What are some adaptive functions of rituals? How can you determine if a toddler’s rituals are a symptom of a more serious mental disorder?

Explanation

During toddlerhood, children may create behavioral patterns as a way to keep their environment orderly and controlled. They do so by making rituals out of regular tasks. This ritualization is most apparent when they begin performing these tasks without parental assistance as a way of feeling in control and autonomous.
 
Ritualization can turn into compulsions and/or obsessions, which are impulses that are persistent or repetitive and are symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).  The following are some ways of when rituals become a compulsion or obsession:

The child experiences intense distress when they are unable to perform the ritual perfectly due to a persistent thought, and this anxiety can only be alleviated when they are able to. For instance, when a parent interrupts the child during a ritual, this can make the child anxious that they will restart the ritual and will feel relief only after completing the ritual.
Compulsions to do the ritual prevent the child from doing anything else, and even when they have done it, the anxiety does not fully disappear. For example, a child is compelled to greet their pet first thing in the morning, and if they are unable to greet the pet, they become anxious and cannot focus on getting dressed or breakfast until they have greeted the pet.
The child gets obsessive thoughts about something uncertain, so they have a ritual to make the thoughts go away. However, the relief is only temporary. For example, a child thinks anything coming from outside is dirty, so every object brought into the house has to be wiped first before they will touch it.

Verified Answer

The following are reasons why performing rituals help children adapt to toddlerhood:

Following rituals alleviate children from feelings of doubt of security in their own environment. For example, the child needs to check that the space under the bed is empty first before they can go to sleep to make sure it is safe.
Rituals serve as a crutch for children who feel shaky during the transition to autonomy by bringing a sense of constancy. For instance, a child may no longer need lullabies to fall asleep, but they will still insist on their parents to tuck them to bed.
Rituals help children feel stable and confident while doing new tasks on their own until they feel certain in their own skill. This can be seen when a child begins dressing themselves by setting an order of which clothes are to be worn first.

 
Rituals can become maladaptive when they transform into obsessions or compulsions or a combination of. Obsessions are characterized by recurrent and persistent thoughts that are anxiety-inducing. Compulsions are strong impulses that cannot be ignored and must be acted on repeatedly. The repetitive characteristic shared by obsessions and compulsions is that addressing the thought or impulse does not make the anxiety disappear permanently. The thought or impulse keeps returning, therefore making the thought or action recurring and repetitive.