Fake Poop

My 1 year old son L has passed the scheming stage of his development. He has new reasoning skills that allow him to communicate what he wants and to see what kind of results occur. Then he will continue to adjust until he achieves the desired results. He’s like a little scientist carrying out experiments.

There was a period of a few days where he did not want to go to his room to read for the night. He wants to play and would make up all kinds of excuses by saying he was hungry, thirsty, or not done playing with something. Most nights, I would still make sure he had what he needs. I fed him yogurt, bread, cheese, and anything he would ask for just to be sure he didn’t wake up hungry. Then he would ask for milk. I gave him milk and would march him upstairs. Then he said he wanted water. This went on and on.

Eventually I caught on to his little tricks and made sure we didn’t keep pushing back bedtime. I took him into the room one night and about halfway through reading, L said he pooped. Now when he says he pooped, he usually is right. I definitely don’t want to leave him in a poopy diaper overnight, so I decided to check.

I undid his sleep sack, took him out of it, then pulled back his pants and diaper to check. It was a fake poop and he said that to extend his reading time! I said he didn’t poop and he gave me a small giggle. I kept reading and eventually put him down. This is something I’ll always check for, especially if he tells me he pooped, but I’ll let the little scientist figure that one out himself!