I run a dayhome and have a little boy who has been in our care for 3.5 years he was fully potty trained at age 2 and has never even had an accident since becoming trained. last week when we went down to get him uo from his nap he had pooped himself and rubbed it everywhere on toys,his mat, his clothes were covered in stool. He seemed as if he hadn't even relaized what had happened and seeing it was so out of the ordinary for him we thought he might have been in a sound sleep and had a dream and not realized what he had done. Spoke with mom and dad about it at pick-up and we agreed to just address it calmly and let it go.
However he has now done it again and this time rubbed feces even over more area and covered himself with it. This is a little boy who is very sensisitve and quiet, but extremly happy at home and in our dayhome and has been comfortable here since his first couple of months at the begining. There have been no changes at home according to mom and dad and no changes here at daycare. When you ask him why he has done this he is very upset but says he doesn't know why. I have looked after children for 37 years,in this time I have of course expereinced many issues, little ones who take off poopy diapers at nap time and wipe feces everywhere, older kids who have accidents, whether outside playing our inside, simply becasue they dont want to stop the fun. I have had kids who were potty trained and than slid back for a little bit, so lots of issues most of them failry normal. However for this child who hates to be dirty at all, thats why he was potty trained so easily and quickly as he hated having a poopy diaper, and who has never had an accident since being potty trained Im baffled as to what is going on. We had a long talk about him getting up during nap time should he need to go potty, he said he understood that was allowed, the potty is right close to where he sleeps. I have told him he can call one of us if he doesn't want to get up on his own, he seemed fine with that. Than today he had the same thing but worse. Please help with any ideas I may be missing, or any suggestions. we love this little guy like our own grandson and I dont like to see him upset and not know just what might help him.
I think it's odd. Kids normally don't poop while they're asleep. I think he's waking at some point and pooping.
I think all of the kids need to be supervised at naptime. To do what he described would take a child a fairly significant amount of time to do. I really think you need to put some video monitors, etc. in the nap area if you're not directly in there with them during naptime.
Hmmmm....my 4.5 year old nephew did the exact same thing at daycare...and was eventually "kicked out" because of it. The only difference was that he went in the bathroom and smeared it all over himself, toilet, walls, door, especially all over himself...face...etc. My niece warned them about this and not to let him go to the bathroom by himself...but the daycare said they did not have the time to babysit a child this old, parents should be taking care of this problem at home. Well, he is 6.5 now..he doesn't have that problem anymore...but he has never learned to wipe himself and always has dirty underware and scratches his butt....I guess because it itches. He also wets the bed every single night and partly wets them in the day...he just can't hold it until he gets to the bathroom...I feel sorry for the little guy...I think a doctor should intervene, but his mom doesn't. This is of no help to you, I know, but just to let you know your child isn't the only one.
wow, only thing I can suggest is watching him while he sleeps, stay in the room and do some paperwork, prepare crafts, etc so you can see when he wakes up. tell parents to put a diaper on him, he is old enough to be disciplined by them as well so if it continues, maybe a simple threat of punishment would help. if he is acting weird in other ways, you may wonder if there really is something going on at home or with another relative.
Certainly seems like a medical issue, and something he can't control. However, It's not clear as to whether you have witnessed him actively wiping his toys and surrounding area -- or made the assumption that is what happened. It may only appear that he has done this intentionally, when in fact it's due to a leakage and subsequent rolling/sleeping in the area of the accident. You said "when we went to get him up from his nap" , which sounds like you discovered it and assumed he wiped his surrounding area. It may be that he has some uncontrollable bowel issue which should be addressed. Blockage can actually cause feces to leak out around the blocked portion, which would not be something he could control or would be aware of.
It seems inconcievable, however, that it is only happening during his afternoon nap with you.. Nonetheless, you should definitely observe him during the nap hour , ask his parents to follow up with his pediatrician, and suggest they see a gastroenterologist if necessary.
This does not sound behavioral -- unless you actually document and observe him and discover that he is awake and it is clearly intentional. I would doubt that -- as I would imagine you would be seeing other signs of his acting out.
If its happening at your daycare... then I imagine, is it happening at home too????
What is the parents response?
Do they say anything much or are kind of reacting with perfunctory answers?
What I'm saying is... is their response to this, natural and off the cuff and real. Or does it seem, generic and un-reactionary?
Are you sure no changes has been occurring in his life or at home?
There is also something called "Encopresis" which is in involuntary leaking of poop. A medical issue.
Have the parents taken him to the Doctor?
It may be either emotion based or medical based.
Does he poop at other times of the day or only now, at nap time?
And yes, maybe he is actually asleep when he is doing this. Much like what sleep walkers do. They are not cognizant of it.
Either way, the parents should speak to the Pediatrician. To rule out medical problems.
Or hopefully, not any type of seizures or anything.
And yes, how can he do this, during nap time, and not disturb the other kids???
When my second child did this, it was a combination of rebellion and boredom. She was growing out of the need for a nap. At almost 5, maybe this boy is also outgrowing naps.
I'm wondering if he is actually awake when he's doing this. I would stay near him for naptime and observe him without being seen, if possible (a video monitor would work). That way you'll be able to find out if he's pooping in his sleep and if the "painting" behavior is occurring while he's asleep or awake. If he's asleep it just seems out if it, you'll have the chance to stop him before it gets too bad and then have the parents address it with his doctor. If he's awake, then it's purely behavioral and needs to be handled firmly and quickly. Good luck!
