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-   -   Finger in butt? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=83221)

  • Apr 16, 2007, 11:09 AM
    whiteladybug2002
    Finger in butt?
    My son is 8 yrs old and has ADHD. He has always been fasinated with the "holes" in his body, such as ears and nose. It started when he was 2 with tissue up the nose and a two hour er visit to have it all removed. From then on it continued until about 4. I know that children do that with ears and nose holes, I am the oldest of 8 siblings, but it surprised me that he continued for about 2 yrs. I thought the ER visits would have scared him enough to stop. It all stopped at 4 yrs old and I was very thankful!

    Now he has found another "hole," the butt! How I found out about this, he doesn't do it in the open, is that he put his finger in our dogs butt to "wake it up". I know... GROSS? I talked to him about it and told him never to do that again. Then he turned and asked me if he could still do it to himself??

    IS THIS NORMAL??

    My son already sees a therapist, which has never mentioned him talking about this, and I know my son has not been molested in any way, so why is he doing this?
  • Apr 16, 2007, 11:15 AM
    Matt3046
    I am at a loss for words. Your poor dog. But it really isn't something that's that big a deal, let the therapist talk to him about it. And make sure he washes his hands.
  • Apr 16, 2007, 11:20 AM
    whiteladybug2002
    OH yeah! You better bet he will be washing his hands A lot!
  • Apr 16, 2007, 02:33 PM
    NowWhat
    I have absolutely nothing to add here. Other than, OH MY GOSH! And thank you for giving me a very funny visual. (of your kid and dog)
    I agree with Matt.
    If he already sees a therapist - just ask him/her about it and then go from there.
  • Apr 17, 2007, 11:35 AM
    isabelle
    This is not normal behavior, except maybe for the first time.
    When my oldest son was about 5 years old I found him trying to put a stick up the cats butt. When I asked him what he was doing... he said he was taking her temperature. I guess he had seem the veterinarian do this. He never repeated this action.
    However since your child is older and has repeated this action, I would talk to his therapist and leave it up to the doctor.
    As for children being scared to go to E.R. to have things removed from the ears and nose, it is repeated for quite a few times. Sometimes I wonder if the negative attention was better than no attention. However I have no real idea of why they do this.
    I do not think his ADHD has anything to do with this behavior, but I could be wrong. Your therapist is your best source for this question.
  • Apr 17, 2007, 12:05 PM
    whiteladybug2002
    I would like to add one more thing here.

    I had a long talk with my son about this. He told me that he does this because he is bored and sometimes to punish himself for not doing what he suppose to do. So he is self punishing. That isn't good, is it?

    Plus my son is the baby and the only boy, so he gets more than enough attention on that note itself. Could he still feel that we are not giving him enough attention? Or could we be giving him the wrong attention? Or is this the kind of attention he wants?
  • Apr 17, 2007, 12:51 PM
    isabelle
    I know we have kind of made light of your post and I am sorry. What your child is doing is very serious. He may decide to put something dangerous there. A glass bottle etc.
    I have seen this type of behavior in adults and it is not normal. Whatever the reason, he is doing it, you need to make a point to talk to his therapist, before it escalates to some more dangerous than a finger.
    I don't think you can even begin to solve this problem by yourself or from advice on a board. This could be serious. I just don't know. I would be very worried if this were my child.
    Good luck and let me know how it goes.
  • May 18, 2007, 08:44 AM
    boutier2002
    Cures hiccups

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