Stripping down in bed

My niece, who we got custody of in October, strips down naked every time she is in bed. If she poops, she throws it around the room and smears it all over herself. We have tried EVERYTHING that we can think of: duct taping her diaper, taping around the waitband of her pants, putting her one-piece jammies on backwards, but she can get out of everything. She just turned 2 this week. We are seriously at a loss. We have tried all reactions: getting upset, ignoring it, being extra loving, but nothing changes. She was taken from her parents by CPS because of serious neglect issues, so we wonder if she was just used to being left in a diaper all of the time and had to do this to get out of her mess. Has anyone else had this problem and found a good solution?

 

You've really tried a lot of things! So, I would turn to the pediatrician for help at this point! I think that the neglect certainly could have something to do with it.

:hug: I hope you find a good solution!!! I wish I had the magic answer. I think that she must have some issues with the neglect, so you really are going to need the help of the pedi.

 

QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Jan 23 2009, 09:12 PM) [snapback]1159367[/snapback]
You've really tried a lot of things! So, I would turn to the pediatrician for help at this point! I think that the neglect certainly could have something to do with it.

:hug: I hope you find a good solution!!! I wish I had the magic answer. I think that she must have some issues with the neglect, so you really are going to need the help of the pedi.


I asked the pedi about it yesterday, and all of the suggestions she gave us we have already tried. I just don't know what to do anymore.

 

Were the one piece pajamas snaps or zippers? We had stripping problems too, and I found that they could get out of the snap ones just by pulling them apart. They couldn't do the zippers though.
One of the posters on here had stripping issues and just went ahead and potty trained.

 

You had me thinking and I was wondering if you tried a one piece bathing suit under pj's .... just a thought

 

How about a sleep sack? Unless she's really tall or big for her age, she should fit into the Halo XL sleep sacks (my 21 month olds have tons of space in them). We put the sleep sacks on backwards and there's no way they can unzip; the zipper is almost as long as they are.

 

how is her verbal? Have you tried to talking to her? Jake and Becca also play a nightly game of naked bottom where they them jump up and down in the crib yelling "diapey" (or something). But for them it's a game, for your niece it's different.

Is there a child psychologist you can speak to? Are you or your niece receiving any counseling?

I would try doing the same thing each time and encourage her to call to you when she needs her diaper changed.

I think it's wonderful that you have taken her into your family.

 

DS likes to strip down also
only thing we have found that helps him stay dress is
footed zipper PJ's with a snap on top put on inside out than put on
a long sleeved shirt ontop.
not sure if that will work for you but works for us and worth a try
hope you figure it out soon

 

My kids were naptime strippers from 14 months until they were fully daytime potty trained. I can assure you there was no neglect involved. They learn a new skill (undressing) and want to practice it as much as possible. Being out of your eyesight provides a perfect opportunity. My boys would remove dry diapers and pee/poop in their cribs and they made lots of "art". They were also very skinny so could escape out the neck hole of almost anything. I'd come up with something and they'd outsmart it so I'd have to come up with something else. The only thing that kept them dressed was clever layers. A onesie, then overalls without a snap crotch, then a woven button-up shirt over the top buttoned all of the way up. In spite of this, there was one occasion when Trent reached up the pant leg to retrieve poop from his diaper and he painted away without a sound. Once they were PTed, I just had to be sure they went before nap (bribes were used) and they'd generally stay dressed.

 

QUOTE(debid @ Jan 23 2009, 05:35 PM) [snapback]1159637[/snapback]
My kids were naptime strippers from 14 months until they were fully daytime potty trained. I can assure you there was no neglect involved. They learn a new skill (undressing) and want to practice it as much as possible. Being out of your eyesight provides a perfect opportunity. My boys would remove dry diapers and pee/poop in their cribs and they made lots of "art". They were also very skinny so could escape out the neck hole of almost anything. I'd come up with something and they'd outsmart it so I'd have to come up with something else. The only thing that kept them dressed was clever layers. A onesie, then overalls without a snap crotch, then a woven button-up shirt over the top buttoned all of the way up. In spite of this, there was one occasion when Trent reached up the pant leg to retrieve poop from his diaper and he painted away without a sound. Once they were PTed, I just had to be sure they went before nap (bribes were used) and they'd generally stay dressed.

Debi - I hope you know that I would never imply that someone with this problem was neglecting their child!! :hug:

I was naive in my original response because I didn't have to go through that big of a problem with it and I can kinda see where a child with issue (such as neglect) might be very adamant about it!

I also would suggest some sort of counseling - even though she's very little, you just never know! :hug:

I think it's wonderful that you were able to take her in!! :wub:

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Jan 23 2009, 10:14 PM) [snapback]1159465[/snapback]
Were the one piece pajamas snaps or zippers? We had stripping problems too, and I found that they could get out of the snap ones just by pulling them apart. They couldn't do the zippers though.
One of the posters on here had stripping issues and just went ahead and potty trained.


We have the one-piece zipper jammies from Children's Place, but she has no problem unzipping those even when they are backwards.

QUOTE(twinkiez @ Jan 23 2009, 10:20 PM) [snapback]1159469[/snapback]
You had me thinking and I was wondering if you tried a one piece bathing suit under pj's .... just a thought


I never thought about that, but that is a great idea!

QUOTE(akameme @ Jan 23 2009, 10:44 PM) [snapback]1159500[/snapback]
how is her verbal? Have you tried to talking to her? Jake and Becca also play a nightly game of naked bottom where they them jump up and down in the crib yelling "diapey" (or something). But for them it's a game, for your niece it's different.

Is there a child psychologist you can speak to? Are you or your niece receiving any counseling?

I would try doing the same thing each time and encourage her to call to you when she needs her diaper changed.

I think it's wonderful that you have taken her into your family.


She undertands a lot of what we say, but I'm not sure that she gets right & wrong yet. I am going to call CPS next week and see if we can get some counseling for her. I'm there that they will be able to help her with a lot of her issues.

Thank you so much for all of your replies. We will just keep on working with her. I have tried to PT, but I really don't think that she is ready.

 

QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Jan 23 2009, 07:08 PM) [snapback]1159682[/snapback]
Debi - I hope you know that I would never imply that someone with this problem was neglecting their child!! :hug:

I was naive in my original response because I didn't have to go through that big of a problem with it and I can kinda see where a child with issue (such as neglect) might be very adamant about it!

I also would suggest some sort of counseling - even though she's very little, you just never know! :hug:

I think it's wonderful that you were able to take her in!! :wub:


Diane, I know you meant nothing by it. I just wanted to point out that stripping is actually quite common at her age and even a case like ours can be nothing more than a new skill learned taken to outrageous extremes by determined toddlers. I haven't dealt with children from abuse/neglect backgrounds so I can't say what their behaviors might be but this particular behavior doesn't sound odd at all to me.

 

I don't know about the emotional aspects, but both of my boys went through a stage like that at about that age. I think it lasted for about 6 months, which seemed like eternity. We tried everything too, and nothing worked. We ended up using packing tape all the way around the tops of their diapers to at least keep those on, and eventually they learned to get that off too! They at least had their poop parties after they woke up from their naps, so if we got in there right away when they woke up we could at least catch them trying to take their diapers off. That was honestly the hardest phase we've had to go through with them so far. I thought I was going to lose my mind...and one day they just STOPPED. I would never have believed it, but they did

 

One of our girls went through the same stage shortly after turning two. Even have a picture of one sleeping in the buff when we went to check on her on our own way to bed. Laughed hysterically at that discovery! Of course after a while, it was less funny and more frustrating. We tried the things you've tried... putting diapers on backwards, duct taping diapers to the pants, onesies (she climbed right out the neck!), cloth diapers pinned over the regular one, you name it. Like a PP, NO risk of neglect/abuse in this case. Just a little girl who liked taking her clothes off. Drove us crazy for about 3 weeks, until my dad (a family physician) finally said, "What's the harm in just letting her sleep naked if that's what she wants?" So, we put her to bed one night in just a diaper. She came out a few minutes later asking for PJ's, and that was the end of it. Once it was no longer a big deal/battle, she gave it up. And really, as long as they aren't cold, I realize there isn't much harm in it. And when my girls are cold, they say so. Good luck!

 

I love the bathing suit idea! I remember reading here a while back that one mom actually sewed her kids into their backwards sleepers! She'd zip and button them and then sew, a few times around with a strong thread, the zipper pull and even pull the neck a little tighter with it. It was an easy stitch so all she had to do in the morning was snip the end and pull it out. Not sure that helps, but wanted to mention it in case it might.

 

I also have a little stripper here! although she is 2.5. we told her that we would have to take her dresser out of her room. Because she wanted a fashion show, many outfit changes. Although she matchd very well clearly tis is a problem. So I am in the processof talking to her about keeping her clothes and diapers on. Were working on potty training. I'm just not comfortable leaving her bathroom door ulocked at night for obvious reasons....

I was thinking I was going to safetly pin her footie pjs zipper so she couldnt get it down if this issue doesnt resolve. I'm bummed to hear the duct tape didnt work. That was also in my plans Although she seems to be doing ok now.

I wonder in your case, if you should try the bathing suit and footie js and saftey pin??? mayb a sleep sack too...


Good luck! I think your wonderful for taking her in :clapping:

 

Let me know if the bathing suit idea helps ..I'm sure she will grow out of it soon... Best of Luck !

 

A friend of mine puts her LO in her pjs backwards with a safety pin on the zipper so it can't get pulled down. Might be worth a shot, although I'd be worried they'd somehow figure out the pin & then that'd be a hazard!

GL!

 

We went through this. Natty was terrible for getting out of almost everything. I ended up by some inexpensive footed blanket sleepers at Target. I think they were by Gerber. I cut the feet out, put them on backwards, saftey pinned the zipper to the sleeper and covered the pin in duct tape. I had to use a heavier safety pin than normal. It was a little bigger and thicker than a normal saftey pin. She couldn't pull it apart and it was too strong for her to open. Took alot to keep her diaper on her, but that was all we could do and for the most part it worked.
I did catch her getting her sister to try to undo it a few times.

 

If she's clever enough to pull the zipper down when it's backwards the saftey pin probably won't work either. Mine figured out the safety pins very easily. :huh: Hopefully it's just a stage. I bet the layers would work. By the time she gets to the last layer, she may be too tired to continue on. LOL

 

QUOTE(nurseandrea02 @ Jan 24 2009, 02:56 PM) [snapback]1160263[/snapback]
A friend of mine puts her LO in her pjs backwards with a safety pin on the zipper so it can't get pulled down. Might be worth a shot, although I'd be worried they'd somehow figure out the pin & then that'd be a hazard!

GL!


Yep, that's exactly what happens. She can get the safety pin off, and luckily she didn't get hurt.

 

you've gotten some great responses. I like the zippered jammies backwards with a bathing suit under or shirt on over it.

I hope it works. I really think you are doing a great thing by taking her. good for you to be wiling to take this on. :hug:

 

Both our girls, who are just past 2 LOVE to be "nakey.." That said, we are still fighting them to keep their diapers on. We've finally gone to putting thier diapers on backwards, tights, then footed jammies with zippers that we safety pin, and then duct tape over the pins. It works for the most part...Good Luck!!

 

Do you have a monitor in her room? I wondered if when you hear her stiring about you could go in hug her and re-dress her and tell her to go back to sleep. Maybe if she is reassured she wont be left alone or someone will be there for her she will stop.
I really dont know if it is just a phase (it seems like a lot of others have kids that do it too) or if it is emotional-both seem reasonable.
After everything you have tried I would just line her bed with lots of towels and check on her often. Sorry you are going through this. That little girl is lucky to have you! You are so kind, and sweet-what a great mom!

 

Well, my niece has now gone to SHREDDING her diapers just to get them off. Somehow she figures out a way to get out of everything we try. I am seriously considering just dropping her naps all together, and then I only have to deal with this once a day, in the morning.