# Does your toddler space out?



## Bennifer (Jul 26, 2005)

Ds is 19 months and I've recently become concerned b/c he often (multiple times a day) will just stare off into space, and I can call his name and snap my fingers and that doesn't bring him out of it; he just "comes back" on his own, very quickly (generally this lasts 8-10 seconds). Often I notice it while we are eating. I know I've noticed it at other times, but can't think of them off the top of my head. I'm not talking about staring out a window, or at the TV, this is just like he's eating, and then he stops and stares for a bit and then is "back." I'm especially concerned b/c dh had petit mal seizures as a child (and outgrew them). Just wondered if this is a normal toddler thing or if I am rightly concerned.


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## kamilla626 (Mar 18, 2004)

My dd is 3.5 and has always done it occasionally - maybe a couple times a week.

I think it's pretty normal. I like to think that her little brain is just so busy she has to shut out the world momentarily so she doesn't get overwhelmed by her own genius!









But it's most likely related to fatigue.

If you ds "comes back" pretty quickly, and his other behaviors seem "normal", it's probably no big deal.


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## PrennaMama (Oct 10, 2005)

Maybe he's peeing?


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## rainbowmoon (Oct 17, 2003)

my 2.5yo does this..usually when he's tired. not that often though anymore but much more when he was younger. my late DH and I did wonder about it for awhile though!


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## PrennaMama (Oct 10, 2005)

On a serious note... my nephew started having childhood seizures the last 2 years... his "aura" (what he does as he's about to and as he is having a seizure) involves being a little disconnected, and then he gets sick to his stomach.







:
He is "unreachable" for several seconds or minutes... and then very tired. <-- This is very common in children who do suffer from seizures, from what SIL tells me; and there was/is no other indicator that he was/is having seizures. They only took him to get checked because the spells started lasting longer and longer, and they thought he was having a systemic reaction to allergy meds. They were VERY shocked when the doc revealed that he was actually having seizures.

Does ds do anything unusual before or after these little spells?

Keep an eye on it...


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Personally, if it were me, I would bring it up to a care provider, but only because I have a history of seizure disorder and it sounds a bit like a petit mal/absence seizure to me:

Quote:

Absence seizures are brief episodes of staring. (Although the name looks like a regular English word, your neurologist may pronounce it ab-SAWNTZ.) Another name for them is petit mal (PET-ee mahl). During the seizure, awareness and responsiveness are impaired. People who have them usually don't realize when they've had one. There is no warning before a seizure, and the person is completely alert immediately afterward.

Simple absence seizures are just stares. Many absence seizures are considered complex absence seizures, which means that they include a change in muscle activity. The most common movements are eye blinks. Other movements include slight tasting movements of the mouth, hand movements such as rubbing the fingers together, and contraction or relaxation of the muscles. Complex absence seizures are often more than 10 seconds long.
http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/seizure_absence.html

I don't mean to be freaky, and it's probably nothing (they usually start around age 4), but if there's a family history and it concerns you, I would want to check it out.


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## MomInFlux (Oct 23, 2003)

Both my kids have done it, though my 5yo seems to have pretty much grown out of it. We call it "talking to the baby (or kid) planet". They just go off into their own little world for a wee bit


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## minkl (Oct 30, 2005)

sounds like an absence seizure. you might consider getting an eeg done just to rule out any more serious seizure activity that might be happening. big (((Hugs))))


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## Cujobunny (Aug 16, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PrennaMama* 







Maybe he's peeing?

that's sooooooo funny.

FWIW everyone I know spaces out at one time or another, including me.

really though i would keep tabs on it too, for the seizure reason


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## BellinghamCrunchie (Sep 7, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PrennaMama* 







Maybe he's peeing?

Yeah, DD looks like that when she is peeing, too


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## wonderwahine (Apr 21, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PrennaMama* 







Maybe he's peeing?

funny you say that! ds does space out.....usually while peeing, pooping or when hes tired.


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## Prensa (Jul 28, 2005)

I thought that was a sign to look for that they are peeing? (like if you were doing EC?)


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