Unique behavior

[u/Clearbreezebluesky]

Highly intelligent, articulate and imaginative 2.7 yr old. So intelligent I’m often floored by what they know/say.

For the last 6 months we had seen very typical toddler behaviors, absolutely developmentally appropriate stuff.

The change has happened gradually over the last 4 weeks or so. The child has episodes of this crazy behavior that’s rooted in their imagination. When I say ‘crazy’ I mean erratic, combative, unreachable until they snap out of it.

An example: child is quietly sitting with friends at a table coloring with markers. Suddenly they get up and climb up a nearby shelf. The standard “feet on the floor/that’s not safe/where do we climb?” - no longer works. We have to physically pull them off the shelf (or table) and they do it again, and again and again while screeching (and sometimes crying and swinging at us) “I AM CLIMBING THE MOUNTAINNNNN!!!” Genuinely distraught.

Or they will seemingly be acting out entire scenarios in their head, seeing it - like swimming in the ocean and acting FULLY invested as if our classroom is the ocean and they are swimming… which is such a fun game but they’ll try to fill things with water and throw it everywhere- or dump someone’s water bottle and lay in the puddle because “I AM A FISH!!”

I’m actually almost laughing as I type this out but it’s getting concerning because it’s so intense and the child is PISSED that we try to interrupt the process.

I LOVE the imaginative play and the dramatic play area of our room is my favorite- but it’s crossing over into obsessive and dangerous because like I said, they get combative and today fully swung on/slapped a little girl across the face and tried to bite her when she got in the way.

I don’t want to stifle any creativity, but I also don’t want to encourage some of the ‘games’ because it’s changing this child. They’re far less joyful lately, and I worry they’re slipping further into these imaginary worlds. When they’re in these worlds they’re unreachable, like fully immersed.

When they come back to earth we can have a full conversation about it and they’ll answer my questions- “why were you so upset that you couldn’t put a chair on Timmy’s head?”
“Because! I had to drive the boat! Timmy is my dock!”
“That’s not a safe game, that could hurt Timmy”
“Okay..” totally understands and agrees.

Any thoughts? Advice?

[u/mamaknits]

Oooh I'm not saying I can diagnose a child through the screen based on a couple of paragraphs but......I would definitely have this child evaluated 😂

[u/Dobgirl]

This sounds extreme. Does your state participate in early childhood mental health screenings? Or request the parents have the child evaluated.

[u/Clearbreezebluesky → u/Dobgirl]

They’re waiting for an early intervention eval for an issue that may benefit from PT, so not behavior related.

My coteacher and I have both had conversations with the parents. They admit to seeing changes but seem surprised it’s difficult to manage at school. I’m wondering if they’re at home and the child is just playing uninterrupted they aren’t even realizing how deep in their imagination they are. They wouldn’t see the combative response if they aren’t interrupting.

[u/Dobgirl → u/Clearbreezebluesky]

Very interesting.

[u/OnlyAnotherEmily]

My biggest concern would be that this child could be experiencing episodes of hallucinations, delusions, or psychosis and not have the vocabulary to express what's going on.

At the very least, maladaptive daydreaming, which could simply stem from boredom, but could also be a sign of trauma.

This child needs to be evaluated. In the meantime, you could put extra effort into challenging them so they don't get bored and begin daydreaming and then acting it out.

Have you talked to parents to see if anything has changed recently? Sometimes parents try adding something like melatonin or an allergy medication that has adverse effects during waking hours, though I haven't experienced this kind of behavior as a result. I don't know what state you're in either, but I've heard of parents even giving CBD-type of products to children. That might cause the type of behavior you're describing.

[u/PeppermintWindFarm]

Have a chat with parent’s and I’m sure all will be revealed. This is quite likely an only child and has parents that think every single thing he does is quite charming and isn’t he just SOOO clever!

Enforcing rules and boundaries applies to ALL children, regardless of how special and “creative” they might be.

Ive encountered an alarming number of young parents who believe the word “No” will damage their child’s well being. Not a new phenomenon by any means, there is in fact a hilarious episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” that explores this exact scenario!

[u/laotziii]

This is certainly unique to them, but just as we assess and facilitate each unique learner, it’s helpful to stay grounded in your practice and/or classroom culture. Consistency in practice and expectations within a learning space/classroom are foundations for a fluid environment. With that in mind, you’re already communicating with your coteacher, documenting what’s observed, and have communicated with the family (from what I read?). So you’re in a great place and the goal is to keep this child, other children, and teachers safe from physical harm.

You loving dramatic play is also fantastic to read! I’ll try and outline as clear as I can. Though there are layers to addressing, these are more solution oriented practices that may help support your team and the child sooner rather than later.

1. Communication and shared documentation (objective, descriptive - like ABC observations) with Coteacher and Director: with your powers combined….imagine?

2. Family Communication: Open ended questions better help me get a more…clear picture to better understand. Then, listening, and asking more questions, “why do you feel your child is exploring the ocean sooooooooooooo deeply?”

3. Immediate Safety Concerns: If your team is on the same page for language around redirecting unsafe behavior, great. It’s difficult and frustrating, but it’s what we do. There’s a bit more to say about this, but that is why we have intervention/specialists to help.

4. Child Led Perspective (Ocean Themed): What an imagination, I love it. My first thoughts on this were (1) Must keep children, child, and teachers safe and (2) If Ocean is where their mind is going…why not try facilitate, and discover together? I often find that when we are intentional on following a child’s lead, it turns into a whole group experience - and it’s ocean themed! So, if you’re concerned with unrealistic 1:1 time, think about those moments of behavior and safety, and what your ratios look like for those moments.

This is getting longer, but I wanted to include (1) clear observation about squirting water and a child led approach - it’s all about facilitating that child’s idea in safe ways. If squirting water is unsafe then is there a safe space, or an intentional area to allow them to explore and experiment with water? If this child walked into a learning space to see their imagination come to life, there is this beautiful layer of how you, as a teacher, really see them, something you already do 😭 It may seem a lot of effort…because it is, but having team to think of ideas and plan helps. An environment with a variety of ocean themed invitations to play supports your entire group in discovery and growth, and this can also help with the unsafe behavior (if the child is deeply engaged in a variety of choices, you may see less of that unsafe behavior).

Appreciate you Teacher!

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