In contrast to Ian’s apparently relatively normal habits, here are samplings from parents whose kids’ freak flags are flying proudly:
‘My son loves to eat Cheerios with ketchup on them. He’ll make a huge pool of ketchup on his plate, then pour out some cheerios next to it, and dip each cheerio into the ketchup.’
‘Bombaloo carries a ‘magic’ wand with her everywhere she goes. She got it from a McDonald’s Happy Meal two years ago. Meanwhile we spend our limited and hard earned money on expensive store bought toys for Christmas.’
Phil:
‘My daughter makes nests. She piles things up in the corner of her room, or the middle of the hallway, or behind the couch. Sometimes it will be a free-standing jumble of dolls, other times she’ll stash food away under her bed. I’m constantly finding strange little collections of things around the house.’
‘Baby J, the youngest at 2 years 9 months, must line multiples of anything up into rows, lines, columns whatever you want to call it. This includes cars, stuffed dogs, poker chips (blame Bubba who gave them a box to play with), M&Ms and the list goes on. AND? If there are different colors of said multiples, then they also have to be subdivided into colors.’
‘Before Ripley learned to walk, he had a unique method of locomotion. He didn’t like to crawl. Instead, he’d throw his right leg under his left leg, lift his butt with his hands, and then (using his right leg as propulsion), swing his body forward in what we called the ‘butt scoot’. It was simian, in some way, but very cool.’