Seeing child-like behaviors in loved one, anyone else?

Posted by judimahoney @judimahoney, Aug 23 10:54am

Wondering if anyone else is seeing regression to child-like behaviors in their loved one? My husband is now watching children's cartoons, and has similar reactions to content that a child would.
When not watching cartoons, when he's happy or excited about something he says, "yeah!" The something may be that we are going out to run errands, or that dinner is served.

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@cbouziane

Yes, mine does. It comes and goes too. He was diagnosed with MCI in 2020 and now is stage 4 dementia. His favorite thing to do is color, which I appreciate as it gives him something to do. He no longer drives. I agree with you @judimahoney, I think they want a simpler life since they don’t really fit into this one. My husband is 69, I wonder if this is more prominent in a certain dementia, since I don’t have a clear diagnoses on which one he has.
Taking one day at a time!

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@cbouziane I just found your post.

I have dementia. What you said is so very true. I can handle a simple life. My brain is in chaos so simple is soothing

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My wife, if left alone in the next room, will do all sorts of things like a 3 year old. It feels like a flashback to when our kids were that age. Even the delusions are almost like play time when little kids played house or story time. The changes in cognition are interesting. My wife has trouble sometimes thinking through the proces of taking her meds. Pick up the pill, put it in your mouth, take a sip of water, and swallow. Sometimes she an't do that with out help

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My wife has episodes where she acts like a 3 yr old. Emptying cupboards, talking to inanimate objects. I've had to be patient when she does tasks and draws them out and stumbles through them. We've had tense moments if I get in a hurry or intervene

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I think I need to start being more diligent regarding my husband's access to sweets. Yesterday we had a long drive to a funeral so I packed car snacks for us. I packed nuts and a chocolate bar. We left in the early a.m. after breakfast and he immediately tore into the candy bar (like a child would) and ate nearly the entire bar before I managed to get a piece before it was gone. He was not like this before, and didn't consume as many sweets. It's almost as if he's afraid he won't get any, or what he deems enough. He asked me if I wanted some chocolate, and I replied it was 9:30 in the morning and too early to snack (that didn't discourage him like I thought it might).
I guess I'll need to portion out a reasonable amount for a day when we're on the road, and tell him that's his portion. What I also found interesting is that he repeatedly asked me if I wanted chocolate, almost like it bothered him that I wasn't eating it yet.
I fear he'll develop more glutinous behaviors.

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Looking back I'm thinking that my cousin exhibited these childlike behaviors, but I didn't realize it was beginning. She watched cartoons, listened to children's records, read children's books. I missed these early signs, which then years later resulted in her dementia.

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My 63 year old husband was diagnosed 3 years ago with ALZ caused by dementia and also has primary progressive aphasia and he too enjoys the simple things in life like cartoons, children's books and relates so well to my very young nieces and nephews. We've been together for 13 years and neither one of us had children, so these child-like behaviors are a new experience for me. Like another person said, these things are soothing and he seems to find comfort in them...along with the noises he makes. So I just let him enjoy.
Love, hugs and strength to all!!

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@joedeb

My wife, if left alone in the next room, will do all sorts of things like a 3 year old. It feels like a flashback to when our kids were that age. Even the delusions are almost like play time when little kids played house or story time. The changes in cognition are interesting. My wife has trouble sometimes thinking through the proces of taking her meds. Pick up the pill, put it in your mouth, take a sip of water, and swallow. Sometimes she an't do that with out help

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Yes, joedeb, I have to cue my husband in the steps of taking his meds just like you do. Same thing with brushing his teeth and shaving. I found a 4 in one shampoo, conditioner, body soap and face soap for his shower so I don’t have to tell him which product to pick up.
He also makes funny faces and noises before attempting these tasks that have become difficult and frustrating for him. What’s the developmental age - 3 or 4 years old? Didn’t have kids so I can’t compare.

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