3 year old takes off all clothes when going to the bathroom

[Katie Shell]

My 3 year old has to take all of his clothes off  to poop. It's not such a big deal at home other then the hassle of helping him get his clothes back on but he does it at school too. Luckily he is only in a half day 3 days a week so it doesn't happen often, he tends to poop in the afternoon. We've tried to talk to him about it but he strongly protests. Even getting him to keep his shirt on would be helpful. Keeping his pants on will be a bit more complicated, he climbs on to the potty and straddles it rather then sitting back onto it. He can stand up to pee so that isnt a problem.

[SoulJourney]

Ha! Sorry mama...while I have no words of wisdom I had to comment b/c it's so cute and funny. I have actually known several other kids who did the same thing and they all grew out of it eventually. Good luck!

[chaimom]

LOL!  I have twin boys and they did that, too!  No amount of conversation from me changed their minds.  They finally stopped doing it in preschool when their teacher said, "Absolutely not.  Your clothes stay on."  They just shrugged, said OK, and moved on!

[Tjej]

My kids both did/do that.  They fear getting poop on their shirt.  I try to explain it won't happen, but they like it better that way.  I think with my oldest it ended when she started going to the bathroom totally independently, and she didn't want to be putting all her clothes on by herself all the time. :)

Tjej

[Imagining]

Mine still does that and he's 4.5!  He doesn't want to get poop on his clothes and seems to want to watch the progress uninhibited.  Oftentimes even the socks come off...  I don't worry about it, especially given that he takes them all off and puts them all on himself again.  It's actually one of those quirky and amusing kid things that I think I'll miss in some weird way when he starts going to the bathroom "normally".  

[Ellen Griswold]

Really common it seems!  Ds is nearly 8 and would still prefer to take the socks off at home! Stopped doing the shirt at......5-ish, I think. 

[mamalisa]

Really common.  My mil even told me my dh used to do it as a kid.  Ds used to prefer to poop naked, but grew out of it about 1st grade.  He never stripped down at school though!

[mistymama]

My 8 year old still does that sometimes!!! I sent dh to find him one time in a restaurant bathroom and he found him naked in the stall, singing. haha I honestly don't think there is much you can do, and as they get older they will be less likely to do it at school and in public.

[Cascadian]

haha my 5 yr old does this too. I think she feels too...restricted otherwise :)

[~NewMa~]

My 3 year old just stopped doing that. His first instinct is to take his pants and underpants completely off but he just stopped taking his shirt off too.

I asked him why he was having to take his shirt off too and he said he was afraid he was going to get poop on his clothes. I taught him how to tuck his shirt up under his arms when he's on the pot and now he keeps the shirt on :)

Good luck! :)

[Katie Shell]

Thanks!  Luckily the teachers at school are pretty understanding. Maybe I should focus on helping him learn to get himself redressed instead of on trying to get him to not take off all of his clothes at school.

[DaughterOfKali]

My son is 8 and still does that (only for number 2.)   I keep imagining a grown man doing that at work. 

[mags.bubble]

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali 

My son is 8 and still does that (only for number 2.)   I keep imagining a grown man doing that at work. 

LOL!

Mine too. He's 7. Even needs to take off his glasses...whatever makes him comfortable. I

[muslimahmama]

My 3 year old boy does this, too. Only for #2 and when we're out and about, he sits down to pee, removing all his clothes to do it. But he can't stand and pee if the toilet is too tall. So if we go anywhere and he has to pee, it is at least a 10 minute process!

[meemee]

my uncle's in his 70s still does this. of course at home. 

my friends son changed his time so he could go unrestricted at home.

dd hates the bathrooms at school and never uses it while at school. they are NOT gross as she says. she has used the bathroom rare times in 1st grade. 

[les_oiseau]

My ds did that when he was 3 too! It was such a pain in the winter months because he would take everything off, including socks, shoes, shirt, sweater, etc! Luckily though he sat on the potty and yelled "done!!!" when he needed me to come wipe for him, so I never had a naked poopy 3 yo walking through anyones house, lol! And if I ever thought he was going to do something like that I just sat in there with him or kept really close to the door. It never was a huge deal and nothing to be embarassed about if he did come out naked. It's a 3yo kind of thing to do

[Tizzy]

My 4.5yr old does this, even the socks.  I'm glad to hear there are so many other children that do it because the only person I know of is George Costanza... lol!

Funnily enough my 3yr old does not.   It does have everything to do with not wanting to get poop on his clothes.

Now his latest thing is to come running to wherever I am (regardless of who else may be in the house), bending over and asking "Does my bum look clean??"   He is VERY good about wiping properly so I don't quite understand this phase. And it's embarrasing for me when there's company, but otherwise I will try not to worry :)

[mistymama]

Happy to hear there are other older children that do this. Ds is an Aspie and I sometimes don't know what is sensory related vs. just kinda quirky/normal behavior. :)

[earthworm]

My husband still does this!

[MomtoDandJ]

I also don't have any advice, except to say I've known a few kids who did this and they all grew out of it.  Eventually he'll realize what a pain it is to dress and undress each time! :)