I Just Thought It Was Odd...

It's actually pretty normal, especially for extroverts. Introverts tend to remember names because they hold off and enter into things slowly. Extroverts tend to dive right in, and not be bothered with "unimportant" details (to them). This is true even in adulthood, much more so with children. They're just happy to see the cats/people and play with them. Linking names to the cats or people is a detail that doesn't impede their play, so they don't worry about it. Whether it's kids on the playground they just dive into play with, or cats they just dive into play with, names are pretty incidental.

Even for introverts, however, not everyone is good with names... and introverts, when "quizzed" or "put on the spot" will often refrain from answering (or look to another person for the answer) because they don't want to do the wrong thing or say the wrong thing.

Nor are most toddlers "good" with names. Instead, it's the repetition (abcedfg... red blue green yellow... square, rectangle, trapezoids.... Let's go see Charlie, oh, here's Charlie, say hello to Charlie, did you have fun playing with Charlie?). Parents and caregivers are CONSTANTLY repeating individual and place names to children... because the association / linkage doesn't become firm for some time.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. It sounds like he's just used to his grandmother answering for him. He probably gets nervous when asked a direct question. Or maybe, he really does forget their names. When I was a kid, I could care less about names for animals. They were all kitty to me.

At 3.5 years old - a child SHOULD remember a name.

If he is obsessed with your cats - he should remember their names.

Tell your sisters NOT to give him the answers to ANY questions - he MUST learn to answer for himself.

work with him on memory games...you know, flipping the cards over to find a match? If he can't remember those as well - I would STRONGLY suggest that the mom get him to a doctor.

I believe a lot of us have talked to you in your posts about this child having some special needs. I assume this is the same child who no one wants to babysit, the same one your sister follows around to feed, and the same one who is so difficult.

You fuss a lot about how your family handles this child. What I don't know is if the mother of this child has the wherewithal to understand her son and what his needs are, with so much family handling this child without structure, without consistency, and seemingly without an understanding of developmental appropriateness. I wonder if she feels in control of her child at ALL. And then there is you, C.. You seem to always be so negative about this child and your sister and the mother. And I can't tell that you understand anything about special needs either. Not everyone does, but if you are going to fuss over and over about a child's behavior here on this site, and you have, don't you think that it would be MORE helpful to go to the mother and talk about getting this child some help? He needs a developmental pediatrician. He needs a speech and language assessment. He will be a wreck in school if the adults in his life don't get this child some help before kindergarten.

Ask her if she needs help finding someone. Offer to call the child's ped and get an appointment during a time she can take off work. The ped needs to hear all the problems this child is having. Write a list for her to take with her (ask her first!) Be kind to her and tell her that you aren't trying to overstep your bounds, but you want to help her help the child. Tell her with LOVE that hiding from the truth that the child needs help will hurt the child in the longrun.

Dawn

That does seem a bit strange.

My son LOVES all of his cousins but you ask him their names and for many he just goes blank ... we work on this before we go to see them and he still gets it wrong most of the time. He knows a few with out fail but it still took a while for those three to sink in all the way. My son is just not focused on the name but the fun he has with the person.

This sounds like my son when he was that age. I had the same babysitter over several times, he loved her, and he asked me at least 100+ what her name was. It's pretty typical.

I would think he should know the answer. If your sister won't let him answer things, he will never learn.

I tell my kids I am only telling them something so many times. If they want to know past that, they have to figure it out.