neat. My son is very smart, catches on quickly and has a great memory for his age. He can read several books from memory and can sing the words to most of the "grown-up" songs we listen to on the radio. He also repeats words & phrases to the movies we watch or cartoons and he isn't allowed to watch much TV as it is.

If you find out what this means, i would love for you to share it with me. I'm glad to hear that someone else has the same issue.

Look forward to your feedback,
M.