Ian's Inventory

One of Ian's more noticeable characteristics these last couple of months is his desire to constantly take inventory of his key people. "Daddy?, Mama?, Geggy? (his new name for Uncle Greg), Io? (Lilo), Zzzzz? (Zrbrt), Maeve? (daytime buddy), LaLa? (nanny Lisa)". He sometimes does this incessantly, and we answer, explaining where each person is and when we will see them next. ("Daddy is at work, he'll be home tonight, Geggy went on a plane to see Grandma and Grandpa, we'll see him in a few weeks, Lilo is sleeping, don't bother her", etc., etc., etc.). He is also delighted by the "Hello, Everybody" song from our music class, in which we can incorporate the names of all these people and greet them. We're wondering whether this is typical behavior for his age, or something particular to Ian. I guess toddlers are known for some really repetitive behaviors, so hopefully this is a normal thing.

As Doug and I were discussing this last night, we decided that there is a lack of resource for parents on normal child behavior. For a question about something like this, which is not a developmental problem, it's hard to know where to get an informed perspective from someone who really knows about toddler development. I think pediatricians have traditionally been a resource for this, but I suspect that they are neither as thoroughly trained in behavior and non-physical development and one would want, nor do they have time to discuss things much if they are not problems. Ian's pediatrician does spend time in our well checkups asking about development, but it's geared towards screening for developmental delays in key areas. This is as it should be -- really there should be a non-medical development resource that parents can contact to ask questions without having to make an appointment. Certainly there are lots of books on child development, but that's not the same as being able to query a knowledgeable person about something specific. I will embark on a quest to check out our local academic institutions and see what their child behavior groups have to say about who parents should ask about developmental things . . .