Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball!
Alex's love for balls has turned into a full blown obsession. Soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, baseballs, rubberballs, whiffle balls... you name it. We can not go anywhere or do anything without taking a ball with us. If we see another ball while we're out, and Alex feels that it is better than the ball he already has, he will scream and whine and cry "Ball! BAAAAAALLLLL!" in the most pathetic manner until we a) give him the object of his affection or b) put him in the car, pile three or four balls plus his blue easter bunny on top of him in his car seat and drive away quickly with him screaming "BAAAAAALLLLLL!" all the way home.
Today we went to the park. From the car Alex spotted a soccer ball that another little boy was playing with that he simply HAD to have. He ran down the hill to the playground, right up to the little boy (who was probably 2 1/2 or 3), grabbed the soccer ball and ran away. The little boy, not about to let this skinny pipsqueak steal his soccer ball ran after Alex, grabbed the ball, got up in his face and screamed "MY BALL!! MY BALL!" and ran off. This did not deter Alex one bit. For the hour and a half we were at the park, the majority of it Alex spent chasing after this boy while whining "Ball! BAAAALLL Ballballballballball!!!!"
I tried all kinds of distractions. I put him on the swings, where he wiggled and cried to get out. I put him on the slides, where he would run off in the direction of the ball the minute he got to the bottom. I put him on the teeter totter and he fell off, dusted himself off and ran off for the ball. I gave him food, drinks, let him throw bark on my head... but nothing, absolutely nothing would get his mind off that damn ball. At one point Alex did score the ball, the kid, apparently bored of having Alex following him around, abandoned the soccer ball and Alex got to play with it for a while, but it was short lived. Thankfully, a friend showed up and brought her daughters and their hot pink soccer ball and let Alex play with it. He did not let that ball out of his sight for one second. He held it while he went down slides, swung on swings, rode the teeter totter, he buried it in the sand...
I don't know how to handle this obsession. It's gotten to the point where if we're going somewhere and there is a possibility of even seeing a ball, I don't want to go. No one has any fun, Alex makes himself miserable crying about how he absolutely, positively must have that ball immediately! Even at soccer games, Alex whines for the game ball. He watches the ball go back and forth across the field, his "gimme hand" stretched out demanding someone give it to him. I wish he'd just fixate on one ball in particular. Preferably, one of the 15,000 balls he already owns. Then we could just take THAT ball everywhere with us. I'd rather see him defend his rightful ownership of his very own ball at the playground, than to scuffle with an older kid about a ball that is clearly not his (though, in Alex's mind EVERYTHING is his).
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