Is this normal?

The things that worry parents at eleven at night, and what the evidence actually says.

Two oatmeal-colored couch cushions lying on a wooden floor beside a low wooden stool and the corner of a cream rug, in morning light from a window.
Is this normal?Milestones 9 min read
Is my toddler sensory seeking, or is this normal?

Crashing into the couch, spinning, chewing sleeves, wedging into tight spaces. There is one line that separates the ordinary version of this from the kind worth a phone call.

Nine small wooden animal figures arranged in a single straight row along the edge of an oatmeal wool rug on a pale wooden floor.
Is this normal?Milestones 11 min read
My 2-year-old lines up his toys. Is that normal?

679 two-year-olds were watched doing exactly this. Ordinary play gets read as a symptom far more often than it used to.

A wooden ring lying on bare floorboards a few feet from a low woven basket, in morning light
Is this normal?The shelf 10 min read
My toddler throws everything. Is that normal, and when does it stop?

His face tells you which kind of throwing you are watching, and the two kinds need opposite responses. The fix is a place rather than a rule.

A small wooden jar with its screw lid half off, next to a shallow oatmeal ceramic dish holding large natural wood beads and a short stiff lace, on a pale cream tabletop.
Is this normal?Milestones 11 min read
Is my 2-year-old's fine motor behind? What an OT checks that the toy aisle doesn't

The CDC asks two things of the hands at two. Pediatric OTs watch something else entirely, and it is not sold in the toy aisle.

A round wooden peg board with small colored pegs, some standing in holes and some lying loose beside it, and a small wooden color die on a cream tablecloth.
Is this normal?Milestones 9 min read
My 5-year-old cheats at board games and cries when she loses. Is that normal?

At five, fairness runs in one direction only. The cheating and the crying are two different problems, and only one of them needs you.

A wooden ring-stacker left part-built on a rug beside a low shelf of wooden toys
Is this normal?Milestones 8 min read
How long should a toddler play independently?

Most parents expect far more than the research supports. There is also a predictable minute where the stretch collapses.

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