Strainers, Cardboard Boxes & More: 29+ Parents Reveal Their Children's Hilariously Random Obsessions
| LAST UPDATE 09/14/2022
Children are fascinated by the funniest things! From the 'Creepy Chloe' doll to the toilet (yup) and more, toddlers will gravitate to just about anything. Check out some of our favorites!
Vacuum
From a young age, children are intrigued by the whole concept of playing house. From role-playing mom and dad to pretending to cook and clean, kids will take any opportunity to get into character!
The Facebook user who uploaded the photo of her son with the vacuum gained a lot of traction on the social media platform, with other moms chiming in that their sons are also loving the home appliance. One user even commented he "better keep that same energy in 10 years." True!
Cardboard Box
No matter how many toys a child has, they'll always find something else that is more interesting to play with! The Facebook user who uploaded this adorable picture captioned the photo of her daughter sitting in the Huggies box, "of all the cars she has. She chose a diaper box."
Parents were jumping in left and right, writing their children are also obsessed with empty boxes! One Facebook user wrote, "omg, this is my son with every box he sees." To be fair, an empty box could be anything from a car to a rocket ship, a yellow school bus, or a time machine!
Tampons
"Essential yet Practical," the momma of this little girl hilariously wrote as the Instagram caption of this adorable flick. The toddler went straight for the box of opened tampons to keep herself entertained, and we are all chuckling inside as she throws them all over the floor!
According to the Insta caption, "this little box of 'sweets' has kept her busy all day," which is great for momma! Anything to keep her entertained, right? Looks like this family found the right 'sweet' to entertain their little girl. Now imagine if she opened them all!
Target
This little girl knows exactly what's up. Brayden Lawrence is an eight-year-old from Atlanta who is obsessed with Target, and we get it-who isn't obsessed with Target? However, this lucky little girl turned her obsession into a reality when she celebrated her eighth birthday in her local Target store.
She loves the store so much that she frequently asks her mom if they can go and stroll up and down the aisles, so her mom asked the store's management if they would host her birthday party. Brayden's mom got all the girls Target uniforms and personalized name tags, and the crew helped assist a store scavenger hunt. Simply adorable.
Strainer
Kids have some pretty fascinating obsessions; that's for sure-and this baby is no different. Circling back to the whole playing house idea, it looks like this little girl was ready to help out in the kitchen after getting her hands on the strainer!
The strainer is just a typical kitchen item, so why the obsession? Well, why not! The Facebook user who uploaded the photo of her daughter simply wrote, "My child with the strainer bowl," with no further evidence, but it looks like she is holding on for dear life and never letting go!
Bungee Cord
Kids know when they're up to no good, and this little boy was no different. It was written all over his face he was up to something, but he was not going to let that something go! He found his new obsession, and no matter what, he was gripping on tightly.
Jennifer Jones, the mom behind the adorable and mischievous kid, confessed her son was holding onto a bungee cord! We are unsure how he got his hands on the cable, but from personal experience, we all have a drawer in the house with miscellaneous cables running around…
Demonic Doll
Out of all the dolls to be obsessed with, this three-year-old from Florida decided on "Creepy Chloe." From the moment she laid her eyes on her, Briar Beard fell in love with the creepy doll she found from Spirit Halloween, and the rest was history.
According to Briar's mother, the two are rarely separated, despite how terrifying the doll's appearance may be. Even Brittany and her husband have reluctantly come around to the idea of having Creepy Chloe around the house. Regardless of how creepy it may be, it makes Briar real happy!
Fly Swat
This Facebook user uploaded the hilarious photo of her daughter holding tight onto the fly swat! It seems that even a four-year-old is interested in swatting flies, or pretending to swat flies, or just holding the fly swat very close to her face and not sharing it!
There must be something comforting for her about the fly swat if she doesn't want to play with other toys instead! The four-year-old mother wrote, "All the toys just sit in the toybox neglected." LOL! No matter what the toys are, nothing could be as enjoyable as a fly swat-obviously!
Clothing Steamer
This little kid looks like he is about the hunt for some ghosts with that thing! Hello, Ghostbusters! This adorable little kid must have been intrigued by his family's clothing steamer, which is honestly just hilarious on its own, but lucky for him, his dad transformed it into the perfect tool…
According to the Reddit user who uploaded the photo, her husband turned an old clothing steamer into a Poltergust G-00 for their Luigi-obsessed three-year-old! So looks like the average clothing steamer was upgraded into a much more interesting device for this little guy.
Oven Drawer
This looks like the perfect spot for hide-and-go-seek if you ask me! He honestly looks pretty comfortable in there and doesn't look like he has much intention of ever leaving the oven drawer. His mother hilariously uploaded the photo of her son, questioning his love for the tiny spot!
Funnily enough, the Facebook user had two users admit their children does the same thing! LOL. To which Shaniqua responded, "I'll never understand toddlers," with a crying laughing emoji. Although we might never understand toddlers, they are really cute to look at!
DVDs
It seems this little girl is at quite the crossroads. Does she go for the HBO sensation, Sex and the City, or the Disney classic Cinderella? This could honestly be one of the most difficult decisions of all time, and she knows it. So which does she choose?!
According to her mama, these were "here two favorite DVD sets from the last few weeks," and now she is in a #dilemma! All we know is that she definitely has good taste, and we hope she is making Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, Charlotte, and the Fairy Godmother very proud.
Broom
Circling back to the whole playing house obsession, it seems children are fascinated in cleaning the house no matter what! This adorable picture shows an adorable "10-month-old wanting to sleep the floor," according to the Facebook user who uploaded the picture!
Although this cutie doesn't look like he can even walk yet, it is not stopping him from grabbing the broom and getting to sweeping! We just hope that the love for cleaning continues on as he gets older and not just a toddler obsession that's left in the past.
Escalators
There is something about kids and escalators, and I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it's real cute! This momma uploaded an adorable photo of her son holding hands with her husband while riding up the escalator (and probably riding down and up again a few more times). LOL!
Parker's momma uploaded the photo, writing, "back at the escalators," which probably means this is a regular activity for the family! It looks like the toddler has the biggest smile on his face riding up the escalator, so we can't wait to see how he feels about roller coasters one day!
Fan
At first glance, it looks like this lil guy is playing with a small portable fan, right? However, his crafty momma made him a Vornado fan replica after seeing how obsessed he was with the actual fan. She made the fan with three takeout containers, a lid, and a piece of packing styrofoam!
She used black electrical tape to hold it all together and printed out a picture of a fan and stuck it inside, and just like that, a make-shift Vornado fan that is "safe for my [her] weirdo kid to carry around." LOL! This is the kind of crafty work we love to see!
Balloon
"The balloon obsession is REAL," according to this toddler's mama! "Every waking moment this balloon is in her hand. It's totally fitting that it has an emoji face because it really does feel like we have a new member of our family," she joked! Doesn't look like she is letting go anytime soon.
"She can see some out of our window and always shouts for them, so surprising her with one in our house was the cutest thing in the world," her mom wrote. Hopefully, she doesn't get so disappointed when the balloon eventually deflates; that just sounds like a sad moment!
Dinosaurs
We have a future paleontologist on our hands! This little girl is taking obsession to a new level with all those little dinosaurs surrounding her. She even managed to get a few dinosaurs on her shirt to truly complete the toddler's dinosaur obsession!
This little girl has raked up quite the dinosaur collection and is looking happy as ever, laying in the middle of them all. With that massive smile on her face, we can only imagine how adorably she would explain how much she loves these terrestrial creatures!
Firetrucks
What is with kids and firetrucks? From an early age, children are fascinated by the massive red truck! Is it the color, the size, the noises, or the intricacies of the truck? We'll honestly never know. But for whatever reason, kids are simply obsessed.
It looks like this cutie achieved any toddler's dream. "Fireman A.J." took the wheel of the red truck and looks absolutely thrilled sitting in the driver's seat! Hopefully, he doesn't get used to this mode of transportation, but we understand the appeal…
Fire Hydrant
Following the whole fire department theme, it looks like this cutie is also obsessed with all things fire related! She may be much smaller than the fire hydrant, but she is so fixated on the yellow and black object that it just looks really, really cute!
The firewoman in training's momma uploaded the adorable picture with the accompanying caption: "Smitten! For some reason, G is obsessed with #firehydrants, but I don't usually let her touch them because dogs pee on them, but today I made an exception."
Car Wash
Working at the car wash! Although we can't see the front of his face, this little cutie looks totally mesmerized by the magic that is the car wash. According to Ollie's mom, the toddler recently started watching a kid's show on YouTube called Carl's Car Wash, which promoted the obsession!
After watching the show, Ollie became "obsessed with driving through the car wash, frequently," according to his mom. We honestly understand the fascination behind the car wash; there's something oddly calming about it! Ollie's mom posted the adorable photo, ending the caption by asking if "anyone else needs their car cleaned?" LOL.
Washing Machine
"Someone is OBSESSED with the washing machine," according to this Instagram caption! Looks like this little guy is fascinated by the washing machine, but more so, what's going on inside! This totally checks out, though; it's mesmerizing to watch the clothes spin around and around!
We can see how fun it is to watch the washing machine collect all the bubbles and work its magic, so we can definitely understand how exciting it is for a toddler to discover this magical tool. We hope one day this obsession continues, and he loves to do laundry too!
Buns
This little girl looks like she is taking her buns very seriously! When it comes to food, we get it. It's important to keep your enemies close and your food closer, and it looks like she totally understands of this motto. According to the Instagram user who uploaded the photo, she is "obsessed with buns these days."
"She insists on taking two at a time, nibbles on both like a mouse, and then leaves them anywhere she likes," but "on good days, she eats both." LOL. Looks like her obsession is really just in holding the buns and not letting anyone else have them…
Glasses Case
"Yes that is a glasses case in my little guys hand while he eats dinner," the Instagram user who uploaded this photo hilariously wrote. She also assured her followers that the case was empty! So at least the glasses are safe somewhere, and just the case is getting sticky, baby hands on it!
This cute little guy's momma admitted, "He discovered it this morning and has had it with him all day and refuses to let it out of his sight." Whatever looks interesting, right?! The momma added the #imlettingthishappen, and we are loving her honesty. It's just a glasses case, after all!
Running Water
Holly is loving every moment of playing with the water fountain! There's something about children and water that leaves them always wanting more! From bath time to running around in sprinklers, jumping in the ocean, or playing with a local fountain in a park!
"Find someone that looks at you the way Holly looks at running water," the caption reads. "Holly is obsessed with running water, watching it, playing with it, and splashing it." The momma wrote she finds water relaxing to look like and believes "holly is going to be the same." Like mother like daughter, right?
Tennis Racquet
Watch out; this kid has a future professional tennis one day! This cute lil toddler found a tennis racquet and decided to hold on tight and practice his backhand swing. This mom who uploaded this picture confessed her son has "never touched a tennis ball" but loves the racquet.
The Instagram user who uploaded the photo gave followers a little play-by-play of how the week with the tennis racquet went. "We have slept with it, carried it through the grocery store, played guitar with it, and used it most efficiently as weapon that pretend shots and can take down anyone in it's path," she wrote.
Shoes
This kid decided to go deep diving in the shoe closet to break out these shoes! He found some miscellaneous shoes lying around and decided the best course of action was to bring them straight to the bathroom and give them a little bath in the sink!
The Instagram user who uploaded this picture admitted she "Walked in too late. Shoes already got washed." LOL! Looks like the truck also made it to the bathroom, and after washing the shoes, it was time for one to make it to phase two inside the toy truck.
Garlic Powder
There's nothing like a trip to the grocery store! Sometimes it can be the most painful task, and sometimes it's the most exciting task of the week. There's always something new to try, and don't forget about the samples. This little guy found a special love for the garlic powder, and we get it-it's delicious.
"We went to Aldis and Benny formed a strange obsession with garlic powder," his mom wrote. "The cashier was nice enough to scan it while he held it." That's loyal. The cashier must have been a parent and understands the tears that would ensue after taking away the garlic powder!
The Green Lady
There must be a connection between children and spooky creatures that we're missing. As creepy as it may be, it's definitely also quite hilarious! It looks like this kid has no fears when approaching the "green lady" at CVS, and it's just the beginning of Halloween szn.
This mom took to her Instagram to hilariously share they "visit 'green lady' several times a week." It's surprising the green lady isn't giving this little toddler spooky nightmares. Him, Briar Beard, Creepy Chloe, and the green lady should get together for a playdate!
Stickers
What's not to love about stickers? They bright up even the darkest of days, and this toddler agrees! Remember in school when teachers would give stickers for literally anything? Well, we're sure this little guy would be first in line for the A+ sticker!
The momma who uploaded this adorable picture hilariously captioned the photo, "It's not difficult to guess his current obsession," with a crying of laughter emoji following. We can totally guess based on the sticker on his forehead and the many empty sticker holders in that book!
Tools
Hello, Bob the Builder! Who remembers that TV show? Anyways, this little guy is channeling his inner construction worker holding all those tools in his hands. According to his momma, "he loves tools more than any other thing. Heavy and clumsy doesn't matter."
"There is nothing more delightful to him then hammering and finding impossible places to stick his screwdriver into. Our house may have dents and dings and chipped paint from his obsession, but someday, he will be creating beauty instead of chaos," she captioned the photo. We hope he's careful with that screwdriver, though!
Toilets
This momma has some trouble on her hands, but we can't stop laughing! Talk about a hilarious obsession. According to this user's Instagram, her little girl is fascinated by the toilet and cannot leave it alone! "Right now the toilets in my house get cleaned a billion times a day," she wrote.
"Don't get me started on how many times a day she wants to wash her hands," she hilariously wrote, right before confirming the toilet hasn't been used since she cleaned it last when this photo was taken! We're not if it's the water or the flushing that's exciting for her, but hey, an obsession is an obsession!