Boston University School of Law

My toddler is good at pretending. This afternoon he kept the endless laps around our toy train track interesting by declaring things we would visit on the next lap. It was hard to recreate “Target” where we went to “buy” more toy trains, but when he said “zoo” I knew I could humor him with a few figures we had around the apartment. He insisted on including a reindeer and a moose in the zoo. I told him we don’t have those. He said we have to pretend. So I give you, the zoo: from left to right, “reindeer,” “moose,” zebra, elephant and lion.

A few laps later he said it was time to toast raisin bread. I said OK and waited for his lead, creative little fellow. Then he said: “I don’t want to pretend, I want real raisin bread.” Most parents would probably relocate to the table at this point, but I knew it was time to relocate to the couch. He eats on the couch while watching Thomas and Friends, Curious George, Sid the Science Kid and other hits. Sometimes I am invited as his guest, other times he tells me the food I’m eating doesn’t smell good—even though we’re eating the same food—so I have to “go over there.” Once my wife opened a gift package on the couch and left it. He commented that there was “too much stuff here” and systematically threw each item to the ground.

I haven’t put up much of a fight to counter his claim to the couch, and today I realized that I might have lost ownership of it for good. The doctrine of adverse possession is triggered when, say, I treat a piece of property as mine even though I don’t own it, and I go as far as assuming maintenance and controlling access and generally developing a reputation in the community as the owner, without having permission to do any of these things. A set period of time, typically seven to ten years, must elapse with those elements continuously being in place after which the true owner has lost out on the opportunity to reclaim the property. So it appears my son is adversely possessing my couch, behind my back right in front of my face. Then again, I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been seven to ten years since he isn’t three yet. In another year or two I’m definitely putting my foot down.