DS is obsessed with fans.

[Kymberley]

DS, nearly 2.5, has been obsessed with fans for about a year now. His favorites are pedestal and box fans. He also loves high velocity fans, from a distance, as I'm scared to death that he'll lose a finger if he gets too close. We have 2 plastic pedestal fans that we use upstairs; one in our bedroom and one in the kitchen. He will literally spend an hour or more running back and forth between the two rooms to turn them on and off. My parents found a hand-held fan in some dollar spot, and that is his favorite thing for car rides. If he sees a fan that he cannot get close enough to inspect, he throws a gigantic tantrum that cannot be stopped. Those personal fans that the Walmart cashiers seem to be so fond of? We know where each and every one of them is in the store.. It. Is. Ridiculous. And I'm starting to worry. I can deal with it when those Walmart cashiers look at me funny while DS is yelling "FAN, FAN, FAAAAN!" while struggling to get out of the cart and get closer to their personal cooling system. But is this a problem?

[brittone2]

DS, nearly 2.5, has been obsessed with fans for about a year now. His favorites are pedestal and box fans. He also loves high velocity fans, from a distance, as I'm scared to death that he'll lose a finger if he gets too close. We have 2 plastic pedestal fans that we use upstairs; one in our bedroom and one in the kitchen. He will literally spend an hour or more running back and forth between the two rooms to turn them on and off. My parents found a hand-held fan in some dollar spot, and that is his favorite thing for car rides. If he sees a fan that he cannot get close enough to inspect, he throws a gigantic tantrum that cannot be stopped. Those personal fans that the Walmart cashiers seem to be so fond of? We know where each and every one of them is in the store.. It. Is. Ridiculous. And I'm starting to worry. I can deal with it when those Walmart cashiers look at me funny while DS is yelling "FAN, FAN, FAAAAN!" while struggling to get out of the cart and get closer to their personal cooling system. But is this a problem?

I've witnessed lots of kids who go through periods of near obsession and it is just part of their otherwise normal development. A toddler/preschooler "quirk." I've worked with kids professionally where something like this was a concern as part of a greater picture of their development. In and of itself, it is tough to say IME. You have to look at it in context of their overall development and what other types of play they engage in (and what their other interests are).

How is his other play? Does he engage in pretend play? Does he engage in a lot of other varied play? If it s just one thing he really, really enjoys but he has lots of other varied interests, and displays other forms of play, that's usually reassuring.

If you have other concerns about his development (speech/language, social development, etc.) then it would be something I'd watch more closely, especially if the fans are one of his primary forms of "play" kwim?