Obsessive -compulsive?

My 2 1/2 year old son is obsessed with objects, eg.snowboards. He thinks everything is a snowboard and wants them. They don't even look like snowboards and he will call them snowboards. He doesn't play with his other toys anymore. Only things that he thinks are snowboards. When he was younger he was obsessed with fans. Speakers were fans to him. He becomes very angry and aggressive if he doesn't get what he wants. His father and I are not together. I give him affection and attention, but he has this security problem and I don't know why. He even needs to sleep with these objects or so called snowboards.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It is too early to know how this tendency to become preoccupied with particular objects might develop in the next few years. For now, try to downplay the matter and don't give it much attention. If your son's interest can be accomodated in a way that doesn't indulge him or disrupt the household, it is fine to accomodate to it. But don't be afraid to set limits and disallow something, even if he has an angry response. This is a time in life when adapting to denials and limits is a normal developmental process.