Obsession with numbers/ counting

[PinkFizz]

I don't know if you guys can shed any light but my son has over the past year become obsessed with numbers and counting. He counts everything - from the minutes it takes to get to school, guessing the exact time we will arrive, how many minutes it is till bed time, dinner, bath time, how many cars in the car park in Tesco's etc etc etc. I could go on and on . It is really getting quite bad. Even when he is watching tv I see him counting on his fingers thought what he is counting I do not know. He is very bright and doing well at school. Someone mentioned it could be a form of autism but I have looked up the symptoms and it doesn't seem to match. He is very very loving and affectionate. Any advice I would very gladly listen to. Big hugs xxx

[ummmm]

Hey pink...good to see you :-)

It could be very mild autism. Is he loving and affectionate with everybody?

[Tiny E. A]

How old is he? Is he young enough that he's only recently been able to count large numbers? Maybe he's just become mesmerised by his new skill.

[Joe_the_Lion]

PInky Fizz Bum,

I am not a parent, nor know anything about autism etc, but what you are saying sounds like normal behaviour.

His thing for numbers, is it any different for a childs obsession with football or rugby?? They have their bedroom decorated the teams colours, only wear the teams football shirt, collect stickers, memorabilia, etc etc.

I do not know how old he is, but when I was about 6 I become obsessed with dogs. I read all about them, wore doggy T shirts, visited rescue homes and played with them for hours. The only danger, my parents forsaw was I could not resist stroking ANY dog in public. Luckily I was never bitten.

I think numbers and sciencey things is formed in a different part of the brain to the artistic side. If he flourishes in this, then I am afraid the only bad thing for a parent is he will probably grow up a boffin, earn �500K a year and get married to a girl called Clarissa from Surrey.

[rugeleyboy]

hi pinkfizz,

its nothing to worry about, i have been doing it for many and many of years and now my 5 yr old son does exactly the same as me!!

[Miss Random]

Really like Joe's reply, and hope he's right.

You may want to look on Wiki pe dia at compulsive disorders. They include not only things like constantly washing hands, but also counting.
Have a little nosey and see if it sounds like your little lad.

Don't worry though, I know lots of people with much weirder habits.

[Goodsoulette]

I agree with Joe, when people mention counting obsessions they immediately assume autism. I can look at bottles in a fridge in a pub and even with some taken out, I know how many are in there or just looking at pens in a pen pot I know how many are there, running into hundreds.

My 5 year old is equally obsessed with trains as yours seems to be with numbers.. talks about them all the time, has to take one with him all the time etc etc and I am sure if it was numbers I like you would be slightly concerned but its probwbly just a phase.

[PinkFizz]

Hi guys . Thanks for all the quick replies!

He will be eight this year. He is very clingy with me, follows me everywhere and is getting clingier with age funnily enough. Not the same with others, in fact he is quite shy till he gets to know people. He has been able to read and count for years and has never done this until last year, but now it is getting to the point that even other people are mentioning it. I didnt say a word to his grandparents and then when they had him for a week recently even they asked me what the number obsession thing was all about.

[Tiny E. A]

Goodsoulette, my boyfriends 4 year old is the same as your son. We took him to the zoo the other day and the only thing he was interested in was the monorail, he spoke about it non stop for 4 hours! Next time I take him out I'm going to save some cash and just take him to the train station!

[Craig007]

Ok, i have just had to call my Mum to remind me of a few things but i was the same so it seems.

At 18 months old my obsession with numbers had my parents amazed.
My Mum heard me talking to myself in my room one day, and on looking in she saw me opening random pages from a large book and just reading the page numbers out loud, e.g, "170..171" close the book, re-open it "28...29" etc...
Shopping trips also saw this obsession, if we went in to a shoe shop Mum could hear me, from my buggy, saying "5 51/2 6 61/2" as we passed the shoe sizes on the racks!
The butchers shop staff would ask me how much the meat cost as they put it on the weighing machine and if we went to a checkout anywhere as the items were being rung up on the till i would be calling out the prices!
I have always been interested in numbers and progressively maths, i was top of my school in primary school in maths and that included a whole year above me.
Secondary school saw my interest wane somewhat, i hated Pythagoras and all that but i got O & A level Maths passes.
I love statistics, anyone who has asked a question in the OLD sport section will agree with that, and i still am as sharp as a sharp thing when it comes to mental arithmetic.

It sounds to me as if your Son has just got a healthy interest in numbers, help him all you can to bring out the best in him and good luck to you.

[goldilocks24]

Hi pinkfizz - Woulnt't worry in the slightest - I am exactly the same, I count everything and anything have done since I was a wee girl!!

[grumpii]

My seven year old has gone from one thing to another, trains, dinosaurs, counting, pokemon, countries the list goes on, he addresses it until he has exhausted it, then moves on, he is very bright at school and is also quite sensitive, I dont worry about it as I see it as merely brain exercise. I am sure your son will move to another subject soon and bamboozle you with facts and figures on that subject.

[Supernick]

It was never numbers for me, it was insects. Believe me, if you're a mother you don't want a child who can't resist bringing insects into the house. I could spend every waking hour lifting up stones and collecting what was underneath, categorising them and building lego pens to keep them in. I really loved the stats side of it, which I kept into other hobbies as a child. I had reams and reams of stats about board games that I had played, which toy cars I played the most with etc. Even now I find it an endless fascination to check the playcount stats on my I-pod, and see what I listen to the most.

As for the shy part, I wouldn't worry about it too much at the moment. Keep an eye on it and be encouraging but don't get yourself too stressed. I was the kid who his behind mummy's legs, and didn't want to be introduced to people. I remeber vividly being dragged to the park to play with other boys, screaming and crying the whole way!

[Goodsoulette]

haha supernick, my brother used to collect snails andwoodlice. He used to wake my dad up in the morning by puttinr the "creatures" on his forehead.

Tiny E.A. the best thing I bought was a family railcard, when we go to the seaside they are out the door in souble quick time when they know a train journey is in store.

[johnlambert]

Can he have Aspergers syndrome?
is he good with computers?
my friends son has it and does pretty much the same as your boy, he was pulling his hair oot till he was diagnosed

[annie0000]

i think that whilst trying to get a diagnosis for a certain type of behaviour can be a quest for comfort on the behalf of the parent, I tend to think that we are all too quick now to try to find a label for every type of behavious that normal human beings have.

When I was at school, I am sure that there were just as many kids with what would be called now ADHD or Aspergers etc in a very mild form. in those days they were just called restless or a bit different. I am not talking here about children (or adults) with moderate to severe forms of any of these conditions before anyone starts jumping down my throat, I am talking about kids who just fit towards the edges of what we call standard behaviour.

What I am trying to say is that if we were all the same, life would be pretty boring and we all get obsessions about things from time to time. Your son sounds like a perfectly healthy intelligent little boy who happens to have a good head for numbers. If this is not causing him any major emotional, educational or physical difficulties, I would just wait and see - as others have said before, you will probably find that he moves on to something else - he might just have that type of personality.

It might be worth checking that he is happy otherwise and that there is nothing worrying him.

[spurslady]

Reading this is also putting my mind at ease a little. My 4 year old is obsessed with letters and numbers too. He sleeps with a big of magnetic ones. he can also now read because he loves grouping them together. But he sounds so much like Craig007 that is exactly what he does. The school are aware of his capabilities but he does have a little trouble interacting with the other kids as he is so more ahead work wise then they are.

[PinkFizz]

I must admit I do feel a little at ease reading all these lovely answers.

johnlambert - yes he is excellent at computers - he writes his friend letters using Microsoft Word which he remembered by apparently watching me type a letter one day.