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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

22mo smearing poo all over himself and cot. HELP!!!

21 replies

Humphreythehamster · 29/06/2011 10:00

DS has started smearing himself with poo in his cot and I'm at a loss as to what to do to stop him :(

We dash in the second we hear he's awake but it's too late. We've tried different nappies as he was pulling them off, but now he's in pull ups he just sticks his hand in instead. He's in a sleeping bag, we've tried PJs, poppered vests and babygrows but he can undo them all.

Also, he's a thumbsucker which is just awful, he'll get ill surely? Any suggestions (apart from potty rtaining as he's definitely not ready for that)?

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Octaviapink · 29/06/2011 12:41

Safety pin over the zip of his sleeping bag - a small one so the zip won't go past it. Also he's old enough to understand this is a mucky, smelly thing to do and it's best not to! Can you explain in words he can understand that poo stays in nappies? And that if he likes getting messy he can play with paint in the kitchen or mud in the garden instead.

snice · 29/06/2011 12:46

put his babygro on backwards so the poppers are down the back

BooyHoo · 29/06/2011 12:49

my sympathies. i have a nappy hoker too. he doesn't do it very often but when he has managed to i make a yucky face and show him his dirty hands so he can see what his rummaging has caused. going to try teh babygro on backwords suggestion.

beanlet · 29/06/2011 12:53

Have you tried the new grobag with the zip down the front? It's so hard to do up/ undo for an adult let alone a child that you might have some luck with it. The top of the zip is at the bottom of the bag IYSWIM and there's a popper to cover the end, but you could also use a safety pin.

Dorje · 29/06/2011 13:07

I second the safety pin through the zip.
Detol wipes are great for clean ups.

Allow him to play with mud and finger paint and pastry and playdough... it might satisfy his erm... 'artistic' tendencies

It's a hideous phase, but it doesn't last forever..

MmeLindor. · 29/06/2011 13:09

Can you put grobag on backwards so he can't reach the zip?

Original poster

Humphreythehamster · 29/06/2011 14:24

We do have the new grobag, he cant undo the zip on it but he wriggles his arms through the armholes. They aren't massive so it must take some dexterity. This is my own fault for trying to teach him how to put on/take off his own clothes isn't it?

Messy play/painting in the garden is a great idea, we do some, but maybe more will help. Sadly we have explained that poo stays in nappies and is yucky but with older sisters he understands toilet humour far too well and thinks it's funny despite DH and I telling him it's horrid.

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Original poster

Humphreythehamster · 29/06/2011 23:09

Anyone else? I'm desparate here

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nannyl · 30/06/2011 09:12

tricky in the hot weather but safety pin his vest done up and
then safety pin the gro bag too. no way in then

I have looked after several children who have had a phase of doing it, and while it is really gross it is just a phase and relatively normal too. Doesnt make it any nicer though. They have all stopped it pretty soon too... within a week or 2, though it may be because of the strategies we used to make nappy impossible to reach. And when we stopped they didnt go back

nannyl · 30/06/2011 09:12

if hes getting his arms in could you safety pin the grobag arm holes so they are even smaller?

Iggly · 30/06/2011 19:58

What time is he pooing? Are you giving him fruit or something with fibre in at tea time hence the nocturnal poos?

We don't give DS any fruit at tea time as I had read it can make them poo at night. He has fruit in the morning and usually poos after then.

BoojaBooja · 30/06/2011 20:04

Is he perhaps ready to potty train, if he doesn't want the poop in his nappy? I know nothing, by the way - just a thought.

monkoray · 01/07/2011 13:29

How about Duct tape round the nappy - not on his skin but round the top tight enough that he can't get his hands in.

TheSugarPlumFairy · 01/07/2011 13:47

long sleeve grobag? JJBM do them. Just put him in a vest and then pop him in to it?

I am not looking forward to this phase.

Original poster

Humphreythehamster · 01/07/2011 15:13

duct tape worth thinking about, also thanks for the fruit information, I hadn't thought of that.

Weirdly as I hadn't had a chance to get his grobags through the wash he was under a blanket last night and although he had pooed there was no smearing. Make of that what you will

OP posts:

PandaG · 01/07/2011 15:17

girl's swimsuit, over the nappy and under the vest - won't be able to get hands downthe top of the nappy then!

also agree with the posters who suggets fun messy play duringthe day.

dietcokeandwine · 01/07/2011 21:42

I'd definitely look at his diet. If he's waking up dirty, every day without fail, it may be that you can make some changes to his teatime food to try and avoid the night time poo. I don't let either of my two have fruit after about 3pm for this reason, and whilst they have veg with their tea I make sure they don't have excessive amounts of it.

Worth a try - if you can just push the timing of his poos back a bit then problem solved and no need to worry about the smearing As other posters have said it might be that encouraging other messy play might help - but it could also be simply that he hates the sensation of lying in a dirty nappy and wants to try an get it off.

dietcokeandwine · 01/07/2011 21:43

'and'

Original poster

Humphreythehamster · 07/07/2011 14:47

Ok, painting at toddlers, digging in garden and a lack of sleeping bag seem to have solved problem thank you all very much.

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MeltdownMummy · 18/07/2011 21:19

My 18 month old used to be great at going down but in the last three weeks he has started taking off his nappy and poo smearing and weeing in his cot. He wont go to sleep !!! Although he doesnt get upset he shouts a lot had jumps and thrashes around. Three weeks seems to be a long time and ive been consistant to his normal routine. Any ideas as to why this would suddenly happen????

Dorje · 20/07/2011 04:28

Humphrey

Duck tape his nappy closed Meltdown. Worth a try.

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