Are You my Daddy?

The other day I was out and about and had half an hour before I had to pick up my kindergartner from school so I took my 3yr old daughter and homeschooled son to the park for a little play time. It was a little cool out and overcast (no baring on the story, just thought I would add it in for effect).

When we pulled up and parked, I noticed there was a mom with a child that I would have guessed was about two years old. As soon as we got out of the truck, the little boy immediately ran over to my 3yr old daughter and tried to grab her. Of course my daughter was taken aback by his onslaught and hid behind me becoming attached to my leg. The mom arrived just short of too late and pulled the boy back. She commented on how he was a little too forward with others and tried to shoosh him towards the toys.

So, after that initial shock, my kids ran off to the swings, and no surprise, so did the little boy.. After swinging for a bit, the boy got off the swing and walked over to me while I was pushing my daughter. He started pointing at me and calling me daddy. It took a few times before his mom tried to convince him that I wasn't his dad. She informed me that he is at a "stage" where he thinks all guys are "daddy" and all women are "mommy".

Now, if I recall correctly, when my older kids were that age, they would never have ran to someone else and call them "mommy" or "daddy". Come to think of it, they shied away from most, other than close family members.

Both the mom and kid seemed odd to me.

It started getting really cold out and besides we had to leave to go get my other daughter from school. The woman took her kid and left after he threw a tantrum because he thought I was daddy and wanted to grab my leg again.

This just illustrates that it is always an adventure when ever we go to the park.