Ummm, is my kid normal?

[jojo2324]

Please offer some reassurance to an overly paranoid mommmy! Or at least some sort of hypothesis...

Here's the deal. We have this Fisher Price toy. We can't STAND it. Grampa gave it to the baby for Christmas and it makes way too much noise, plays awful music and is just obnoxious. For some reason I brought it out of hiding yesterday for the baby to play with. Guess what his new favorite toy is?!?! :P Of COURSE.

I shall do my best to describe it. Basically, there are three holes with a platform beneath it. You push balls through the holes and when that happens, music plays. The platform catches the balls. I guess it's supposed to teach cause and effect.

Gannon particularly loves the balls. He holds two at all times, leaving him...handless. So what to do with the third ball, just sitting there? Well, Gannon has decided to use his mouth. He leans forward, with both hands CLUTCHING the balls, and wraps his mouth around the third ball. Like he's bobbing for apples. Typically, the third ball goes through the hole and the tinny music starts to play.

What is that?!?! Is it normal? I don't think he is *quite* developed enough to think, "Oh, well, since my hands are otherwise occupied, I can use my mouth to push the ball through and get the music to play." Besides, when his hands are free he only picks the balls up, he doesn't push them through. So I don't even think that idea is there. I also don't think that he is trying to pick it up with his mouth. At this point, EVERYTHING is still going in his mouth, so is this just exploration?

Please tell me that my kid is normal. Please. I mean, this is all cute and funny, but at the same time I worry about him. He doesn't respond to his name. He doesn't like peek-a-boo. Despite how clingy he is, he doesn't *play* with me. He is content to sit alone and hold balls. I don't push it, but I wonder if all the wheels are turning up there...Thanks for listening! :(

[mama2be]

Not only is he normal...I suspect he is a genius!!!! :):):)
Auntie Neve knew he was already!!!!

[alkagift]

I don't know, he sounds like an independent thinker to me--he's figured out that his mouth might work as a way to pick something up, and he gets a musical bonus out of it! I think he's thinking, "there's no way I can let go of these precious balls in my hand, and there's another one--maybe I can get my mouth to hold it so that I've got them all!!" I'm not a mommy yet, but I've seen babies hoard what they like. If I saw him I would assume that he's a clever kid!

Allison
Expecting #1 5/27/03

[MartiesMom2B]

Oooh I'm laughing. I think Gannon is showing above normal intellegence. Hmmm let me try to brush away the spiderwebs in my head and reach back to my college days on child development (I have a degree in psychology that i don't use). I think that this is a great sign of development and shows how smart he is to come up with the rationale of using his mouth when his hands are full.

This will be one of those stories that you will tell him in front of his girlfriends to embarass him.


Sonia
EDD 4/14/03

P.S. From what I've observed of my nephews its always the toy that the parents hate that the kids love the most!

[sweetbasil]

Sonia's dead on...and most little boys LOVE balls, trucks, etc. Kellen would *much* prefer to play alone (as would most of his little boy peers), and has from a very young age. Gannon sure is a resourceful little guy! :)

[brubeck]

Is this the FP Ball Blast? My daughter loved it too and so did all the other kids in playgroups who came to visit.

You will eventually learn to mentally shut out the tinny music. Or go insane. Either way you're home free. :-) With the Ball Blast I made up words to go along with the song and sang it to my daughter when she pushed the ball through. She LOVED it. Obviously I am in the insane category.

I don't think using his mouth is an issue at all. He's probably learned that if he drops something you will pick it up and whisk it away. Hence, he can do this without dropping! I also think it's a sign of creativity. Kids don't know the rulebook, so they don't know how they are 'supposed' to develop. One day he'll realize that his hands are easier (and less drippy) and start using them.

Also, does he have his teeth? If he starts teething and his gums begin hurting I bet he'll stop using his mouth to manipulate the ball. He'll just bite on something a little thinner.

[sntm]

Gannon cracks me up! You'll get to tell this story to Time magazine when he becomes the next Bill Gates for thinking "outside the box."

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03

[memedee]

He sounds very advanced.
Most men learn not to respond to their name at a much later age.
Particularly when a woman is caliing.
They know instinctively that you just want them to do something for them ,like take out the trash.

[ddmarsh]

Oh my gosh LOL at the comments above!

Actually I too thought "boy that kids is bright!!" when I read it (honestly I did). This is definately one for the baby book :).

Take care -
Debbie

[Momof3Labs]

I think that you have the next Einstein! He sounds very industrious and creative - would you rather that he sat with two balls in his hands and cried because he couldn't get the third one to play the music? Of course not!