"Possessive"

Yesterday, Iain's daycare report said that he had been a bit "possessive" with his toys. I didn't have a chance to ask what, exactly, that meant.

It turns out that what they mean is this: Iain piles all of his favorite toys into the play bassinet (a small, plastic baby crib intended for a doll), then sits on it so no one else can play. Really. Sometimes, the other kids come over and try to step into the bassinet. He grabs their feet and "moves" them away.

Other times, if Iain has been playing with something, he makes it clear that it's his forever. If another kid takes the same toy, 5 or 10 minutes later, and starts to play, Iain throws a fit. "Mine!" he screams "Mine!Mine!Mine!!!"

Tonight at dinner Charles asked Iain how school had been. What did you do? "Play Mine!" Iain replied. So I had to explain what I'd learned.