I am at the end of my rope. My dd has formed a habit of pulling at her underwear from the back constantly. I have bought her many different types and sizes. Tonight in dance class I watched her pick her butt every time she moved. My mom thinks it is a nervous habit. I don't know why she does it. I've even had her bend over and stand up and watch to see if her underwear goes up her butt and it rarely does. Any suggestions what this could be or how to handle it? It now has come to the point that its embarrassing to take her out in public. I've tried to google this and I really can't find any articles.
I see the comments about dryness and irritation, but I have asked her questions about feeling bothered down there, etc. I don't think that's it. I think it's more of a nervous or anxiety tick. Anyone else have this happen before?
Does she have anxiety? Anxious kids feel things more and seem to be a bit more sensitive to things like underwear. If she is in ballet she should be commando in the tights and maybe have her try commando with her other clothes. If she wears a skirt get the boy shorts to go under it.
This is what I do with my undie sensitive girl
It's possible that she's not wiping properly or maybe even too much which could be drying out the skin between her buttocks. You might put some cream (like Desitin) there to remoisturize which might help if she is itchy.
Does she have a different issue outside of undies? Could it be some type of worm problem?
This could be something psychological.... i am not sure. Are you very stern each time she does it? I know this sounds mean, but can you tell her that it is embarrasing? Maybe she needs to feel uncomfortable about doing it.
Have you looked down there for redness?
My nephew, who was older, was constantly grabbing at his crotch during baseball. It was a habit, and he didn't even realize how much he was doing it. My brother videotaped a game, and my nephew was then able to see how much he did it, and he became conscious of it, and stopped. I know when kids are younger they don't have the feeling of embarrassment, so I'm not sure how this tactic would work on a 6-year-old, but maybe if it's something she doesn't even realize she's doing often, it would at least bring it more to her attention.
Don't have her wear underwear under a leo if that is what you are doing. It is very very very uncomfortable. It is also embarrassing to the little ones when their underwear start showing around the leg holes. Plus the stretch of the leo will pull the undies right into her crack.
My thoughts about the whole thing is her hiney is not clean. Think to a time when you had an upset tummy and didn't get every drop. It was itchy and burning a bit after just a little while. Have her use wipes before changing to make sure the area is clean. Plus the wipes could have something in them that she is sensitive to. I can't use the unscented Walmart brand ones. There is just something in them that burns my skin.
You should check to see if she has pin worms. That causes itching. Talk to your ped about it. There is a medicine to take for that, and you need to wash linens - the doctor can explain.
I would agree with not putting underwear on her while you figure this out. And I would start giving her a hard consequence for doing this when you have determined that there is no physical reason for doing it. No matter whether it's a nervous thing or a habit or a tick, she just can't be allowed to continue to do it.
Sorry,
Dawn
We dealt with this with our son. I think it was a nervous habit. We told him it made him look funny when he did it and would show him how embarassing it looked. Eventually he stopped but moved on to some other habit or "tick" He always has something that he does, bite finger nails, roll his eyes, funny mouth gestures, etc. It just seems to go in spurts and then will move on to something else. Good luck!
