My almost 9 yo DS is waaaaay too obsessed with his birthday, and always has been. He plans up to a year in advance, including inviting kids to the party (10 months in advance). We have tried everything to stop this. This is the worst year yet.
We are now 5 weeks before his birthday and his level of obsession has reached a point that he has completely stopped working in school. Once his birthday passes, it will be 2 weeks until the end of school, and that will take over. So, we have 7 weeks ahead of us and 2 weeks behind us with nothing happening at school. There are times when we try to talk to him, it's like he doesn't even hear us and his eyes are glassy. He is so caught up in his internal thoughts and external distractions.
I have also found that he's invited and then univited kids to his party over the last few months.
I am at the point that I want to cancel birthdays altogether. I have told him that this will be his last party and from now on he can have a single friend for a sleepover with no presents. But, how do I get through this year? What if he transfers that excitement to some other day of the year (he is bad about Halloween and Christmas already, but to this level)?
How do other parents handle this? I don't even know if this is his ADHD or giftedness coming through, but they mimic eachother, so hopefully someone here can help me.