She Makes My Mind Boggle ...

[MsLaura529]

I have a DCG, 2.5 years old, who constantly needs to be rubbing her hands/legs/face with whatever she gets on them. It drives me bonkers. I don't mind kids getting dirty, that's what being a kid is about, but watching her do this stuff, just boggle my mind.

A couple examples: Eating mandarin oranges for lunch, very little bit of the juice on the plate from them, so I see her rubbing her hands together, and then rubbing her cheeks. I asked her if she's itchy. She said, "No Miss Laura, I got juice" and showed me her shiny sticky hands.

In the sandbox, they can sit on the edge of the sand, or on the sand. I just ask them not to put sand on arms or on top of their legs, because it gets too close to faces. I am constantly having to remind her to stop rubbing the sand all over her arms and legs.

Any meal time, it's not uncommon to hear from on of my other kids, "DCG, you have (insert food name) on your forehead/ear/hair/nose ...

Outside, she will pull at the grass that grows in between the cement on our driveway (driveway clean-up, so I'm not complaining about that part haha), and then she will rub those grass/weed chunks all over her arms and in her hair. I have had to stop her a couple times because we had a problem with ants this spring, and after she pulled out the grass/weed she would play with the dirt, and found herself in a couple small ant hills, getting ready to dig her fingers in (and the rub on her legs).

I am just at a loss on what to do with her. Yes, she can get dirty, but I am tired of the food ending up all over her, and having to give her reminders that we are not washing ourselves with the sand/grass/weed/dirt/tiny broken chalk pieces you found on the driveway.

I don't really know that I have a question with this ... I just needed to share.

[Heidi]

Sounds like she is just very sensory seeking. I don't know that I would have a problem with any of it except the food.

Could you possibly have the sandbox be an after-nap option so that they can get the full experience without coming back into the house afterwards? Getting sand all over you is a lot of the fun. That's what my sis does, because she doesn't want it in her nap mats...she opens her sandbox in the afternoon.

I'd also try to give her as many things that she can feel, touch, etc. as possible. She needs an acceptable outlet.


Sorry...I just saw you didn't necessarily want input.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

It sounds like she likes the sensory aspect of it.

[MsLaura529]

Sorry...I just saw you didn't necessarily want input.

Oh, don't worry. It's not that I didn't want input, I just didn't know what question to ask. I will take any input I can get. Just most of the time, I stand there, almost scratching my head, watching her.

She is very much all about sensory - even playing the fishing game I set up this morning, she spent most of the time, rubbing the yarn and magnet in between her fingers rather than doing the actual fishing. Once she did get a paper fish, she would rub it in her hands (and fold /crinkle it up) before putting it back.

We do the sand in the morning because of how our outside play spaces are set up right now ... and with how messy she gets in the sandbox, I would feel bad sending her off with her mom or dad into the car like that. I have the rule set in place about how to play with the sand, because we have a small sand box and too many faces leaning down towards it to bring the sand up any higher than they need to for digging.

[MsLaura529]

However, with all of this - she was my cleanest finger painter (used only 2 fingers) and freaks out when she gets the tiniest amount of glue on her fingers while doing a project.

And if she doesn't have anything to be rubbing on her, her hands/fingers go to her mouth and rub her lips up and down.

[Laurel]

Maybe you could teach her to clean herself afterwards giving her the message that it isn't so bad to feel it (except food) but she also has to clean it off. Maybe a little whisk broom for the sand to brush off her clothes and legs, some wipes or a wet wash cloth for dirt, and going to the sink to clean face and hands after lunch. I have a mirror attached at child level on the back of a door and often send the children there with a wipe to clean their faces.

Laurel

[SilverSabre25]

VERY sensory seeking. Probably nothing, but it sounds kind of intense.

Have you asked the parents what they think of this behavior?

[Lyss]

However, with all of this - she was my cleanest finger painter (used only 2 fingers) and freaks out when she gets the tiniest amount of glue on her fingers while doing a project.

And if she doesn't have anything to be rubbing on her, her hands/fingers go to her mouth and rub her lips up and down.

I totally have her sister!!! I have a DCG (almost 2) that also does this exact thing!! All day long she's rubbing everything she can all over her body. We just finished lunch a bit ago and she had mustard, ham, and bread rubbed all over her face and arms

This morning she was laying in the dirt, rubbing it all over her arms and legs but then later when I got out the paint she freaked out when she gots some on her finger! ::::

DCPs say she does it at home too, drives neat freak mom BONKERSx10! They keep a change of clothes in both cars and the diaper bag in case they want to go some where after DC and she's a mess (i'll change her if its bad, like looking as though she bathed in mud but mostly I don't) or she gets messy while they are out

[MsLaura529]

[QUOTE=SilverSabre25;376195]VERY sensory seeking. Probably nothing, but it sounds kind of intense.

Have you asked the parents what they think of this behavior?[/QUOTE]

I have casually mentioned something about it before, and their answer was, "Yeah, she loves getting messy". They don't seem to concerned when they show up and she has grass tangled all up in her hair