Lining up toys

[FlatStanleyWasMyFave]

Am I right to be concerned that my toddler (almost 3) regularly lines his toys up? He doesn’t seem to ever actually be “playing” with them, just lining them up. I’ve asked friends and they’ve said their kids sometimes line toys up too but I can’t help but worry. Can anyone reassure me this is normal for a child his age?

My 3 year old does this a lot too. I have no concerns about his development at all. He just likes order!

Sorry for more context he doesn’t really do imaginary play. I have to work really hard to try and get him to “feed” a toy etc.

My eldest is autistic, never lined a car up in his life. His younger brother is NT and it was his favourite hobby as a toddler. Unless you have other concerns then no don't worry.

Entirely normal

I was informed this is a natural part of a child’s development and learning process by an early years professional. Wish I had known about it a bit earlier as I kept disrupting them doing so and putting back the household items they would use to do so.

Nothing to worry about.
A good sign that he will keep his room tidy though

Totally normal in my experience. My 2 year old is doing this right now!

Then, a few years down the line, you are insisting they tidy and organise their room - forgetting how you previously disrupted their efforts to organise........

My DC did this and no issues now they are older. If anything slightly advanced, lots of friends and no signs of autism etc

They use to line up loads of toys but not imaginary play. It came eventually and like you OP I did worry slightly about it. Your post has just triggered that memory

My DS did this. He liked order and arrangement.
He’s now a very successful architect.

DS did this. Not autistic.

My son is autistic and doesn't line up.
My brother is not autistic and loved perfect lines. He is a very tidy man and at Cambridge so turned out okay!!

So I have 3 dc, 2 have asd.
1 asd and 1 nt lined toys up. 1 asd child did not line toys up. 1 asd child could role play the other asd child could not. Both dc with asd could take turns, have eye contact and answer to their name.
Autism is a spectrum and people don't have every trait but to get a diagnosis (as I understood it) you have to have traits that fit into each category but not every trait.
Lots of asd traits can be seen in children and its nothing yo worry about. It's if a larger picture develops in that they have many traits and these traits affect daily living. It's often a case of watch and wait. Try not to worry and enjoy your child. If you continue to be concerned/need reassurance then seek professional opinion.

My son used to do this. Made all his cars and trucks into a huge traffic jam right through the front room into the kitchen. He's now a well rounded 34 year old man. I can't imagine why anyone would think there is anything wrong with this?

It depends if there are other issues. My autistic child did this and had no imaginative play but it takes more than two autistic traits for a diagnosis of autism.

It can be a sign of ND, but it also sometimes isn’t. If there’s no other concerns, don’t worry and see how he develops.

Both my children lined toys up when they were younger, we’ve recently found out our youngest has autism, aged 14. There were a lot of other things over the years that with hindsight we realise were autistic traits but were put down to other things. My oldest is 20 and neurotypical so the lining toys up was just something he liked doing.

It’s nothing to worry about, as someone who has a profoundly autistic child there is no point in worrying. What will be will be. My autistic son didn’t line things up but my very well adjusted completely NT child did. From a personal point of view, there is no benefit to looking into every thing your child does. They are all different. Only worry if you see they are not coping and need help, then seek help. The obsession with labelling every behaviour is damaging in my opinion.

My autistic child did this at 2/3, but he was absolutely obsessive about it and also had a lot of other unusual behaviours like stimming, hurting himself when upset, slow to talk, didn’t point/wave, not interested in other children (or people really), incredibly fussy eater, long list of sensory things - if the only concern you have is the lining up toys I wouldn’t be worried.

My 2 dc who are autistic did this constantly but I had friends who dc did it almost as a phase I think the difference is if a child does it constantly and is distressed if they can’t or if someone moves things they’ve set up

My DS lines up cars, dinos, anything really. He’s 3 and I have no concerns about him.
Is there anything else worrying you about him?

Most kids do this.

Lots of children do this, 2 of my own did when they were little. It's known as a schema & is a natural part of their development & working out the world.

My son isn't autistic and did this (especially with vehicles) and I assumed it was linked to traffic jams and car parks which he liked at that age.

What is with the endless succession of people starting threads tenuously trying to diagnose everyone around them with ASD?

It's a normal step of play development so please don't worry. If there are other things you're concerned about then speak to your HV.