is it just a phase, or is it paranoia?

i have no clear recollection of how this all began. i think it had something to do with some weird sunday morning pbs show, but i’m not sure. somehow, the idea that ears never stop growing was introduced to my 6-year-old. so what you say? well, i'll tell you...

my son is what we call spirited. not in the euphemistic way most parent refer to demon children in, but in the clinical definition of people with above average sensitivities. he's not abnormal, he is just more sensitive. in almost every way. he is very sensitive to light, sound, touch, etc. but he is also sensitive in spirit. he is very concerned about other people, what they're feeling, and what they think about him. example... last night, he shot his little brother in the eye with a suction-cup dart gun. guess who was more upset? sure the 3-year-old cried for a bit, but that was mainly because he was tired. big brother, on the other hand, tried to hide behind the furniture, and didn't want anyone to see him, because he felt so bad, and anyone looking at him, intensified his guilt because he's so sensitive to what others think about him

sorry, long set-up, but you need to know about his concerns and sensitivities to what others see when they look at him.

on the other hand, he is 6. i'm guessing that we are in a phase, where he has to ask questions multiple times before he is satisfied. i don't know if he just isn't listening, or if he doesn't believe me, or if his short-term memory is malfunctioning, or if he is just trying to cheese me off... anyway, this all leads to yesterday's question du jour...


"do people's ears really get this big?"


i honestly heard this question no less than 18 times from him yesterday, and that was all after i had explained the situation thoroughly:

yes, ears keep growing, but they grow slowly. no, they don't get as big as an elephant. no, they don't hurt. yes, they do keep growing. look at grandpa, his ears are bigger than mine! no, yours won't get that big until you are old. no you won't look like that, because your head will get bigger first. yes, your ears will keep growing. i'm as big as i'm going to get. (at least i won't get taller, and my head is about the size it will be from here on out...) when i get older, my ears will be a little bigger. yes, about that big. no, not bigger. no, not until i'm old. yes your ears will too, when you're old. no, not now. yes, ears really do keep growing. etc.

this was in the morning. all day long, out of the blue, with a deeply concerned look on his face, he would ask again, hands over ears, "do people's ears really get this big?"

so i ask you... is this a normal 6-year-old phase, or have i made him paranoid?