trouble with 4 year old daughter

Hello.  I am becoming frazzled and a bit concerned about my 4 year old daughter's behavior, especially at bedtime.  We have a 15 minute routine of things we have to say before she goes to bed (such as when will the car outside stop even when there is no car, will there be any fireworks tonight, etc..).  If we don't say everything in the correct order or forget something, she will not go to bed.  She will lay in bed until she remembers what she forgot to ask, and then yell into me up to an hour later.  If I don't answer her, she gets frantic.  Also, everything in her room has to be in the same EXACT spot.  If her tissue box moves 1 inch, she has to move it back. God forbid a shirt is left out!   Nothing new can be put in her room, because she thinks she will have bad dreams.  Lately, she's begun to awaken during the night in a panic, because she sees a fuzz on the floor, or there is a sock sticking out of the drawer.  I can't remove her nightlight, or she will be petrified.  Could she have a mild case of OCD?  We hoped it was just a phase, but it's been going on for almost a year, and only seems to be getting worse.  At first, we thought she was just trying to postpone bedtime, but she does it even when she can't keep her eyes open.  We have a calm routine before bedtime, but that doesn't seem to help.  I'm exhausted and frustrated, but don't want to do the wrong thing and get her more worked up.  Any advice?????  Thank you very much.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Your daughter is displaying symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Try to adopt a casual, low-key approach to these behaviors, but don't allow them to drive the family's activities or structure. Time will tell if the symptoms wane - sometimes they do at this age. Later, if the symptoms do not relent, it will be wise to employ some medication, but she is really too young for that right now.

[Dbarkman6]

I understand your frustrations all to well, I too have a child with the same (and extreme) behaviors.  She has panic (anxiety)disorder, which includes OCD behavior.  My suggestion to you is to find a "qualified" child pyhciatrist in your area.  You can also check out a wonderful site that has lots of resources you can access...and phone numbers to "real" people you can talk to. The site is www.NAMI.org hope this helps and best of luck!