OP smacking his hand will make matters worse, and is a great way to get fired.

I too was going to suggest changing his diaper standing up. It sounds like it time to ditch the diapers and start potty training.

I will ask the toddler I nanny where is your nose? And proceed from there.
Give a diaper changing toy only.
I also have the toddler clap hands or sing if you are happy and know it
Hope it gets better

Anonymous wrote:You turned this into a power struggle. Is this the first kid to ever dothis for you? Talk to him in a happy voice, give him a toy and use your left hand to hold his legs against his chest while your right hand removes the diaper from reach, then wipes. Put new diaper on and brightly say, "All done!" Why you are getting emotional is beyond me. Firmly telling a young toddler "No" never stopped any kid. Place thetemptation beyond reach and move on. Egads!

I hear what you're saying but I can't physically keep it out of arm's reach from him while simultaneously getting him clean. No it isn't the first but it's the first kid who isn't distracted by toys or songs or even a special snack. As I said in my OP I give him special toys, we have special changing songs (which include hand motions to keep him occupied), and of course I narrate cheerfully or tell him a silly story - just isn't working with him.

I'll try the pants on the face game tomorrow and see how that goes!

You turned this into a power struggle. Is this the first kid to ever dothis for you? Talk to him in a happy voice, give him a toy and use your left hand to hold his legs against his chest while your right hand removes the diaper from reach, then wipes. Put new diaper on and brightly say, "All done!" Why you are getting emotional is beyond me. Firmly telling a young toddler "No" never stopped any kid. Place thetemptation beyond reach and move on. Egads!

Anonymous wrote:Change standing up. This is normal. They don't like to sit still at this age.

Somehow I can't imagine changing a poop diaper with the child standing up.

Change standing up. This is normal. They don't like to sit still at this age.

I have a squirmer and what works well for me is tossing his pant on his face and pretending I've lost him. He will play along and keep his face hidden, peeking out at me. Once the diaper change is over, I very dramatically find him. He loves it!

Give him a pieco of scotch tape and work fast?

Do you give him something interesting to hold? That can distract him. My charge has a specific toy he only gets during diaper changes. That helps a lot.

Anonymous wrote:Ask to watch her change a poop diaper.

Yeah, I'd want to see her to.

Ask to watch her change a poop diaper.

Anonymous wrote:Can you find out how his parents are handling it?

MB said she hasn't noticed him doing it (that's part of the reason I think it's my reaction that keeps him at it)

Can you find out how his parents are handling it?

My 20mo charge is wonderful, sweet, obedient, and bright and the only time I have trouble with him is at diaper changes. If he has a wet diaper, it's fine, he's happy to sing songs or look at a toy while I change him, but if it's a poopy diaper he wants to grab the poop. A lot. To the point that I have to physically hold down his arms and legs until he gets so angry and upset he forgets what he wants to do and I can quickly change him. It's miserable for him and for me.

I suspect that he does it 1) because kids this age have a fascination with poop but more because 2) it gets a rise out of me. Not that I'm yelling or anything, but clearly I am visibly frustrated and using my very firm voice that I normally only break out for things like touching power outlets or standing up in the bathtub. Even though when I say "no" and he shakes his head and repeats "no no no" (which normally also leads to him not doing whatever it is we're talking about), he still tries over and over and over to grab it. Diaper changes can last 10-15 minutes this way.

This has been going on for 4-6 months, although some weeks are worse than others, and I honestly thought he'd have grown out of it by now. I just don't know how to not respond (because that would mean poop gets flung everywhere, probably including in his mouth), so I have to give him some kind of reaction and he clearly just delights in it. I've gotten special toys for him that I break out only at diaper changes, trying to distract him, but he throws them on the floor and tries to grab his poop with both hands. Obviously I'm not going to do this but today as I was holding him down trying to wait out his flailing, I found myself wondering whether a little smack on the back of the hand would help - ACK! I am not that kind of nanny (or person) and would never hit someone else's child (or my own), and the fact that my brain even went there means I am at the end of my desperate rope.

Someone, anyone, please tell me how you got past this stage?!