How to handle my 2 year olds imagination

[Mazzatron]

I know it sounds ridiculous but every day my DS is waking up and asking for particular toys, that he doesn't own and never has owned. For example today it's a 'pink excavator'. He gets increasingly demanding and stressed and wants to go and find these toys, in random places like the woods etc. It always ends in tears and tantrums. I can't just take him off to look for toys that don't exist especially at 6am.

He's also started having tantrums when he sees toys on TV or photos of toys in books, because he wants me to make them real, eg. Cut them out the book so he can play with them.

I know 2 year olds are illogical creatures but he gets so upset and I don't actually know what to say to him because he just can't accept that these toys aren't real and everything I say makes him scream more.

Anyone else had anything like this? How do you handle it?!!

Can you get the paper and crayons out, and draw the toy? Make up a story about a pink excavator who travels the world giving little boys lovely dreams.

If he can grasp the idea that it's a toy in a story maybe that will help him understand.

Is he dreaming about them, and then waking up and thinking it was real?

@Mintjulia I could try this but he's likely to say he wants me to make it real because that's what he does with toys in books and on tv.. I'll give it a go though!

@IsolaPribby yes I think so probably but he's only 2 years 3 months and doesn't understand what a dream is yet

Distraction is your friend.

I think I'd just say "Oh that was a lovely dream" in the hope that he starts to understand what a dream is!

Start explaining to him what dreams are then surely?

I would also perhaps knock the kids TV on tne head for a while if he is already demanding the toys on the adverts. Mine didn't start doing thus until they were a bit older, thank god!

I'd probably really enthusiastically join in with the fantasy.... 'oh wow a PINK excavator that would be AMAZING. If I could I would get you through BIGGEST and PINKEST excavator....oh wow imagine if it was glittery! We could play X, Y, Z with it' and so on and then every time he got upset I'd completely empathise and say 'I know I really, really wish we had 1 too. It's so hard when we want things that we don't have. The problem is there is no pink excavator so we will have to pretend' and probably repeat something like that on a cycle.

Oh bless him! How frustrating for you both!

I think as a PP said, agree that sounds like the best toy ever, emphasise how much you’d love to play with it too, but sadly doesn’t yet exist. Perhaps he describe it so you can write it down or draw a picture of it so you can remember it for when someone later invents it.

With things that do exist, I used to offer to take a photo on my phone or a print out from the internet so my DC could put it in their album to later be added to their Christmas/birthday idea list.

@sittingonacornflake love that idea thank you. Will give it a go. He's usually quite 'stuck' on just saying 'i want it pleeeeease' so it's hard to engage him in more conversation about it but I will try!

I do obviously try to explain what dreams are but as of yet he can't grasp the concept I think he's a bit young to understand abstract concepts unfortunately. We don't actually watch adverts we just select TV shows from Cbeebies app but it's toys in tv shows (eg. Children playing in Teletubbies) or books that he starts to demand.

Thanks for all the ideas everyone!