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Dinosaurs have been an obsession of my 4 year old son for about a year now. At first I thought it was just a phase, like those little metal toy cars that I am still stepping on in bare feet, but I have come to realize that it is an obsession. For some reason, children can relate to the gigantic reptiles that ruled the world millions of years ago. If you are wondering if your child might have a dinosaur obsession, here are some of the telltale signs.

One of the first things that tipped me off was that my son began to insist that he wear his dinosaur shirt on most days of the week. (Thanks to my grandmother for that birthday gift to him.) Now I must do laundry on a regular basis. If not, I can't get him dressed until the entire family is late for work or school.

After I realized that he had another interest, I began to encourage him to go with it. The car phase lasted for years, so I was thankful to see him going on to something else. I could handle doing a load of laundry each day to get him out the door on time.

The next thing I noticed was that counting was done with dinosaurs. Whether they were pictures in a book or his toys, it was the only way to count. The same thing goes for learning phonics. He has a hard time associating the letter 'b' with boy or baby, but he can tell you what letter brontosaurus starts with!

My son will also go on to explain how big each dinosaur was, where they lived and what they ate. I found this to be pretty impressive for a 4 year old. I even get corrected by him if I say the name of a dinosaur wrong. However, we still can't get him to keep his elbows off of the table while we are having dinner.

He knows that I want to be a writer, and I enjoy going to him for inspiration. He insists that a children's book about dinosaurs is the way to go. Now he doesn't just want me to write a fictional story, he wants me to be sure to add facts about each one. Okay, I wanted to try my hand at one book and my son gave me an entire project.

The final sign that your child is obsessed with dinosaurs is if they change their name. I dropped off my son at school one day and he came home a few hours later telling me that he changed his name. Of course I had to ask what he changed it to even though in the back of my mind, I already knew. He is now known as Dino and if I call him by the wrong name, he will correct me immediately.

There are benefits to the dinosaur obsession. Teaching them is possible, as long as it is done with dinosaurs. Doing something fun with your child becomes a relaxing trip to the local museum. The best benefit that comes from your child's obsession is since everything revolves around dinosaurs, involve them in anything you do. You can make some really awesome dinosaur shaped veggies with a little creativity! Enjoy it because soon, this phase will pass.

Learn more about this author, Lisa Piper.
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