Still Waking Up-

Both my boys did it - every time I changed them and also in the tub. I believe my hubby still does it...
:o)

Its perfectly normal. My son is almost 3 and has done it as long as I can remember. There is nothing you can do about it.

Sounds totally typical. He's not doing anything wrong, he's just exploring. He's actually in the phallic stage, so he's doing exactly what you should expect.

Hello
I have a two year old son who does the same thing. I let him know that there is poo poo. I just brush his hand away and finish cleaning. From what I have heard from other Moms this habit never goes away. It happens anytime they don't have diapers or pants on. It is normal. Take care.

Mother of Three

Hello R.,

I have a 3 1/2 year old and it is very normal. I never hit his hand for doing it, becuase I didn't want him to feel self-consious for doing it, but I did just move his hand out of the way and tell him that there is poop that i'm trying to clean. I asked a few people when he would stop and they said never!! HAHA.. My husband agreed!! So did my dad and brother..HAHA.. It's totally normal.. I wouldn't worry about it. Good luck

N.

Give him some naked time when you're not changing his diaper. Don't make it forbidden or he will want to do it more. Ignore it. Do you tap him when he touches his ear or his toes? He is just trying to get to know what's on the part of his body that is covered up and out of reach 99.9% of the time.

i agree with everyone, my son just turned 2 and for the longest time hes been doing that as well. i asked his dr and she said its ok, & to pretty much let him do it...

Hi R.,
I have 2 sons. My first son discovered his "extra" appendage at an early age and still "discovers" it on a regular basis (haha). My second son was a little later in discovery. I agree with the other moms, give him something else to play with at diaper change time. I did (and still do) that with both of my sons. I have also become quite quick with doing the arm block when he tries to grab himself. It is perfectly normal and as the others have said, it will continue to happen for the rest of their lives :)

I would be concerned. The first thing that comes to mind is that he has seen someone else do it and is immitating. Or someone has taught him. I would call the pediatrician and ask for verbage to use other than NO. My son never did anything like that but if he did, I would certainly seek out advice as you have. A great website is www.stopitnow.com? or org?. It tells you what is age appropriate.

I think you should ignore it. Don't make a fuss over it. Just wait till you're done changing him, clean his hands and let him be on his way without saying anything about it. If he sees you're not reacting to it, he may stop. It could be an attention getter for him.

If it makes you feel any better my 14 month old has the same habit. Everyone I talk to about it simply says it's normal for boys. I do go to the Dr in a week or two and plan on asking him about it. I ususally try to hold his arms down with my feet while I change his diaper(on the floor) or give him something to do so he can't create a bigger mess. If I get any other advise from the DR I will be sure to pass it along your way.

I have a toy that I keep at the changing table (even a little hand held mirror will do wonders.) give to him as you are changing him. Make sure it's something he doesn't play with too often.

Hi R.

My son just turned 1 in march. He does the same thing. I know its natural thing for them to touch their body since it is their body. I always assumed it itched and that is why he did it. So when he has a poopy diaper I try to give him an item to grab and keep his interest so I can wipe him clean before he grabs himself. Even though I totally understand the grossness of it especially when its a poopy diaper. We now always wash our hands together after I change his diaper. Good Luck

Does he do it in his bath, too?

I had five boys and they each were curious about a part of their bodies that they didn't usually see. As they would touch it when I changed their diapers, I named it for them, then nudged their hands away and put on the diaper. Since I didn't make a big deal of it, eventually they stopped being so grabby.

This is perfectly normal and not something you have to stop him from doing. He is curious, it's self-discovery. To him it's just something else to "play" (pardon the pun)with. My son does the same thing!!

It's a healthy and natural part of his development. I understand you not wanting him to get the #2 stuff all over, but I am so glad that we let our son feel good about all parts of his body. Your boy is just a baby; he's just exploring his body and his world--don't punish him for doing what's a natural part of development. Do you change his diaper as soon as he has the BM? That minimizes the chances of it spreading up to his wee-wee. Also, have you thought about calling it what it is from time to time so he can learn and not feel shame about the real name later on. The bottom line is that he is just a tiny guy who probably likes the way it feels when he touches it, it's easy to get at, and he's doing what any healthy boy would do. (Ask any man!) Please, think about talking with him as you change his diaper but don't make him stop a very natural and healthy part of his overall development.

R.,
I have an 11 yr old and a 21 month old boy, with that said..they both did that. My 21 month old still does! If you really think about it, all men do that! I joke with my husband and say that geez guys do this from birth! That is exactly what has happened, both my boys have done it since they could reach it. It feels good to touch, it is something that is always covered and it is fun to play with. There is nothing wrong with them doing it at all. It is part of self discovery.

With my little guy, when he has poopie I tell him he has poopie and that it is messy so don't touch. If he really wants to touch I give him a small toy or something to keep his hands out. That usually solves the problem. But I can tell you that once the diaper is off for the shower or bath, that is the first place that his hand goes. He giggles and just runs off. Really think about it and watch your husband closely sometime, all men grab it, it is just what they do.

It is not because he has learned it from someone or that something has happened to him, don't even worry about that (unless you really have cause to). Let him be a kid and joke with him about it, believe me this is going to be the least of your worries. Wait till he realizes that he thinks farting is funny and announces it!

Good Luck

My son is also a year old and did the same thing. I worked with him that untill I had used wipes he could not play and then allowed him a minute or so to play before I rediaper him. This exploreation is totally natural at this age but I totally understand your concern and discused in spreading poop. It took him about month to get good at waiting. Good luck

Dear R.,
My 1-year-old son does the same thing, though not all the time, because I try to give him a toy to play with before I lay him down and take his diaper off. When he was littler, I had an elastic clothes line that I stretched across the change mat over his face and hung things off for him to play with, to keep his hands out of the smelly stuff! He also laughs whenever I say "no" (in other situations) and so I, too, have had to get creative when trying to let him know what is and isn't acceptable. I realised that when I said "no" (no matter how sharply, seriously, angrily or sadly), he did not understand the tone and only thought it was funny, and so every time I did it I was in fact reinforcing the behaviour I wanted to stop! So, unfortunately, it may take a little time to get him out of the fiddling habit! By the way, I don't actually think it's a bad habit, really, it's just annoying when he gets his hands dirty and smelly. At this stage the "wee-wee" is just another interesting bit of the body, like the fingers.

My son just turned 1 in March and he has done the same thing for a long time now. There's really nothing you can do to stop him if that's what he wan\ts to do, but i have found that if you give him a toy or maybe even a sippie cup his hands are occupied just long enough for me to atleast wipe him down. GOOD LUCK!

Gosh, I have two boys and they both did it. I turned it around and handed them wipes and said "oh you want to help mommy?" That way at least I didn't have to clean their hands so much and it cut down on the everywhere help. They stopped fairly quickly because they got bored with the process.

R.,
It is truly not a bad habit for your son to touch his genitals. It is natural exploration, the same as touching his nose, or toes. Yes, washing his hands to prevent the spread of bacteria is good, but punishing him for touching himself is probably not a good idea. I would get further advice from your pediatrician, but I feel that he does it every time because he is getting a reaction that he feels is funny. If you don't react, just simply wash off his hands and continue on like nothing is unusual, he will probably stop.

I have 4 boys, and it's a perfectly normal stage....they're just exploring themselves. When my oldest son went through that stage, I had asked his Dr. about it, and he said it's perfectly normal, and he'll stop eventually.....and they do.

Good Luck!

R.,
What if you give him a toy? If he has something to occupy his hands, maybe he will be too distracted. It's a game he's playing with you right now. Maybe a special toy only for diaper time would hold his attention.

P.