Is this normal 4 year old behaviour?

[Mamabear04]

DD turns 4 years old in a couple of months. Ever since she was about 19 months she has loved playing with little figure toys. She would spend ages just lining them up and putting them in order just how she wanted them. She's always liked having things in place, not in an obsessive way but I'm a bit worried it might be heading that way and I'm not sure if it's now an age thing or something more. Basically she loves having her paw patrol toys just so, she lines the vehicles up and places the figures on a toy tree house. When DS who is 1 year old touches them or plays with them she gets very upset until she can put them back in order how she likes them, and is completely distracted until its all fixed. She will play with them but is very particular about how the vehicles should be lined up and most of the time doesn't play with them at all but they must sit in the line. I've tried to play with her and gently coax her to play with them and move them. She tries so hard when DS messes them up and does her best to "share." I'm just wondering is this normal?

My 5 year old has done this since she was 2, she calls them ‘missions’ and my 20 month old is starting to do similar.

My child was never into this sort of thing, but if you look into play schemas there is one about sorting objects, that apparently some kids like to do. I remember sorting every smartie in the tube before eating them one by one when I was a nipper. I don't think its unusual for her not to want her younger sibling mess up her things either.

Yup! All 3 of mine have done this.

It's really good to hear that this is normal behaviour! Do they grow out of it?

My two daughters did this..my four Grandsons too.
They all have ASD.
Lining up and getting angry if they're out of place.. no matter what they line up is a first sign of ASD .

https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/learning-about-autism/assessment-diagnosis/early-signs-of-asd#:~:text=Behaviour%3A%20early%20signs%20of%20autism,-Repetitive%20and%20intense&text=interact%20with%20toys%20and%20objects,TV%20show%20over%20and%20over.

I have 4 year old twins, one is exactly like this, the other likes to destroy everything 🤷‍♀️

My son used to do this. Had to be in order of colours as well . He used to get upset if they were moved . He's been diagnosed with autism. But there were other symptoms as well .

I think it's a bit alarmist to say that lining up toys is the first sign of ASD! It can be but it can also be an absolutely normal part of childhood development. My DS does this a lot and is very logical/mathematical (like his parents). He doesn't really like imaginary play but is far happier counting how many of each different animal he has, for example. I was exactly the same.

Lining things up as one part of play is part of expected development in toddlers/pre-schoolers, although most will have grown out of it by 4/5.

It's doing this to the exclusion of other types of play that makes it a possible red flag for neurodivergence. It's not so much the lining up as not being able to interact with toys in other ways i.e. using imagination to create a game/make them talk/drive the vehicles etc.

my daughter did this. She was an only child and I think not having another child to interact with or ‘play’ with she made this her way of playing. She would actually get annoyed if we tried to play with her like we were messing up her game. She’s ten now and has thoroughly grown out of it, she’s messy as hell.

My son is four next month and whilst he has definitely at times lined things up, what you describe is way more intense.

So I would be concerned about OCD.

My eldest was like this, it used to fascinate me watching her, so I would say completely normal. As she got older the "sorting" continued but she would also make lists once she learned to write or if they were small toys like hatchimals she would keep the little brochure and cut out the ones she had to make collages. She is now a very organised, tidy 12 year old, and does not have OCD or ASD.

My little boy does this with shoes from the shoe cupboard (calls it his shoe shop) and with his vehicles. I have no concerns about any of his behaviours and he is on target with all milestones so I assume it’s normal x

Totally normal and in fact , essential ! It's part of childhood brain development.
Not to be discouraged actually as children work through 9 different types of schema as an essential part of development. It's basically teaching their brains how to process information.
Sounds like it's a type of play schema called the positioning schema . Google it and you'll find loads of info . Please do not panic unnecessarily.

( I'm a child development officer)

education.gov.scot/media/uv5i1ba3/schematicplaymar21.pptx

Hope the link works !

Completely normal and I say that having NT and ASD children and grandchildren. Both my NT and ASD dc did it, some more intensely than others. My NT dd who was a fiend at sorting and lining was pretty disappointed that dgs didn't share that pleasure to such a great extent tbh although dgs has the odd spell of doing it too. I'd say all my dc have got annoyed at times when younger siblings have messed up their toys as well so wouldn't be too concerned.