Obsessive cleaning 5 year old? OCD?

[bluebird]

Hi! My 5 year old cleans to self regulate. He’ll vacuum the car, make his siblings beds and during free time at school he likes to sweep. He feels so much better when things are tidy! And also feels very yucky when things are messy or dirty. He literally lugs our huge vacuum up the stairs on weekends and vacuums everything. Our car is the cleanest minivan a mom of 3 kids 5 and under has ever seen! I have two other kids (and he’s a twin) so I believe it’s just in his nature and hoping it’s not me, but at what point do I need to be concerned about OCD tendencies? Anyone else have kids obsessed with cleaning? Or have older children who grew out of this phase? No idea what to tag this lol

[Katie Taylor CLS]

Hi there, Blue Bird! Just a quick note—I’m a certified child life specialist, so I don’t diagnose or treat OCD, so I'd recommend seeing your pediatrician about these behaviors to get further support. That said, one of the things we encourage parents to keep an eye on is whether certain behaviors are impacting key areas of life. For instance, consider if the behavior is affecting his social relationships, school performance and focus, self-regulation, sleep, or eating habits. If the answer is yes (or maybe) to one of these, it may be helpful to get your pediatrician's input. This can be as simple as copying/pasting your exact message above into the patient portal messaging system. Easier said than done because of outside/society noise, but always trust your gut on this stuff. Hope this helps