toddler plays in poop

brandymr · 01-18-2007, 12:36 PM

i hate to be graphic or gross...but i don't know what to do!! i have a 2 year old who loves to use the potty. but if you don't pay very close attention, he will poop in his pullup or underwear, take them off, and make an absolute mess!!! he wants to draw on the walls with it and sometimes to even eat it!! this has happened at least a half dozen times and we have tried everything from talking to time outs to finally, swattin' his lil behind. i am just so frustrated because it's absolutely disgusting to clean up and i really just don't know what to do. any advice? is this normal? heeelllpppp!!!!

AwdreeHpburn · 01-18-2007, 12:53 PM

Hey Welcome to ENA!!

My advice - slow down on the potty training - he may be a bit young and not ready. Maybe go back to diapers.

(respectfully) don't let him go potty alone yet. He's clearly not ready.

Again - with respect - be more diligent about checking his pull-ups or diapers frequently.

Pre-emptive is key.....get him before he gets to it...

Ash · 01-18-2007, 01:07 PM

Perhaps bypass the whole potty part and go directly to a toddler toilet seat that attaches to your normal toilet seat. Then hopefully flushing becomes part of the "ritual". (He may be a bit young, depends on the child really).

My kids went this route and we never actually used a potty. The girls were toilet trained quite early so it's a feasible approach.

**BellaDonna** · 01-18-2007, 01:08 PM

Welcome to Freud's fun-filled "Anal Stage" where pooping is the most important thing in the world and doubles as finger paint...

Quote:

Pre-emptive is key.....get him before he gets to it...

This is pretty much the only thing that works.

This behavior is normal (yucky, I know... but normal)

If your son likes to get messy why not let him use a nice big poster board and some non-toxic finger paints.... or frosting. That might help to get the urge to squish and smudge things out of his system. Some parents are even having "Messy Parties" for their kids
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

BellaDonna

brandymr · 01-18-2007, 01:27 PM

thank you all so much...and thanks for the welcome. may i also mention that he has a baby brother who is 1...could this play a major role in his actions? could it possibly be due to attention that we are not giving him also?

AwdreeHpburn · 01-18-2007, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandymr

thank you all so much...and thanks for the welcome. may i also mention that he has a baby brother who is 1...could this play a major role in his actions? could it possibly be due to attention that we are not giving him also?

Yes.

And Belladonna is spot on with the re-direction route.

Give him appropriate tools to do his creative work so he learns the difference.

flower99 · 01-18-2007, 01:45 PM

Hi there, Wow I looked this one up & it's amazing how many parents are dealing with this....there are some suggestions here that might help.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I can't say if it is or is not an attention getter, but it does seem to be fairly normal for a child to explore EVERYTHING....

pregnantkitty_1985 · 01-18-2007, 03:59 PM

Ewwww, ewww, eww. Heheh.

It is a bit normal, I've heard of other little kids doing it. My fiance's sister ate her cousin's poop when she was a toddler, and one of my cousins would play in their poop and eat it too. My own sister would play with her poop. She once had a huge log entwined in her hair.. I don't know how but... ewww, I remember my poor mother (

) sticking her in the bathtub, trying to get it out. It's sickening, but surprisingly normal at that stage.

I don't know how you would go about correcting the problem... Ask the doctor would be my advice.

**BellaDonna** · 01-18-2007, 04:04 PM

Oh gosh.... I guess I will have this to look forward to in a couple of years.

Quote:

may i also mention that he has a baby brother who is 1...could this play a major role in his actions? could it possibly be due to attention that we are not giving him also?

Yes, definitely. Potty training is a whole other ball game if there is another child still in diapers in the house. My sister was being potty trained when my brother was born, and she messed in her pants much longer than biologically required because she still wanted to be "the baby". Sometimes she would even pull her pants down and pee on the rug to get my parent's attention (even if it was negative attention)

In case you're wondering, yes she is still a brat today.... 20 years later. lol

Try to make potty training a "cool"

activity that adults do, maybe your son will view it as special time where his 1 year-old sibling cannot be involved and that will make him feel happy. Get him to say "bye bye" to whatever he flushes so he will know the place for it is NOT the walls.....

BellaDonna

whiterabbit · 01-28-2008, 01:53 AM

We went through the poop play stage for a long time. I have cleaned up more poop than that guy who runs after the elephants at the circus. One trick is that if you have a child doing this and it appears to be a long term thing...get tile in that room and get the grout sealed. Then you can, at least clean it. Also, get the kind of paint in his room that you can wash.
I can offer excellent tips in cleaning the poop out of the room and off your child.....I'm a seasoned campaigner.
Tomato juice is helpful in getting the odor to subside a little faster...just don't let it get in your child's eyes. I used to bathe my chlid in it when things got really bad. It is the same thing you do when you get sprayed by a skunk. You have to be really careful and make sure your child doesn't have a diaper rash or anything that would make it painful for you to use the tomatoes.
That stuff that you spray on dishes to make the food disolve before you put it in the dishwasher.....that stuff is great for getting poop off of tile.
This is really gross, but helpful information if your child does this in his or her bedroom and it gets set in before you can get to it. WR

Quote:

Originally Posted by BellaDonna

Oh gosh.... I guess I will have this to look forward to in a couple of years.

Yes, definitely. Potty training is a whole other ball game if there is another child still in diapers in the house. My sister was being potty trained when my brother was born, and she messed in her pants much longer than biologically required because she still wanted to be "the baby". Sometimes she would even pull her pants down and pee on the rug to get my parent's attention (even if it was negative attention)

In case you're wondering, yes she is still a brat today.... 20 years later. lol

Try to make potty training a "cool"

activity that adults do, maybe your son will view it as special time where his 1 year-old sibling cannot be involved and that will make him feel happy. Get him to say "bye bye" to whatever he flushes so he will know the place for it is NOT the walls.....

BellaDonna

01-18-2007, 12:36 PM	#1
brandymr Offline Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: kentucky Gender: Female Posts: 3	toddler plays in poop i hate to be graphic or gross...but i don't know what to do!! i have a 2 year old who loves to use the potty. but if you don't pay very close attention, he will poop in his pullup or underwear, take them off, and make an absolute mess!!! he wants to draw on the walls with it and sometimes to even eat it!! this has happened at least a half dozen times and we have tried everything from talking to time outs to finally, swattin' his lil behind. i am just so frustrated because it's absolutely disgusting to clean up and i really just don't know what to do. any advice? is this normal? heeelllpppp!!!!

01-18-2007, 12:53 PM	#2
AwdreeHpburn Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Tiffany's Gender: Female Age: 37 Posts: 4,639	Hey Welcome to ENA!! My advice - slow down on the potty training - he may be a bit young and not ready. Maybe go back to diapers. (respectfully) don't let him go potty alone yet. He's clearly not ready. Again - with respect - be more diligent about checking his pull-ups or diapers frequently. Pre-emptive is key.....get him before he gets to it... __________________ What i really meant to say, is that I'm sorry for the way I am......

01-18-2007, 01:07 PM	#3
Ash Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Gender: Male Age: 46 Posts: 1,868	Perhaps bypass the whole potty part and go directly to a toddler toilet seat that attaches to your normal toilet seat. Then hopefully flushing becomes part of the "ritual". (He may be a bit young, depends on the child really). My kids went this route and we never actually used a potty. The girls were toilet trained quite early so it's a feasible approach. __________________ Wisdom can come with youth ... my friends here prove it everyday.

01-18-2007, 01:45 PM	#7
flower99 Offline Platinum Member Join Date: May 2006 Gender: Female Posts: 1,950	Hi there, Wow I looked this one up & it's amazing how many parents are dealing with this....there are some suggestions here that might help. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] I can't say if it is or is not an attention getter, but it does seem to be fairly normal for a child to explore EVERYTHING.... __________________ ~Love is not gazing into each other's eyes; it is looking together in the same direction.~ ~ There are a lot of changes in life, how we react to them that matters, it's what makes us who we are. ~

01-18-2007, 03:59 PM	#8
pregnantkitty_1985 Offline Silver Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NC in USA Gender: Female Age: 24 Posts: 620	Ewwww, ewww, eww. Heheh. It is a bit normal, I've heard of other little kids doing it. My fiance's sister ate her cousin's poop when she was a toddler, and one of my cousins would play in their poop and eat it too. My own sister would play with her poop. She once had a huge log entwined in her hair.. I don't know how but... ewww, I remember my poor mother () sticking her in the bathtub, trying to get it out. It's sickening, but surprisingly normal at that stage. I don't know how you would go about correcting the problem... Ask the doctor would be my advice. __________________ Due January 29th, 2008 Formerly known as engagedkitty_1985

01-18-2007, 01:27 PM	#5
brandymr Offline Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: kentucky Gender: Female Posts: 3	thank you all so much...and thanks for the welcome. may i also mention that he has a baby brother who is 1...could this play a major role in his actions? could it possibly be due to attention that we are not giving him also?