Help, Daughter Is Doing Wierd Things

[Diaper Lightning]

We're not freaking out yet because we know kids go through phases and such, but cause of the nature of what she is doing it is kinda weird to us...

So she is a little over two years old and we ask her if she wants to go to the potty- sometimes yes, sometimes no, but like 99% of the time she won't go to the potty chair. She runs around saying pee-pee and poo-poo and then proceeds to take her diaper off. Sometimes she is wet, sometimes she is poopy... and the weird thing is she has been running her pacifier (which she is addicted to and has a "collection" already) through her poopy diaper. I dont know if she has eaten yet, gosh i hope not! But she is always playin with herself (I know thats normal for this age) and sometimes she stuffs her paci down into her diaper- I don't get it... I googled the paci in the diaper thing but didnt find anything... anyone else hear of stuff like this????

[diaperpt]

My advice is don't get too involved in trying to analyze this. Kids do wierd things - and this is not only weird, but not very healthful either! Don't waste time trying to figure out why she's doing it. Be firm (nice, but not wishy-washy) and tell her this is not good behavior and that poop is NOT something to play with!

Just over two may or may not be the right time for her to be potty trained (well, some here would insist that she be left in diapers!!). If you suspect that this is all a part of the potty training issue, you might just back off for a while. It may be time to train her, though, and this just a quick experimental phase for her. Don't let it continue though.

Tell her that if she is going to take off her diaper, she has to use the potty and that she is NOT to play with her pee or poop. Don't feel you need to convince her of anything - just that she is not to do it. You can explain that it's not good to play with poop, but leave it plain and simple. Don't try to psychologize to a two year old!

If she disobeys you and continues to take her diaper off, you'll need to have a reasonable consequence (punishment) for her. You shouldn't yell or get upset, but rather be very firm and serious with her. Just like the stupid Bud Lite commercials, you'll have to find just the right punishment - not too light, not too heavy - so that you aren't being overly punitive (we don't want her on these boards years from now saying how negatively her parents influenced her!) but yet she gets the message and responds positively.

Do all the good parent stuff of praising her for true solid steps forward (though not just false praise thinking it'll make her feel positive about herself) and being consistent with your reaction when she fails.

Act, rather than react, be fair and firm, and be consistent. Don't overthink or try to explain things to a two year old.

I'll end by saying this is my advice based on my own minor successes and frequent failures! I think I tended to talk too much and to try to convince my kids of my point of view. Finally, kids do, I think, go through that phase of taking off their diaper - I hope she doesn't decide to finger paint the walls!

Good luck and be ready to get LOTS of conflicting opinions!

[Little Matt]

It's normal for kids to play with their diapers or even the contents of their diapers. Don't be surprised if you wake her up one day and find she's smeared it all over the place.

[BBB]

take away the paci. simple.

we've had similar problems, and we just remove the offending item as a punishment for not behaving. At 2 years old, you can start instilling consequences for inappropriate actions.

The potty training stuff, well... you've gotta be a parent 100% of the time. Potty training is very parent involved. Her actions require swift and immediate actions. Put her on the toilet (not potty chair, why confuse them?, you won't have a potty chair in public) every 15 minutes and tell her to do her business....

I speak from recent experience, as we're going to Potty Training right now, for the third time.

[OMFG]

Not really sure this is the best venue for getting advice regarding your real kids. Sure, there are parents here, but it's kind of like getting advice on how to fix your car on a computer forum. Why not register on a parenting message board and ask this? Your chances of finding someone who has experienced this are much better than they would be here.

[Depends1578]

I agree with OMFG.

[Junibug 4 Lucy]

belive me all this stuff is normal....

our son is nearly 4...a week to go

and hes only just trained....but it took a while, my mother said he'll do it in his own time, and although i diddn't belive her for a long time, she was right...one day he just wen't himself...

now the paci thing, also normal...i have known of lots of wee ones to do this....hasn't been waching rugrats has she??

i think alots of lilones find there nappy is there one 'safe' plase so hiding it there is secret....just a guess..

with the poo...as suggested alredy you could remove the paci....OR you could just let her do it, try no to get mad or interfere, eventuly she should get bord of it...just wach and make sure it doesn't go in her mouth!

you could try explaing what it is, i know shes only two but she may be wandering what it is, our son currently tells us that food terns to poo every time we discuss food or when he's eating...great fun! :s

i think that it did help with the potty training though...diddn't make poo such a scary thing (they did how the body works at pre-school)

good luck

hugs

Juniper

xxx

*sorry for typos, waiting on glasses, and haven't re-read

[Knuxie Fawks]

My little brother went through a phase of taking his diaper off and smearing it on the walls. It was terrible, and he was the most difficult to potty train. He got peeing in the toilet no problem, but stayed in diapers a couple years longer than the other two (triplets). He's special needs and we understood his problems with grasping concepts. Even after we felt he was getting the hang of things, he'd still have frequent messy accidents and would not want to clean up or obey. As he got older, his attitude only got worse. I understand this is common among children with autism, but he would get violent and when there's no sense of restraint in hitting someone, one can punch pretty hard. It took literally years to find the right combination of medication for him to calm down, control his temper, and focus.

Today, things are better. We have found there are several different kinds of food that his body is intolerant to, such as dairy, citrus, and cocoa. Such intolerances aren't easy on the pocket book, but my mom is intent on sticking with it for his health and well-being. When he's on his medication, he is generally happy and often can be excitable but that's fine. It's much better than getting angry, yelling, and hitting family members or hurting pets.

All I can say is through my own trials and tribulations, you need to be patient, understanding, and hopefully they will learn from your teachings and such phases will pass.

[curiositykilledthecat]

My little brother went through a phase of taking his diaper off and smearing it on the walls. It was terrible, and he was the most difficult to potty train. He got peeing in the toilet no problem, but stayed in diapers a couple years longer than the other two (triplets). He's special needs and we understood his problems with grasping concepts. Even after we felt he was getting the hang of things, he'd still have frequent messy accidents and would not want to clean up or obey. As he got older, his attitude only got worse. I understand this is common among children with autism, but he would get violent and when there's no sense of restraint in hitting someone, one can punch pretty hard. It took literally years to find the right combination of medication for him to calm down, control his temper, and focus.

Today, things are better. We have found there are several different kinds of food that his body is intolerant to, such as dairy, citrus, and cocoa. Such intolerances aren't easy on the pocket book, but my mom is intent on sticking with it for his health and well-being. When he's on his medication, he is generally happy and often can be excitable but that's fine. It's much better than getting angry, yelling, and hitting family members or hurting pets.

All I can say is through my own trials and tribulations, you need to be patient, understanding, and hopefully they will learn from your teachings and such phases will pass.

sounds like pica which is normal for kids. Just monitor and again duct tape the diaper or keep her in a romper/onsie.

[Aurelius]

That's mighty odd. I hope you find a way to deal with it.