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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

obsessive behaviour

19 replies

Kelly · 19/03/2001 16:40

I have a two year old boy who has obsessed about our hoover for the past 7 months. He insists it is left out in the hall and talks to it and wants to play with it all the time. In the middle of playing with other toys and myself or my husband, he will suddenly ask to use the hoover. It is extremely bad at the moment eg he asked to 'use it' or 'have the hoover on'over 200 times yesterday. We often give in and turn it on but sometimes just say no. But to make it worse he is also frightened of it and makes us carry him while we hoover. Should we just let this situation continue and hope he will grow out of it or should we seek help if so from whom?

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Croppy · 19/03/2001 17:20

I'm no expert Kelly but I would have thought it was just a phase. Have you tried buying him one of those toy hoovers?. There is a Dyson model and also the more traditional type. I remember reading in the paper about a year ago about a 2 1/2 year old who was utterly and completely obsessed with hoovers. He knew every single model and his favourite pasttime was to be taken to the local Currys where he would spend hours looking at the various hoovers and reeling off their names. His mother seemed to view it as a benign interest.

Personally, I would have thought that unless he is obsessive about lots of things that you don't have much to worry about.

Rhiannon · 20/03/2001 09:02

I had a friend whose son was Hoover mad, they would have to go and look at them in the shops too! He's OK now though.

Tigermoth · 20/03/2001 10:14

It's just a suggestion, but if you can bear to have gritty carpets for a week, why not pretend the hoover is broken, and hide it? If it is not within sight, ie in the hall, your litle boy is more likely to forget about it - especially if you give him some interesting new toy to compensate. I know if I take a favourite toy away from my son, the resulting howling and tantrum is soon followed by amnesia, if he is distracted by something else.

Hmonty · 20/03/2001 11:01

My son has an obsession with toilet brushes. If he goes into any bathroom he homes in on it. Yuck. Also takes a fancy to brooms and dustpans & brushes. I don't know where he got this from as it's not something he sees me with on a regular basis!

Kelly, I would imagine this fixation will pass. Just like any other little boys have. My eldest was obessed by toy story for several months and used to watch it every day (given the chance) and carry Buzz with him wherever he went. This has passed though. (Now it's thunderbirds!).

Sml · 20/03/2001 11:17

Why not just let him play with it (on and off) to his heart's content? the phase'll pass quicker.

Lil · 20/03/2001 11:31

Kelly, my son hates the hoover, he's terrified of it. He won't let me put him dowm in the same room as it, even when its off. It must be the noise, so maybe your son is reassuring himself that he is in control of it, by putting it on and off on his demand!!

Tigermoth · 20/03/2001 13:12

HMonty, yes, my toddler loves a good toilet brush too. Used to try to clean his teeth with them.

But now he's moved on to electric toothbrushes. He can easily switch them on and off,loves toothpaste and and likes putting the brush in his mouth.

I'm very tempted to get him an electric tooth brush of his own and clean his teeth this way. He's always hated conventional toothbrushes. I believe ther's already a discussion board on teeth cleaning. I must read it to see if I can safely do this.............

Marina · 20/03/2001 13:28

Kelly, I know I shouldn't laugh but your tale sounded rather like life in our house at the moment. How can a small child be obsessed with a piece of domestic equipment and yet petrified of it when you turn it on? Our son hates the hoover with a passion and the curly coil extension lead we use with it inspired his first ever sentence: "Baby not kiss wire", what a proud moment, our toddler is a raving neurotic. This does not stop him from scrabbling away at the cupboard where it is kept. His very first word was not mummy or daddy, but "switch".
I can recommend a virtually silent and remarkably efficient heavy-duty Leifheit carpet sweeper, available from John Lewis amongst others. Only problem - our son seems to think it's some kind of buggy board and wants to hitch a ride. At least he isn't screeching though.
I do wonder whether this love-hate relationship with noisy things translates into a wish to go on the Mega-Wall of Death Blaster or whatever at Alton Towers when they get older, even though it makes them scream and throw up.

Tigermoth · 20/03/2001 14:30

Marina, If you take your toddler to the IMAX be warned that the film we saw, (something to do with the history of 3D animation - forgotten its name), was full of noisy machinery and had lots of virtual Alton Towers, rollar coaster-like sequences!

Jac · 20/03/2001 16:05

I agree with Tigermoth about the hoover out of sight out of mind, Another one for the sounding like your parents board I think! It's true though, they forget easily. Things are always 'broken' or up in the loft in our house. Although everytime my daughter is looking for something she says "is it up in the loft?"

What's this about electric toothbrushes? My MIL bought us one each a couple of years ago and because my 4 year old liked it she bought her one, now I've got my 2 year old one, not sure if it's ok though, although they are both childrens' ones but not sure what age?? Perhaps one for the dentist eh??

Sml · 20/03/2001 16:36

I asked my dentist about electric tooth brushes for small children, and she advised not because they will never learn a proper brushing habit.

Allison · 20/03/2001 16:55

My 10 month old son, James, adores the hoover. As soon as he sees it he makes a vrmmm noise and then crawls around after it round the house. I must admit though I think its because it is a dyson and he sees all the rubbish in it as he is not that bothered by other cleaners!

Robinw · 20/03/2001 21:23

message withdrawn

Tigermoth · 21/03/2001 10:23

RobinW, You don't happen to know at what age children can start using electric toothbrushes? Mind you, when I think of all the things my 19-month old has put in his mouth, an electric toothbrush is the least of my worries.

SML you're right about needing to establish a proper tooth-brushing routine first, but I
may buy my toddler an electric toothbrush to use sometimes ( hidden out of sight and prone to being 'broken' sometimes, so he won't get too obsessively attached to it).

It might be a good emergency alternative when he will not brush his teeth with a conventional toothbrush. At least it gets his teeth cleaner more easily.

Cicely · 21/03/2001 11:15

I think obsessions are natural to little boys - but obviously if he is still obsessed with the hoover in five year's time, you would have cause for concern (if only for your own sanity). One of my sons is a gadgetry fanatic, obsessed with how things work, how lids come off and on, how plumbing systems work, how dishwashers operate etc etc. It is all completely alien to me and there have been times when I have worried about his fixation with objects (slightly autistic?). But I suspect if he knew how lacking in engineering expertise I am, he would worry about me.

Robinw · 21/03/2001 21:03

message withdrawn

Minimum · 27/03/2001 15:22

My 23month old boy is obsessed with the hoover. I tried to hide it for about a month and it didn't work. Everytime he came to the picture of a hoover in any book or magazine it reminded him of what he was missing. I bought him a toy one which made so much noise it was worse than the real thing. Eventually I gave in and left the hoover cupboard open one day. He greeted the hoover like a long lost friend and has been much happier ever since. I have to explain to visitors why it's sometimes left standing unused in the hall for hours on end.
How do I deal with it? - I just let him play with it and show no interest, to give the impression it's a really boring "toy" (but make sure all the plug sockets are covered). Sometimes I try playing with another "toy" to distract him, or if all else fails take him to the playground. I never say no as this makes it worse. If he is still obsessed in 5 years I'll train him to do the hoovering. I expect this will cure it.

Lil · 28/03/2001 13:12

Minimum, what does he actually DO with the hoover? i mean how do you play with a hoover if its not on??Is it a dyson?At least he's not scared of it. i can't actually vacuum the house until hubby gets home to distract him!

Minimum · 07/04/2001 08:06

lil - when the hoover is off and unplugged, it is a great toy. It has an on/off switch you can press, a tube attachment which you can drop things down to see if they come out the bottom, a brush attachment you can pull off and show mummuy, a cable you can unwind and tangle, a plug you can threaten to plug into the wall. In fact it's so interesting I think I'll go and play with it myself - bye!

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