5 year old boy pooping in odd places
Hey everyone. My son seems to have started to poop in odd places. He is 5 years old. I am just wondering what this means. He pooped right next to the toilet on the floor about two weeks ago and today i found poop in his closet in his bedroom. Is he doing this for attention or is this something else. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Rochelle
Answers:
It sounds like it could be for attention.
Any recent changes in his life, i.e., new baby, new home, new pet, etc.?
Answers:
Hi there thanks for responding,
Tyler has a 10 month old baby brother and a three year old sister. His sister has a genetic disorder which requires a lot of attention from me and my husband. He has had a lot of behaivoral changes as we all have from the disorder my daughter has. HOwever, he has never done anything like this. But I do kinda think it is for attention. I just thought it was weird that he tried to hide it. If it was for attention you would think that he would just do it right in front of me. I don't know but thanks for the reply
rochelle
Answers:
Well, he probably knows you'd stop him if he tried to do it right in front of you. When you find it later, it's too late. Funny how kids seem to enjoy negative attention.
Sounds like you have your hands full. Good luck!
Answers:
My husband has an interesting philosophy "If the child is bahving poorly for attention - then he needs attention". What kind of attention he gets depends on how you react to it. If I could dare to try to imagine being in your position (it must be difficult), I would ignore the poo completely - just clean it up and not mention it. Then I would do my best to try to spend a bit more time with the child than you already do - say 15 minutes of uninterrupted one-on-one time. If one of my children had done this, I wouldn't have thought "attention-getting". I would've thought "they're wanting to see what it looks like outside of the toilet" - they may even want to touch it. I would look at it as "exploring". The hiding it or not telling you about it would be because they know it's not "ok" - they might subconsciously wonder "if Mommy or Daddy find out, they might get mad at me or wonder why I did this and I'm not sure, myself, why I'm doing this...". Just another perspective. One more thought . . . my cousin (who has 3 children, also) had one child climb up onto the kitchen table and poo, then eat it. I've heard of it before but thought "What kind of child would do that and what kind of home do they live in?!" (I was young and judgemental - I've grown up since then). This kid comes from a great home and is a great kid - who knows why he did it? Then about a year later, my middle child poo'd in his bedroom doorway then smeared it on the doorjamb - !!! I just cleaned it up, said to him "Not ok, Blake" and he never did it again.
Thanks
Rochelle
Answers:
It sounds like it could be for attention.
Any recent changes in his life, i.e., new baby, new home, new pet, etc.?
Answers:
Hi there thanks for responding,
Tyler has a 10 month old baby brother and a three year old sister. His sister has a genetic disorder which requires a lot of attention from me and my husband. He has had a lot of behaivoral changes as we all have from the disorder my daughter has. HOwever, he has never done anything like this. But I do kinda think it is for attention. I just thought it was weird that he tried to hide it. If it was for attention you would think that he would just do it right in front of me. I don't know but thanks for the reply
rochelle
Answers:
Well, he probably knows you'd stop him if he tried to do it right in front of you. When you find it later, it's too late. Funny how kids seem to enjoy negative attention.
Sounds like you have your hands full. Good luck!
Answers:
My husband has an interesting philosophy "If the child is bahving poorly for attention - then he needs attention". What kind of attention he gets depends on how you react to it. If I could dare to try to imagine being in your position (it must be difficult), I would ignore the poo completely - just clean it up and not mention it. Then I would do my best to try to spend a bit more time with the child than you already do - say 15 minutes of uninterrupted one-on-one time. If one of my children had done this, I wouldn't have thought "attention-getting". I would've thought "they're wanting to see what it looks like outside of the toilet" - they may even want to touch it. I would look at it as "exploring". The hiding it or not telling you about it would be because they know it's not "ok" - they might subconsciously wonder "if Mommy or Daddy find out, they might get mad at me or wonder why I did this and I'm not sure, myself, why I'm doing this...". Just another perspective. One more thought . . . my cousin (who has 3 children, also) had one child climb up onto the kitchen table and poo, then eat it. I've heard of it before but thought "What kind of child would do that and what kind of home do they live in?!" (I was young and judgemental - I've grown up since then). This kid comes from a great home and is a great kid - who knows why he did it? Then about a year later, my middle child poo'd in his bedroom doorway then smeared it on the doorjamb - !!! I just cleaned it up, said to him "Not ok, Blake" and he never did it again.