Concerned for my 4 yr old daughter and continued behaviour.

by Dan Brand
(Brisbane, Australia)

I am concerned for my 4 year old Daughter. I have spoken to her paediatrician about these issues and he does not seemed concerned but they are continuing and I don’t know what to do.




She ALWAYS walks/runs/ stands on her tip toes, I have been attempting to correct this with constant reminder after the doctor stated it is behavioural, but no improvement. She tries for a step or two than straight back again.

She is so naughty, I also have an older boy and 2 year old twins who are better behaved and know right from wrong but she does not seem to get it and can’t understand what she does wrong ...ALL THE TIME. Some things are just age related but other things are very strange.

Although she has been toilet trained for well over a year ,She was not wiping her bottom properly and often wetting her pants, she has now progressed to pooing herself and does not care that she has done so, just keeps playing until someone notices and cleans it up. She takes her pants off to do so then get’s dressed again. When I ask her why she says that her heart and head told her not to go to the toilet???

She has not no problem being around other kids but just plays on her own, she seems to be off in her own little world all the time. I don’t know what to do.



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Dec 02, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Accidents in Pants
by: Kim

Hi there,

I just wanted to share with you that my 4 year old daughter was also having a lot of accidents in her pants both pee and poo.

We finally found out that the pee was due to scented soap/bubble bath and laundry detergent and the poo incidents were because she was constipated probably from dairy. She was having a bowel movement daily on the toilet but still was having accidents in her pants. Turns out she had xrays done and her bowels were completely backed up to her chest! Her "accidents" were actually what they call "anal leakage" you can look that up on the web. Another thing that comes to mind is that it could be Encopresis?

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/encopresis.html

Good luck and in my honest opinion kids don't do this on purpose, who would want to sit in poo all day?

Take care
kim :)
Oct 04, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Tourette Syndrome
by: Anonymous

She may have full blown Tourette Syndrome. Sensory processing disorders are part of Tourette's but there is more to the illness than that. It includes bizarre repetitive movements and vocalizations the person is compelled to perform (but can with will stop them from happening for short periods of time. The stereotype of the person who swears uncontrollably is just one type of the disorder, there are many others. Also, obsessive compulsive behaviors are often a part of it. Please, for your sake and especially for hers investigate this possibility. Just understanding why she's doing what she's doing and that she can't help it is a great help.
Oct 03, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Hang in there
by: Anonymous

My daughter is 4 and has been diagnosed with mild sensory processing disorder. I feel your pain. We have some issues with not wiping properly as well.

My daughter seems to be responding to loss of "privileges". In our house, this means she ALWAYS has a base line of care: food, water, help in the bathroom, hugs, love, reading books. Then there are "extras" TV, sweets.

When she acts out, We give her warnings. When we give the warnings we make sure we have eye contact with her. A warning would be "If you keep this up, there will be no Scooby Doo" (her favorite show). Once the Scooby is gone for the day, the warning becomes "you already lost Scooby privileges, do you want to loose TV for the night as well?" Once TV is gone, then the privilege is sweets for 3 days (she doesn't get a lot of sweets, so it has to be for an extended period of time or it doesn't impact her My daughter will sometimes tell us that she tries, but her body spits out the good.

Also, try to take note of her clothing and hair on bad days. My daughter's behavior seems tied into her hair being messy and in her eyes, If it's messy and in her eyes she will fight to keep it there, but if you manage to get it fixed and out of her face her behavior improves.
Oct 03, 2011
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		I know what you mean!
by: Anonymous

Hey there - I'm sorry to read about your daughter as its hard when you have other kids, and yet so much of your parenting time is spent trying to help your 4 year old along. My daughter is about 70% of my parenting and my son gets the other 30% - its hard work trying to keep these more difficult situations in check.

My first suggestion would be to find a better pediatrician. We shopped around and found a brilliant one who has led us in the right direction. So keep trying, as they're the lynch pin. Your pediatrician should be able to lead you to the right professional care for your daughter. We saw a psychologist who was experienced in working with kids on the autism spectrum and the work she's done has cut our daughters' meltdowns back considerably, both in number and duration. It's as simple as getting her to understand a red and green choice and how each of those choices make her and others feel. We have done loads of scenario drawings to help her synthesize the ideas. Likewise with toilet training - it took a long time. Be patient - it'll turn around. All the best.

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