In the pantheon of wierd toddler behaviour this probably isn't that odd but....

[welshmum]

..I'd just like to do a quick check. Ds is 19 months and he's taken to pointing out numbers ('bumbers') wherever he sees them, he'll pick them out from other symbols, letters etc I've never ever done this with him, neither has anyone else to my knowledge. Anyone else's done/doing this?
I'm not after thinking he's brilliant or anything - he was obviously that well before he started doing this it just strikes me as an odd thing to take an interest in at his age, his sister didn't do it....

Sounds very bright to me! I think they like to look at different 'shapes' of things and they remember the shape of a letter or number.

Ds is quite good at this . He has a 'vtech alfie' bear which he adores.

I often listen to him playing with it, especially whilst driving and he nearly always gets the 'answer' right! One of the modes is to press the letter ('y' for example) and he remembers where the letter is. He has done this for a couple of months now, he is 2 tomorrow.
He also loves circles and triangles, he said circle for the first time the other day, of course I had to phone dh to tell him! lol.

Toddlers are so funny aren't they and get excited about the strangest things. My Ds had a thing about keys and locks and would insist on putting the key in the door everytime we went in/out. He also liked to sit on my lap in the car and turn the wheel (not when we were actually moving obviously, I'm not Britney). He couldn't understand why I wouldn't let him drive the car himself! J

Has he seen that weird Numberjacks programme on cbeebies? It gives me the creeps big time but ds1 sits and shouts "one" and "two" at the tv when it's on.

mine did this too. i think its because they recognise the shape of the letter/number, know what its nam is and put it together. just like they do for doggies and planes

They are wierd, I think it's the uneveness of this stage that foxes me. He's obviously very interested in some things and couldn't give a stuff about others...he can recognise numbers but still won't learn that putting every toilet roll in the house into the loo isn't quite what mummy likes...

kids are strange. when dd1+2 are counting and they get to nine, dd3 shouts out 'TEN' but she wont do it for me lol.

Maybe something to do with having an older sibling. Younger siblings often do things (recognise numbers, shapes, letters etc) before the first child simply because there is an older sibling around doing it iyswim so they pick it up even though they haven't been 'taught' it. They are little sponges

I agree with the numberjacks thing piglit. Kids pick up things differently. Embrace and encourage it

I was shocked when on walking past a building site with buggy bound 20 mth DS he said 'Stop Mummy!' I did 'Look at the big excavator' Scary, I could have coped with digger!

That's a pretty impressive sentence let alone the excavator word...hats off

Thank you.

DS's Grandad was impressed when he (ds) used 'apparentley' in context.

I just wish ds would attempt to read, he loves stories and having books but he's enjoying playing train driver on pc simulator games

IIRC (it's over 5 years ago now) my nephew at around 18months was able to recognise all the different cars from their logos on the wheel hubs

Just remembered something else interesting I caught mine doing....thoroughly wiping his naked bottom cheeks with eye maker remover pads.....

Mine "cleans" the toilet with a paint brush and is obsessed with purple. She has to switch lights on herself by standing on a stool and gets very miffed if you try and do it for her!

Mine "cleans" the toilet with a paint brush and is obsessed with purple. She has to switch lights on herself by standing on a stool and gets very miffed if you try and do it for her!

Mine "cleans" the toilet with a paint brush and is obsessed with purple. She has to switch lights on herself by standing on a stool and gets very miffed if you try and do it for her!

welshmum, that's exactly it, it's the unevenness that's so strange and it makes you think they are little obsessives! My ds could name you every car make there is from the symbols when he was 2, I'd be driving along the motorway with this little obsessive voice coming from the back..."wee dubyu!!!.....wauxhall!!!.....ford!!!......beeemwubyu!!!...." and yet he had no interest whatsoever in letters or numbers.

oh and other obsessions included opening and shutting doors, and putting the key in and out of the front door (with me holding him of course, not good for the back or the sanity)....

he does sound weird here but he's totally sane, I promise and has dropped the obsessions - he's four now. They've been replaced by other obsessions though - planets, mainly. Wanna know which are the gas giants, which are the inner and outer planets, cos my ds will tell you at great length if you like...

Glad to hear there are other obsessive toddlers out there! My 2 year old is completely obsessed with windmills!! As well as the real things, anything that turns round is a windmill to him. A good tip to indulge them is to go on Myspace videos - he'll sit on my knee for ages watching videos of wind turbines!

my dd has weird obsession, shutting the baby gates.......any baby gate has to be shut after you, even if i just pop into the kitchen to pick something up, by the time iv turned around shes shut the gate.

i just shout 'oi obsessive compulsive leave that alone, usually she backs off!!!' lol