Obsessed with Scary Halloween Toys

[Stephanie2]

My son is in the middle of a pandas episode and he seems overly obsessed with skulls and witches and all things scary (when we go to Target, etc...). It really bothers me b/c I brought him there today so he could pick out a reward for doing "poopy on the potty" (yes, he is about to turn 5 and just got trained for BM!). All he wanted to get was a "bad" thing. He gravitated to all the evil things. I don't understand if that is just a boy thing or what, but we spent an hour in the halloween dept and he would have stayed there all day if I let him.

 

I really try to keep him innocent and I am wondering if it the pandas thing that is making him gravitate to those things. Does anyone else's child do this during a pandas episode?

 

Thanks for putting up with all my questions! I have been mainly lurking for weeks and now that I have learned so much, I have so many questions!!

 

Stephanie

[pixiesmommy]

oooh yes and I have a girl. she told me today that halloween was her favorite time because she loves all the nasty gross things and they make her happy. she is the same way- would stay there all day. she has also always been obsessed with poop, pee, farts, blood... anything bodily function. she also likes potty training books (STILL!!!) even though she has been potty trained since she was 3.

[thereishope]

My newly turned 6 year old boy is, but I think it's a 6 year old boy thing. His cousin, same age, is the same. I have to hear about skeletons, gravestones,etc all the time. Things he should be scared of he isn't. He built a cemetary out bricks and little people the other day. The little people were dead and buried.

 

There is a chance it's not PANDAS. For some kids, the cute to scary switch happens very fast, even w/o OCD lurking in them

[Megs_Mom]

It is incredibly important to learn the difference between obsessive compulsive behavior, and regular childhood interests - even those that may be unpleasant to an adult or mildly obsessive on the part of the child. A child may be really really interested in something, and it can take up a lot of their day - but if they are enjoying it, it is not OCD. Just because they cannot transition to the next activity, does not make it OCD. New techniques of managing transitions may be needed. Extreme hyper focus on one activity for a long period of time can be on the autistic spectrum. But if they like the activity, it's ok - rejoyce in that activity, whatever it is, no matter how gross. Gross can be cool! Even being a little creeped out can be fun - that is up to the child.

 

In clinical OCD, obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again and feel out of your control. The person does not want to have these ideas. He finds them disturbing and intrusive, and usually recognizes that they don't really make sense (Recognition is not required in a child). Obsessions are accompanied by uncomfortable feelings, such as fear, disgust, doubt, or a sensation that things have to be done in a way that is "just so." They stop the child from being able to enjoy and participate in life.

 

So if your child is enjoying Halloween, and the wild and gross world of poop and bodily functions - then enjoy yourself, and try to find direct them into positive activities surrounding the interest (there are tons of arts & crafts projects for any age, around similar textures, etc).

 

We love appropriate "bad" in our house. After all, if you have to learn to beat up OCD, you need a few tools in your belt!!! And when you have a child with Scrupulosity OCD, you learn to enjoy the times when they are willing to take a risk, and not be completely honest. We are all looking for our child to be age appropriate and to continue maturing in a healthy way.

[L Haven]

PANDAS is so all-encompassing that I think ANYTHING they do during an episode is probably PANDAS-related/influenced.

 

I don't mean to sound cavalier, but I wouldn't worrry too much because I think it will pass. My son has been drawing things he never had an interest in before, and they always include some form of violence (eg Dinos in a bloody battle, pirates walking the plank) and weapons. It troubles me, but I haven't dissuaded him because I think it may be an expression of, and an outlet for, his anger and helplessness about having PANDAS. At least he shows them to me and chuckles about the silliness!

And Halloween is awfully shiny and candy-filled, so perhaps your daughter is reacting to the excitement and newness of that. Best wishes,

Lena

[L Haven]

I agree with you Vickie, and I'm reminded that developmentally, beginning to understand and and deal with the reality of dying is age-appropriate for kindergarten/first graders. Sort of mastering the Macabre, I guess.

Lena

[familyof4]

My son who is six wanted a really scary costume last year and again this year. He finally told me that if he is dressed up as something scary then it helps him to be brave if we encounter something that frightens him Halloween night - (like someone answers the door dressed in a costume.) This year he picked a dementor from Harry Potter for himself but does not want his father to dress the same as that would be too scary for him to have to look at. He is also really into Goosebumps books right now so I think some of it is just the age.