7yo is Immature

I know, it's not really fair to say that a child is immature - duh, of course. By definition, children are immature.What I mean is, my 7 year old son acts much younger than his age, and I'm wondering if/when I should start to worry.He's a sweet kid who mostly does well in school, though he sometimes struggles to pay attention. He's a very loving person. But he just displays some behaviors typical of much younger children and he does not seem to be growing out of them. For example, he whines and tries to grab on to my leg when I leave the room. He cannot lose a game without completely losing his shit over it. He also defaults to a high pitched "baby" voice at home, despite infinite patient discussions about how he needs to use his regular voice. In a given evening, he'll say "I love you" in that baby voice about 30 times. Which sounds like a shitty thing for me to complain about, but it starts to feel a little...worrisome...after about the 15th time, you know? Not just the annoyance of the voice itself, which is very fingernails-on-a-blackboard, but also wondering if he is desperately seeking reassurance by saying it over and over again. I honestly don't know if it's just a reflexive tic, or if he's expressing deep insecurity.I promise, this kid is raised in a stable home by loving parents. He is doing grade level work in school and is of totally normal intelligence. He is well cared for. He has an IEP but it is only for fine motor skills.But we engage him in conversation and the response is a totally unrelated statement like "did you know people eat food?" in a silly voice. Or, the 22nd "I love you" of the night. When I interact with friends and family who have kids the same age, they're on a different planet, carrying on real and sometimes complex conversations. Sure, some silliness now and then, but they have the ability to tone it down/apply it in the right context most of the time. My son doesn't seem to have that switch. He also has had trouble making and keeping friendships, and I think there's a relationship between his behavior and that fact.Anyway. Anyone seen this before and have any advice? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2fTVe6z