"Dirty Diaper Digging"
Laurie-Anne
Been there, done that.....over and over and over......and living to tell
about it. For us it started with great frequency at age 4.5, and would
happen as many as three times a day...she would completely disrobe, remove
the offending diaper or pull-up, and hastily begin her adventure. I got to
know a carpet cleaning company on a first name basis despite buying a small
carpet shampooer for the home. The finger-painting left permanent stains
on carpets, wall paper, painted walls; lots of toys and books had to be
discarded, and many, many things not intended for laundering went through
the washing machine with an unhealthy amount of disinfectant. I literally
could not have her out of my sight for 30 seconds.
Our paediatrician made several good suggestions - not sure which ones
worked, but the behaviour faded out after about 5 - 6 seemingly
interminable months (during a good portion of which I also had monstrous
"morning" sickness):
-all diapering activities moved into the bathroom, and we reinforced
verbally that the bathroom was the only place for pee and poo
-brief "house rules" were put in large print on the front of the fridge
(including the "Pee and poo belong in the bathroom") where they were read
and re-inforced often
-we were encouraged to maintain her very high-fibre diet
-contents of diapers were dumped into the toilet whenever possible, and
always with the child watching, and with her flushing
-she was showered off instead of put in the bath after an episode so there
would be no playtime following the fecal finger-painting
-she was put on a chair to watch at least a portion of the clean-up (she
usually has to help clean up her own messes, but not ever with this)
-we provided lots of other opportunities for finger-painting with
appropriate materials
-her assistant at school reinforced that her classmates all did their pees
and poos in the toilet
-DH and I brought her into the bathroom to role model how big people use
the toilet (I must be the only parent that gets enthusiastic applause and a
"Way to go, Mommy, I so proud of you!" when I use the facilities...this has
been especially entertaining in public washrooms)
-I took advantage of regular respite care opportunities
It is now less than a year later, and in the past 3 weeks we have had
sudden and miraculous pottying success (she's now in "big girl's underwear"
during the day!!!).
Wishing you freedom from fecal-fingerpainting in a timely fashion,
Laurie-Anne, terminally pregnant and painting over finger-painting stains
in an effort to induce labour!
Lisa
an...@BEANSTREAM.COM says...
My son Jason (27mo) doesn't write on the walls but likes to eat (GROSS)
what he digs out of his diaper. He also has a nasty habit of pooping in
the tub and is aware of what he is doing! All I have to do is turn my
back to get a towel and by the time I turn around he will have already
'plopped' into the water. Then he just sits there smiling and squishing a
large chunk in his hand while he proudly says "paPOO!" So then I have to
drain the tub and try to keep him from eating it until I can rinse it all
down and start washing him again! Hoping that once this phase is done
that he NEVER starts smearing it on the walls.
--
Lisa
Mom to Jared 5, Jason 27mo DS, and Aiden due mid-June
Fear is the main source of superstition,
and one of the main sources of cruelty.
To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
Fear Controls Knowledge...Knowledge Controls Fear
http://www.hutchandlisa.net
take out nospam to reply by email
Cheryl Reynolds
adve...@NOSPAMHUTCHANDLISA.NET writes:
> So then I have to
> drain the tub and try to keep him from eating it until I can rinse it all
> down and start washing him again! Hoping that once this phase is done
> that he NEVER starts smearing it on the walls.
>
> Well, I guess I shouldn't be laughing at this, but I am because it so
> much reminds me of Lissette. I can't even give the kids a bath together,
> fearing that she may poop in the tub. :-)
Cheryl :-)
Mom to 5.....
Heather, 13, going on 25,
Brooke, 5, going on 25,
Lissette, 4, DS, the one who runs the house,
Richard, Just turned 2, and tries so hard to keep up with Lissette,
and Poor Matthew, 6 months, and just trying to stay alive with all these
kids climbing and crawling all over him (and taking bites out of him
every now
and then)!!!!! (I must also mention that I am taking 3 classes this
semester, but can say that I am really proud of myself that I am almost done
with my AA, but realize that I have many more years to reach my final
goal.....) :-)
Sandy Dodd
>> much reminds me of Lissette. I can't even give the kids a bath together,
>> fearing that she may poop in the tub. :-)
if it's any (small) consolation, i used to attempt to bathe me two
daughters (non-ds) together. inevitably, the younger one would poop as
soon as she got in the tub, leaving her older sister to holler, "mom,
shelly did it again!" - then we'd start bathtime over!
i would evaluate the bathtime pooping differently than the any-other-time
pooping and smearing. something about that warm water makes for good
timing for a bm, i guess!
sandy