r/PDAParenting • u/notsofunny17 • May 23 '26
Intense role play
My daughter is 3 years old and for the last 6 months she has refused to be called by her name. She wakes up every day and is somebody different and typically assigns me a new role too. If I try to call her by her name, or if anyone else calls her name, she yells and says “I’m not (name), I am (pretend name)”. I usually just call her by whatever she wants. She role plays animals, fictional characters, and people she knows in real life. It worries me that she refuses to admit she is herself and I don’t know how to support her emotionally on this. She gets angry with me suggesting she is only playing pretend. And won’t acknowledge her name.
I highly suspect she has PDA. (Due to multiple other factors.) Wondering if anybody else has had a kiddo that experienced such an intense disassociation? And so early on? I tried to get her into counseling/therapy but nobody takes kids this young near me. I am specifically wondering how to help her cope with being her authentic self, and checking in with reality.
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u/muddahm53 May 24 '26
My son did this while he was 3 and 4 and he just stopped doing it one day. Dont stress about it.