Seeking Suggestions on a Stripper in the Crib Who Will Play with Her Poop

I have a friend who has twins that used to do this. She would duck tape the diaper on. I don't know that I would have ever thought to do that, but it worked!! They stopped doing it all together after they realized they could no longer get their diaper off. Woth a try - good luck to you. Jennifer

sorry if it's a repeat. but I have been through this. the worst was my now 3.5 yr. old. started at 10 months. Poo ALL over the entire crib hair and walls and the scrubbing of that carpet in her room was really getting old. I am so glad she grew out of it. It was stressful day after day. So, what worked was 1. duct tape 2. sleeper on backwards. (one without the feet.) . It's so hard and oh soooo gross! Good luck!

Ok, I had a 2 year old who did this same thing. We ended up Duct taping the diaper on her. It was the only thing that would keep her from taking it off. After awile she stopped. It was completely gross and this was the ONLY solutions we found. It was just around her diaper, NEVER touched her skin so it was completely harmless to her. It just kept her diaper on. Good Luck!

Dear J.,
2 Years olds are not dumb--LOL. She is getting 'something' from this lovely little thing she does. It has been a long time since my kids were 2--but I did not have _M_U_C_H of a problem with either one in the poopy dept. I would sit down with her.. and talk to her.... not beg, not bribe, but TELL her... THIS is the way it is going to be! You WILL poop in the potty, and you will NOT take your pull-up off. That is it. When she has no other option, things will change. When she does things right.. praise--"I am very proud of you"--hug, kiss, very good! Until she does this...you may have to stay up later...maybe even all night once or twice. I assume you are a very good and loving mother. I cant figure out when we as a society started giving our toddlers so much power over us---not that you are doing this -I dont know. But I do know-- that if you are Firm but Fair, loving, yet consistant...and IF she cries....LET HER... If she protests , TELL HER---"you can cry all you want but this is how it is going to be"! You will NOT be being mean! She understands a lot more than you may think.. so tell her at breakfast,, "tonight--YOU WILL NOT take your diaper off". etc. I can almost guarentee that after a couple days and nights this will end....It may seem to be cruel to be kind--BUT it is gonna be better than cleaning SH__ up time after time. She will respect you so much more for being firm! It will be so worth a couple of sleepless nights-maybe try it on days you dont have to go anywhere the next day. GOOD LUCK!!!!

It is a phase that is normal is some kids ok a lot of kids. Mine has done it many times, my neices and nephews have done it. A friend of mine called me just the other day and said her 10 month old was playing in her diaper and ATE POOP. My son was the worst. He would smear it on everything. The walls, the carpet, the toybox...all within my 10 min shower. I actually bought a toothbrush just for these times. Don't panic, the toothbrush was to clean under his nail because a regular nail cleaning brush was to hard on his little fingers. That is when I started doing arts and crafts with him. I guess I figured he liked the texture of poop (i know that's gross) I let him start finger painting and playing with playdoh, with me around of course. He did in fact stop playing with poop, he would ask me if we could do art. It made for a much better painting. Good luck to you though.

Yes! She's ready to be potty trained...she's screaming for it actually. Your more than half way there. Try to use safety pins to make her clothes fit & more secure so she can't get out of them. You need to put her on the opt every hour & especially when you go. Make her area a fun spot like put her some books there, give her a bell or some sort (so she can let you know she's done). It might be a little difficult at first but don't get discouraged. Enjoy your time at home with her, it's most precious. If you ever want to do something else & still be a sahm look into Mary Kay, it's a wonderful opportunity & you can work around your daughter & "The Rock" of your life:-). You do it at your own pace. I wish the very best of luck & God Bless!

My first one did that when she was 2 1/2 and just getting seriously into potty training. There had just been some changes in her environment & I was really worried she wasn't coping well so I found a therapist to take her to. I've never really done the therapist thing before or since, and I know there are good ones & not-so-good ones so I don't know if what he said was right or not. But he said it was a deliberate cry for attention. Since we'd just moved into a new house & my work schedule & her childcare arrangements were all different, she was acting out in this way because she wanted me to come clean her up & take care of everything. That she needed more love, reassurance, and nurturing.

This might not be applicable at all in your case. It does sound like she's ready for potty training. I don't have any advice about potty training at the moment (even though I've done it 4 times - but they were all so different).

But try those zippered sleepers, on backwards so she can't reach the zipper. You'll probably have to cut the footsie part off of the sleeper outfit for that to work but it sounds like it would be worth it in your case!

Good luck!!
S., mother of 6

my daughter did this too. I would put her diaper on backwards and duct taped it. That seemed to work for naps/nighttimes. then the rest of the time I just watched for signs and ran her to the bathroom when I thought she was needing to go. if it was just us around the house I didn't worry about her being naked, some kids just go through that. my daughter wasn't mature enough to understand potty training, so I needed her to be in a diaper until she was ready

try turning her diaper around so the tabs arein back, or use some duct tape at nap time. i had the same problem with each one of my boys. when i used these methods they stopped doing it because the couldnt get their diaper off.

We had one of those kiddos in our family. Have you tried Duct taping the diaper on or putting it on backwards with the tabs in the back.

My sister in law had this problem, and we dubbed her little boy "Poo-caso". She eventually had to put him to bed with no sheet on the mattress. Sounds mean, but it worked because after he took his diaper off and had to have his naked bottom on that cold mattress a couple of times, he didn't take it off anymore.

I feel your pain. My son went through the same thing, and it is very frustrating. On a positive note, he was very easy to potty-train and going poop in the potty was the first things he did on the potty,never any accidents.
Good luck.

Just duct tape that diaper on her. Make sure it's most or all the way around the diaper . My daughter called it her belt and helped remind us to put it on her at naptime.

Believe it or not, this problem isn't unique to you. My daughter had the same problem with a couple of her daughters. She alleviated this problem by putting them in blanket sleepers and safety pinning the zipper at the top. They never figured out how to get the zipper down again. This does not address why they do it but does keep it from happening again. Hang in there. This too shall pass! And having a child do this is not a sign that you are doing anything wrong.

D.

I have NO advice, but this cracks me up. I promise you she'll outgrow it. I KNOW this because my Mom shares the exact same story about me, and I promise I don't play with my poop!

GOOD LUCK!

It sounds like it might be hard, but could you try to anticipate the poops and get her on the potty? You don't want her to sleep in her poop anyway, so maybe with the video monitor (or you in her room) you could take note of what indicates a poop (or what time it happens) and get her on the toilet. With my older daughter she always pooped in the morning and so I just always had her on the potty then...

K.

My 2y/o son does the same thing. We are working on potty training, but he's not into it a lot. He'll do this any time of the day, wether it's taking the diaper off completely, or putting his hand back there and grabbing a turd to show you! It's gross! He can undress himself no matter what he's wearing, so nothing really helps. I've tried taping it up, but that just slows him down on taking it off, he'll then reach in through the leg holes of the diaper to get it, he won't give up on it! I think for some odd reason, he's obssessed with it. He'll go around to my older son and I, and "check us for poo poo" like I do to him, and if the cat poops out of her box, he gets all excited and wants to help clean it up! I'm at loss for what to do, except to keep trying on the potty training... Good luck!!! Just know you're not a lone!

It may sound strange but I would suggest duck tape. My sister-in-law had the problem of her son always taking off his diaper. She finally put some tape oon it and he could not take it off. Eventually the stage passed and she was able to stop putting the tape on.

I would say that she is trying to tell you something. I would watch her and as soon as the clothes come off put her on the potty. She is not wanting a poopy diaper. If she poops every day at naptime, then she has a schedule. Use that to your advantage. My 2 year old will always tell me when she has to poop, but we have to try to catch her before she wets. I have not had a poopy diaper in almost 2 months. Try it a few days and see what happens, if you set her on the potty as soon as the clothes come off, you may save yourself a lot of work. Good luck.

Hi, I read your story. I don't know if this will help, but I figured I would give it a shot. I didn't know if you were to try those Pull-Ups since she is starting to potty train anyways. That may detour her from just taking them off like a diaper can come off. As for clothing what if you were to dress her in something whole, but that fastened in the back? That way she wouldn't be able to reach it as easily to take off. Or what if you were to make a game /or a deal out of nap time (I know you are probably thinking that is crazy). But what I mean is that tell her that if she stays dressed and leaves her diaper on she can have something special later. Like her favorite fruit at snack time or after dinner. Or that she can pick a movie for her and Mommy to watch together. Maybe even go to the park or take a walk, etc. Making them little simple rewards that is really no big deal, but that she enjoys. But in the same instance making the terms that it is only if the clothes and diapers stay on during nap times. Like I said I don't know if any of this will help I just thought of some possible ideas. I was just trying to think of what I might do if my son was doing it. If this helps in any way I am glad-if not I sincerely apologize. Best of Luck!
~A Fellow Mom :)

J.!

My oldest kid is 23 years old. Now, when he was just under 2y, he also entered this style of decor. I thought I was going to lose my mind. After a couple of days of it, I really thought I was going to lose my mind. Then, he pulled a real fast one, while I read the newspaper, he was very very quiet. Yikes, I knew it was bad. Yup, this time, instead of poop, he went to the frig, got the butter, and the bottle of cinnamin out of the cupboard and decorated his room. OK, it smelled better!!! A very loving grandmotherly officer's wife came to my plea for help, and brought over the famous home remedy, DUCT TAPE. "Just stick-er-on that diaper, gently now, and let's see you pull that off, you lil' feller!" He didn't.

Just be sure that if you have to hire a sitter, you are very very very clear that the duct tape is used only on the DIAPER, and not TAPING THE KID TO THE BED! I was horrified when I returned and the sitter mumbles, "I put the tape on, but it didn't work.", and she raced out the door!" An hour later, Army Community Services and the Military Police were at my door! I was SHOCKED, BEWILDERED, AND STUMPED. Now, my little boy sure didn't like that babysitter, and now, I understood why! She lost her babysitting priviledges.

I was very very glad to see my son potty trained. He graduates college in May and is entering full-time military service!

J., congrats on being a stay at home Mom who loves the job! I am a stay at home Mom of 5- ages range from 9 yrs to 9 months and I too love the job! I dealt with your problem a little with my oldest, but it was very short lived. My sister-in-law had this same problem BIG!!! She resorted to duct tape around the waist band of the diaper and even over some of her daughter's snaps/ buttons of her clothes. It solved the problem for her, but she did have to keep a pair of heavy duty scissors on hand (hidden) in her daughter's room for diaper changes. Best of luck to you and your very curious and active little girl!

A. D.

Hi J.,

I've had the same problem with my two year old daughter. She turned two in January, so we started the potty training a little early, according to her pediatrition.

Our situation was just as you described. I'd put my daughter down for a nap, or for bedtime, and she would wake up with ALL her cloths off. We only had one "poopy" situation in her crib, but many wet ones!

My first attempt to keep her one piece sleeper on was to place a safety pin on the inside of her sleeper catching the top of the zipper.

My second attempt was to sew a "hook and eye" at the top of her sleeper, but she still could unzip it and get out of it.

Finally my husband mentions to me, "you will have to put the sleeper on her with the zipper in the back". I did have to cut out the feet in order to do this, but it worked like a charm! No more finding her unclothed, and screaming when she woke up because she was wet and cold!

Since these are flannel sleepers, and will be too warm for the summer months, I plan to take her two piece summer pajama's, sew two long ties on the bottom of her tops, and two ties on the waist of her pajama bottoms, and tie them together not a bow tie) when she takes her naps. I'm hoping it works as well as turning the one piece sleepers around.

In reference to potty training...my daughter did the same thing. She'd learned quickly to pee pee in the potty, but poppies were another story.

Since I am also a SAHM...I would try to stay close to her in the mornings, when she usually had a bowel movement. I'd start to hear her groan...and immediatley take her to the potty. When she did poop in the potty, I'd praise her, and she in turn would be so proud of herself. She's still learning, but does have the concept of it all now. I also say, "I'm so proud of you", and she repeats...I'm proud of you!

Good Luck!
Judy

Instead of safety pins or twisties--too much of a choking hazard in my opinion--you simply put the onsie zip-up on backwards. You let her wear this at nap and at night, until the stage goes away. You should probably be able to get those pretty decently priced at like a Children's Orchard or some other resale shop.

Good luck, more of us have been there than you think ;)

A.

My daughter did the same. She painted her room with it one time. I would put a onsie on her with a LARGE safety pin through it where it snaps. You could also pin the sides to the diaper. I also had a friend who duck taped all around the diaper. What about the footed PJ's that zip all the way up? you could pin the zipper if she figured that out. Hope this helps. Good Luck~ :)

J.,

Have you tried putting her diapers on with the tapes in the back, not the front? Also duct tape or safety pins worked great on the diaper for my son, who was also a nap time stripper. After his nap, I would use blunt tip bandage scissors to cut off the wet/soiled diaper. I would even put his sleeper on with the zipper in the back. Good luck. J.

A trick to get them to poop on the potty(try it before bed) is to give them a blow toy like a party horn or balloon and encourage her to blow on it. This forces her to use the exact same muscles that she uses to poop. It really works!

I had a nephew that did this and we put his pj's on backwards...obviously the ones without feet in them. That helped, too. It's a discovery thing. Especially since you are potty training. She's learning what's going on and she's becoming aware of the process. I know it's disgusting but maybe if you can get her to go before bed with the blowing toys she won't need to go when she's sleeping.

Good luck.

My thoughts and prayers are with you!!!

I would put her in a sleeper/one piece (long)that has a zipper. This is the unfortunate part; put a small hole at the top(at the neck line), take a twisty, put it through the hole and zipper, then twist it a lot. Make sure the twisty is secure because of the choking hazard. This worked every time with my daughter. However in the summer I would find the cotton sleepers and not spend too much money since you are putting a hole in the neck line. I only had a few sleepers that I wanted to do this with, so I would change her at nap time. The poop scene is not fun! However every day is an experience, hold on to those beautiful memories.

Check out the post by Laura M. on 4/2/08 and the responses to it.

I can't seem to find a link that takes you there... sorry.
T.

When we adopted our twin grandbabies they did the same thing. We determined it was to early to potty train because they were not ready it was something for attention, the wrong kind. We put their diapers on backwards and this helped. I hope this helps E.

Oh wow! I thought my son was the only one! He's 4 now, but he was two when he did exactly what you are talking about. We asked the doctor about it. He said it's rare, but developmentally normal. Our DS grew out of it. As far as clothes go, he was out of onesies when this started, so we had to go out and find some that fit him. And yes, he still found a way to get out of them sometimes. I found that Clorox wipes work very well for cleaning up this particular mess. Of course, there was also a lot of laundry!
He wasn't potty trained until he was almost 4, even though he knew what the potty is for. We tried a lot of things, but, ultimately, he just wasn't ready. We backed off, and pretty soon he did it himself.
Good luck!
M.

J.,J., J.

Oh my, your bringing back some not so fun memories, but laughter to my heart all the same!!!! Filming this is important for you, just so you can look back and realize what a great job you DID...and to show her later on how patient you really were... My oldest daughter now 20 years old, did this very same thing when she was about 14-15 months old. She had just started walking so I didn't think she was ready to be potty trained, so I spoke with my MOM about it. She suggested that I try and keep Gabrielle up after lunch as long as I possibly could and to put her on the potty before and after each meal for at least 5-10 minutes and then to reward her should she go potty in the toilet. I sat her in front of her favorite show on the potty and if she did anything I would reward her. I have to say, I don't remember her ever having a BM in front of her favorite show, but she was very private about going potty. She not only pooped in her bed and decorated the walls with it as well as everything else, but from a very young age she would poop in the bathtub almost immediately after hitting the warm bath.... Your little one may be trying to tell you she is ready to go potty. I used mm'ms for Gabrielle and she got 2 for number 2. As a nurse I would recommend a regime that you potty her before and after each meal, especially 30 minutes following the meal... I'm sorry that this is such an ordeal for you, but I can assure you that one day you will look back and smile..... You might try putting her in panties when she lys down or panties during the day and she may surprise you, by not wanting them to get dirty...She's pooping all over everything anyway....so what's the difference!!
Good Luck! It gets better...it just takes a while... J.

J., we has similar problems with our #2 daughter (we have 4 girls). We tried the clothes, and that didn't work. We finally went to taping her diaper. We did masking tape, duct tape...whatever tape we had handy. We wrapped it around her to make sure the diaper was secure --- AND NOT TIGHT -- and that seemed to work. She couldn't get the diaper off, and after a couple weeks, she quit trying. It meant sissors had to be handy for most of the diaper changes (masking tape was easy to tear). This was the best solution we could come up with, as she was only about 12mo, and not ready to be potty trained.

I would also recommend trying her on the potty chair BEFORE naptime. Maybe even watch her get naked on the monitor, and snatch her away to the potty chair, since you know that is the immenant sign! Each of my girls had their "poop place": under the table, behind the rocking chair -- those were where a couple of the girls would go every time they needed to poop. That made recognizing the signs easy so that we could WAIT, and then snatch them off to the toilet.

I hope that helps!

M.

If it were me, I'd push her nap until later...after she poops. Since she's on such a regular poop schedule, I'd try getting her to go on the potty before her nap. We did tic tacs, one for pee, two for poop. But we didn't have the stripping problem. That happened once, and thats it. Good luck!

The only suggestion I have is to place her diaper on backwards at night. They seem to have a harder time getting it off. I used to also put one of the zip up pajamas on backwards.

Hope this helps! E.

It shouldn't gross out any mother on here! I'll bet that this has happened to at least 50% of us. Here are some suggestions that I have used before. When it is nap time or bed time put her in a zip up sleeper, but put it on backwards, if that does not work maybe you could try not giving her the lovies and animals since she seems to want to put poop all over them. I think it is a sign that she is ready to potty train as she obviously does not want it in her diaper.

Good luck and it is not that terrible it has happened to many mothers out there!

Get some zip up sleepers, cut off the feet to them and then put it on her backward so she can't get the zipper!

Wow! Your post was certainly attention grabbing!!! Lol. I laughed SO much when I read it! Sorry for your little one's "fun" though but on a serious note. Two thoughts here - I would say her getting into her poop could definitely signal that potty training should be stepped up a bit. Also, I have also heard of the whole duct taping the diaper thing and putting on their clothes backwards and I do believe many have had much success with that. I hope you find something. What a nasty job you have had on your hands! And what patience you have to still have a sense of humor about it! Lol. :) Hope you find your magic fix & fast! :)

You are not alone-this is very common. My daughter is 22mths old and has done this and were very frustrated in trying to keep her diaper on! I don't think they really understand what they are doing at this point. What has worked for us at bed time is a zipper sleep suit put on backwards. It works and now our daughter has been less interested in ripping her diaper off! Hope this helps!