DD 1 year old rubbing/humping activity!

[spooniemoonie]

Those with a sensitive disposition please look away now!

When my DD was about 10 months old she began to rub her groin against the crotch strap of her highchair at meal times. Since then she has started doing this in her buggy and carseat at any opportunity. She gets pretty worked up - huffing and puffing, zoning out, eyes rolling etc. I've tried her in different buggies and different high chairs but the result is the same and she is too young to be restrained without the crotch strap.

I guess she is doing this cos it is somehow a nice sensation and she finds it comforting (I'm pretty sure this started cos she absolutely hated meal times - very poor eater) but it is getting more and more frequent in her pram now. It's very obvious and embarassing for me and (presumably) whomever I'm with when we're out and about.

I took her to the GP to rule out any physical reason for her doing this (thrush etc) and got the all clear. The GP says it's just a phase and she'll grow out of it but also said she had never seen it in a child this young - usually 2-3 year olds. The GP said we should just ignore it and try to distract her. This is getting harder and harder to do and it is really interfering with her dismal eating - she much prefers to hump than eat a meal.

What I'm looking for is here is:
a) some re-assurance that we're not the only parents coping with this behaviour in a child this age (13 months now).
b) some coping mechanisms, distraction techniques that have worked for you/your child?

I'd appreciate any insight on offer.
Many thanks

Thank god, my daughter has been doing this for months and I hate it so I'm relieved others have been through same thing

zombie thread

Hi.
I know this is a very old thread but my 18 month old daughter does this exact same thing. She has done it from a very young age. We came to work round it as distraction worked. We then went on holiday abroad for a week and she didn't do it once. She was walking alot and only really in the pram after walking for a while first. We used a carseat on the flight which was 4 hours and she never did this once there or back. When we returned for a week again it all stopped for a week. Now shes back to doing it full force. Every single time she is sat down and fastened in to pram, carseat and highchair. It's becoming more of a problem as she reduces herself to tears and been out and about isn't enough to distract her anymore as its not new. If we ignore her u can feel other people's eyes burning on you. She was feeding herself but now it goes all over her so we have to take it off her which frustrates her even more and makes her more angry.
I wondered if any of the ladies for a successful distraction or when they grew out of it as thats what the GP and HV advise.

Hi there, I’m pleased to read all of these posts. My daughter has done this from a very young age. It all started in her car seat (she did it on a 6 hour journey to our holiday destination once!). I have found it incredibly stressful and , unfortunately, she is now 5 and still does it out of habit. I have found it really hard not to get cross about it and feel I have made such a fuss that I have made it worse. We have been told that she sometimes does it at school on the sides of tables which acts as a distraction for her when she is anxious or stressed. I don’t have any advice unfortunately but I just wanted to empathise and let you know there are others out there that know exactly how you feel. Good luck.

hi i know this is an old thread, my 18 month old daughter does this, i didn’t think too much of it but now she does it and cries after a while, i can’t work out if she’s hurting herself doing it or if it’s giving her cramps or if she’s frustrated. did anyone experience the tears with it? or find a solution?! 😕

I have just realised my niece doing this in her high chair.
It made me look it up because I know I did it as a toddler, my grandma used to tell me off for "stiffening my leg* and told me id end up with one leg bigger than the other

Im relieved I wasnt a weirdo and now angry I was made to feel ashamed of it. I think they could have handled it alot better.

Could you get a close fitting chest harness, the type used in special needs buggies and equipment. This may do away with the need for a crotch strap as the child is firmly fixed at the top of their body.

I know this thread is super old but it's like you are writing about my DD. And no one else I know has experienced it, its driving me insane. Did she grow out of it?

To all those reading this years on - I am the OP and just found my old thread(!) - pleased to report DD did grow out of this but it did drag on a bit until she was around 3 years old if I recall rightly... I remember speaking to nursery about it and they said they'd seen loads and nothing to be embarrassed about - think parents "underreport" this kind of behaviour amonst themselves due to the perceived stigma. As mortifying as it was at the time we laugh about it now and DD, now 11, has no memory of this period. For all you "sufferers" it will pass. My only advice is distract distract distract, avoid crotch strap situations whereever possible and talk about it if you can, you may well find others are going through it just not saying anything!

This thread is 6 years out of date... I am having this experience with my 11 month old little girl... does anyone have any recent experience or any updates years on as to how this progressed?

As it happens I have experienced the same thing myself but I haven’t plucked up the courage to speak to my parents about it yet and asked what they did with me!

Omg I just came across this post which I know was written a long time ago but my little girl has just started doing this exact same thing. I can’t see any replies if this is a common issue or something else underlying.... anyone else dealing with this and is it just a phase!!

@Emandkris

Omg I just came across this post which I know was written a long time ago but my little girl has just started doing this exact same thing. I can’t see any replies if this is a common issue or something else underlying.... anyone else dealing with this and is it just a phase!!

It's perfectly normal - they are exploring and know it feels nice. Google infant gratification disorder. Tell her (if she's old enough to understand) that what she's doing is fine but she must do it in private. It's absolutely nothing to be worried about.

Massive thank you for that reference wildeverose! My little girl still does it from time to time and it has been reassuring Googling this term! Thank!

Thank you it has been really helpful to read up on. My little one is under a year so our tactic is currently distraction and avoiding crotch strap situations....

My little girl has started this and finding it hard to deal with. More so as I am worried about her swallow food the wrong way when she is doing it.

So so glad I have read this thread. It was really starting to bother me! We felt so alone in this situation and didn't know how to bring it up with HV. Praying it will pass soon 🙏

Hi there, When did you observe change in her behaviour and when did it stop. I'm in also same phase and worrying so much these days

I commented on this post back in 2020 concerned with the same issue. Unfortunately 2 years on and she still does it. She is now 3.5years and mostly does it on the floor or on a chair. Luckily she only does this at home, but its very frequent. We try and distract but some days it's alot - she can also make her bits quite sore. I am not really sure where to go from here - hopefully it will stop in time.

Hi we are another year on and my DD is now 2 and she still does it. It has calmed down now and we have worked out it’s a comfort thing if she’s either in pain from teething or when’s she tired. Sitting in supermarket trollies and her car seat are the most common places she does it. She is now getting old enough where I say to her sternly sit nicely and she snaps out of her trance like state and readjusts in her seat and stops temporarily.

I commented on this post in December 2019 when my little girl was 11 months old, she’s now 31 months (2.5 years) and thankfully it stopped some time ago now. I guess I have experiences on both sides as I did this as a child and still experience it from time to time as an adult, although much more controlled.

Even though Emily has stopped I don’t think we have found a magical formula im afraid, I think it was more luck. We changed her high chair so it didn’t have a bar between her legs and just tried distracting if it started.

I did also speak to a good friend of mine, in confidence who is a nursery teacher and she said it’s common and absolutely normal but I do feel, given the experiences people are sharing that I am surprised there’s not more information available.

My little one is 17 months old and has done this since she was 10 months old. She does it as a comfort thing when she's finished her food (shes a great eater) or when she's tired. Theres nothing to worry about. All kids have their quirks as they say.

https://copingwithlindsey.com/why-a-baby-humps/

My daughter is doing the same thing been for urine sample thinking about getting physio same thing been to emergency treatment centre had urine samples done examined groin and back .
She does it in her pram and high chairs