And speaking of pizza

Is there such a thing as the Fixated Behavior stage? Has someone unearthed a biological imperative for toddlers to latch onto a behavior and decide it must be performed over and over for days at a time? Of course there probably is, and it’s called FBS, and some pharmaceutical conglomerate is cracking the whip in R&D trying to come up with the drugs to counteract it. (And what a great idea that can be!)

FBS takes many forms. Over the weekend, one of Robert’s friends kept repeating “I can’t stop crying! I need something to feel better!” and eliciting awkward shrugs from Mommy. For Robert, the obsession is making imaginary pizzas. The little chef pulls on his apron—which is really both handles of a cloth totebag pulled over his head—and stands at the couch, which doubles as the prep area and oven (“Don’t sit there right now! It’s hot!”). The parent is the sous-chef, who retrieves the dough (“I’m rolling it flat in a circle!”), the sauce (“Pouring, pouring!”), and all the toppings, which have ranged from pepperoni to spinach to Puffins. Then comes the very careful business of sliding nothing onto his pizza paddle (a wooden spatula) and carefully balancing it before sliding it onto the sofa cushion/oven, which he freely admits he is not allowed to touch because “it’s dangerous and very hot.”

Today was Day 4 of this little playlet, which usually goes on for 45 minutes before the parent finally tires of eat-miming and notices that the “fridge” is empty. We have to get more pizza fixins! That’s when he yells “I’ll go with you!” and sprints for the door.

Comments

[corie]

At least he's fixated on something that tastes good. You should see if a local pizza place will take him on a tour.

[Ned]

You always make me laugh or smile but gosh darn it now you and Roberto are making me HUNGRY!
ciao.

[Sara '82]

This is adorable. And it will pass. And he will fixate on something else. And repeat the pattern.

[robert]

My nephew gets real close to everything and then sniffs it. And EVERYTHING smells like sunflowers. Apparently he's been doing this for months now.

[Pixie]

My 2 year old son's FBS of the moment is a disturbing game where he pretending to nurse complete w/ sucking noises) sits up, smacks his lips, & goes “Aahh…good!” This would be odd enough if he was only doing it to me, but he does it to his 7 year old brother & his father as well. He also does the “Aah…good!” routine after pretending to suck the blood from my neck or to suck out my eyeball.

[Lisa]

I must see him with his "apron" on. That's hysterical!!

[Jewguy]

Okay, that's the single cutest thing I've read all day.

[Carla]

My 17 month old son has FBS also. His latest fixation is the boxed set of 12 Baby Einstein DVDs. They are up on a shelf he can't reach. He points at the shelf and does this little dance until you pull down the box. Then he carries the box over to the sofa and dumps them out. He then opens each case and spins the DVD around, then he pulls out the accompanying reading material and "reads" each piece. Then he closes the case, and puts it back in the box. He will repeat this whole process 3 or 4 times with each of the 12 DVD's. Then he will leave the room. A couple of hours later he's back to do it all over again.