Children like routine. It is quite common for a child to want to watch the same film, read the same book, or play with the same toy repeatedly. Younger kids can become upset quickly if their routines vary even a little bit.
Adults can also enjoy familiarity and routine. However, when the routine becomes of primary importance and disrupts normal life, it can spill over into an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Although a child might like to listen to the same bedtime story every night because it is comforting and familiar, an adult who needs to read the same page repeatedly to make sure he hasn’t missed a bit is not likely to feel comforted.
The disorder can take up an increasing portion of each day as a sufferer repeats activities until his anxiety passes and he can move on to something else. Experts claim that these checking rituals can last up to 10 hours a day for people with severe OCD, which severely limits their life opportunities.