We’ve noticed over the last few months that Nia has a very unique style of play that’s different from most other two year olds. Her play centers around ordering her various collections (animals, polly pockets, videos, etc); lining them up over and over again each day for hours on end.
It’s quite fascinating really. If you so much as bump an item she freaks out and rushes to get it perfectly back in the exact same place (notice how all the figures above are standing up and facing forward).
This Polly Pocket scene looks like chaos but each piece was actually placed with precision (took her a good 90 minutes).
I’m not concerned about this pattern in the least but if I had to guess why it’s showing up I’d say that she’s looking for order in her play because the rest of our life is so chaotic right now. I think it helps ground her when everything else feels out of sorts. Anyone else seen this behavior in their kiddos?
This is great! Joey does this, too, and also likes to be the organizer for all our activities and meals. You’ll learn to work with this fun and unexpected type of play and possibly work it to your advantage, but it certainly can be a challenge when it’s time to clean up and they can’t let go of their masterpieces! Looks like she’s having a lot of fun. What a spunky little girl!
Interesting perspective, thanks for the encouragement. It’s challenging in parenting to learn how to get things accomplished while still honoring their specific tendencies.