Two year old obsessed with hot air balloon!

[Mynxie]

Does anyone else have experience of a two year old who's talk 85% of the time is about balloons, usually hot air balloons? Is it unusual to be so into something at this age?
I'm not overly worried as he's a very happy and sociable child, but it does get a bit wearing at times!

[exexpat]

The balloon thing is a bit unusual, but the ear-bending obsession with something is not: DS was that way about trains when he was 2 (and 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...), but friends of his were obsessed with cars, fire engines, diggers, planes etc.

We used to spend a lot of time hanging around stations. If you really want to make his day, take home to the [[
www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk/ Bristol Balloon Fiesta]] this summer.

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

Mynxie is he developing ok in all other aspects?

[fishoutofchlorinatedwater]

Hot air balloon obsession is a new one on me. But one of my DSs was obsessed - really, properly full on obsessed so that an enormous amount of his time was spent being fixated on the object, and it felt like we never had a conversation where the object was not mentioned, with a similarly random household object (which I'm not going to name for fear of outing myself) at that age. Probably from around 18 months to aged about 3/3.5 actually. He talked about it all of the time, pointed them out everywhere we went (and they are everywhere!), started drawing them as soon as he could, arranged his food in the shape of them.... God it was wearing. He is (now aged 5) a little quirky but developmentally right on track, and he did (just about at the point where I was being driven completely round the bend by his incessant chat about said object) grow out of it. In fact, I am now slightly nostalgic for his previous affection for an object which no longer even raises a passing comment.

IME obsession at this level with something a bit unusual is not normal, no, and I did worry (if he'd been obsessed with Thimas or Fireman Sam or something I would probably have worried a lot less), but in DSs case it didn't turn out to be an indication of anything underlying, it was just a particularly intense and eccentric phase.

[Mynxie]

Thanks for the replies. He is an unusually happy and chatty child - he walks for miles, feeds himself well and interacts as well as any other 2 year old does. His speech is actually very good even if it does center round one subject! He asks for what he wants,says please and thank you and sleeps very well - a real sweetie.
I guess one day he will get over it and move onto other things, he's showing great interest in kicking and throwing balls so maybe that will be next.....
I know what you mean about being driven round the bend though. It's surprising how many hot air balloons there are about when you have every sighting drawn to your attention!

[DeWe]

Ds started his obsession with planes at that age. He is now 6yo and can tell you all about various military planes and various information about them. He's going to be a Red Arrow pilot with also a specialism in flying Spitfires apparently.

However he has branched out, he also loves in similar detail WWII and dinosaurs now.

[Mynxie]

They are funny - no rhyme or reason, but the attention span is amazing in ones so young. If he could put the same time into learning to read or do sums, he'd be a genius by now!