Can you get square eyes?

My son had recently become obsessed with a game on Roblox called Grow your Garden. He loved it. And my husband, who also had an account on Roblox (for the kids I might add!!), also enjoyed playing it with the kids. Every morning my son would sit with my husband and play on this game. This was absolutely great for me, it allowed me to have a shower without the pressure of my son shouting me. He got so engrossed in this game I don’t think he even realised I was gone and he was sat with my husband, which for my son,  was great as he does not like being alone at all. Playing the game together progressed to evenings too and one evening they were sat playing the game and my husband said….

“I’m going to have to stop. I’m getting square eyes.”

As soon as he said it I knew this would become a big thing for my son. A throwaway comment will prey on his mind for weeks but as my husband said this my son looked at me, laughed and then said….

“He’s just joking isn’t he mam, nobody has square eyes.”

And I thought maybe I’m wrong. He understands that it is just a phrase/joke and I was pleased. However later on when he was going to bed and it was just me and him he said to me…

“Can you get square eyes?”

And I knew this was preying on his mind. I reassured him that you don’t get square eyes, I told him it was just a phrase and that nobody had ever got square eyes. And he went to sleep. The next morning when I woke him up the first question he asked me was “You don’t get square eyes do you?” and I reassured him again. And this went on and on. Every so often he would ask again and I knew we were back in a Have I got one eye or two eyes?  situation.

One morning I left my husband and son playing the game together and I went in the shower. When I came down I could hear my son telling my husband “you don’t have square eyes you have rugby ball shape eyes”. So still it was on his mind. And this was weeks after the original comment. 

My son often processes language literally. His brain is wired to look for patterns and facts, so when something doesn’t quite make sense (like the idea that a screen could physically change your eye shape), it can spark real confusion or even fear. Repetition is his way of checking: Can I trust this? Is it true? Is it safe?

And idioms like “square eyes” are especially tricky. They go against the logic he depends on. His mind might know it’s a joke—but emotionally, he needs that reassurance repeated until his system can let go of the worry. And so for weeks and weeks after he asked the same question over and over again, and I knew he knew the truth. He knew it was a phrase but he constantly needed that repeated reassurance. He’s not trying to be difficult. His brain just works differently. It needs facts, logic, certainty. And phrases like that—idioms, jokes, exaggerations—they blur the lines. His head might understand they’re not literal, but his heart still needs the reassurance. Again and again.

And honestly? That’s okay. If he needs to ask a hundred times, I’ll answer a hundred times. Because this is how he makes sense of the world. This is how he learns what can be trusted. What’s real. What’s safe. And believe me since then he has asked hundreds of times and I have answered hundreds of times.

So no, you can’t get square eyes. But you can have a child who needs a bit of extra help to untangle things—and a mum who’s always happy to help him do just that.