He's An Addict

It might be a problem. It might be a sign of something else. I'm not sure. But I think he's an addict. He wants it all the time. You can coerce him with it. You can manipulate him with it. I don't think it's harmful. He gets his fix and is content with it for... an hour... 45 minutes... I confess that I am his supplier, his enabler. I've created this co-dependent relationship with him, fostered it. I'm not really concerned. Because it's just a phase, right? But I think I need to face the truth. Zach is addicted to puzzles. It's true. And maybe admitting it will help us help him. The boy is beyond the simple peg style puzzles. It's too easy. He isn't quite to the 24 piece puzzles- but he wants to be. Right now, he is obsessed with the one 9 piece board puzzle that we have. He has Dora at home and Barney (which is banned from our home) at Miss Lisa's. We can get him to agree to leave by enticing him by getting the puzzle at home. Drop off at Lisa's has been a breeze all week because he wants to get his hands on the Barney puzzle. Monday morning, he literally sat for 45 solid minutes doing the Dora puzzle over and over and over again. I walked in the house Tuesday evening and he refused to greet me, acknowledge me, hug me because he was doing and redoing and redoing his puzzle. Heaven help you if you dare to take his puzzle away from him. You'd better be able to entice him with information on an immediate next fix. Getting dressed, bedtime, heading out the door can be filled with shrieks and screams when he has to leave his puzzle behind. At least he's made the Christmas shopping easier. The question is- do puzzles fall under the want or need category? (Something you want, something you need, something you wear, something you read)