12 year old boy smearing poop

My 12 year old son, has been (not very well) trying to hide smeared poop on our furniture...I guess wherever he is sitting at the time he is touching it.  I can 't get an answer from him, of whether it is just from not wiping well or not.  It seems to be more than just a bad wiping job.  My son definitely has some defiant issues with authority.  He tests every boundary that there is.  We had to throw away an entire set of furniture because of this.  HE said he would stop and after he was apologetic, I let it go.  Guess what my other children found on the new couch??  He is a social and functioning in every other realm, completely, "normal" ---I don't like using that phrase.  He does however feel self conscious right now about some tummy weight he has gained lately....He is definitely going through puberty.  I asked him some questions to understand if it was an arousal issue with the touching or not?  In my heart I feel like it may be a curiousness about his body changing.  We talk about it in our family though, so it isn't like he is figuring everything out for himself by any means.  He also has an older brother to talk to.  I don't want to make a bigger deal of it than it is, but I don't want to stick my head in the sand either....  Please guide me  in a direction?


This discussion is related to 13 year old's abnormal behavior.

[Anne101]

Hi,
Did you ever get an answer to this?  I just got on this site tonight after finding smeared feces again.  My son just turned 13.  He is also defiant about authority. He was bullied last year and has some self esteem issues too.  We are a close and loving family and he has so much support.  We have been finding evidence of the smearing for a few weeks now.  After finding it on our basement couch this evening, my husband was ready to check him in somewhere.  I don't know what to make of it, but I feel like you...don't want to make a bigger deal of it than it is, but I don't want to put my head in the sand.

Has this phase with your son ended?  Did you ever get an idea of whether this is a huge mental illness issue or not?  I'll appreciate any thoughts.

Thank you,
Anne

[grapevine_on_the_river]

I can highly relate.  I am not sure of where to go with why it isn't bothersome to the child.  Mine has done it out of vengence.  It bothers me a lot.  I try to documant everything with photos when she is not looking and not make a big deal about it.  I also make her clean it up.  It can be done for a reaction.  Many of they counselors I have been to downplay it.  So I am trying to take it as either  a medical problem or a manipulation tool.
She also gets very constipated on a regular basis(refusing to drink).  When a child gets constipated, their stomach can protrude.  They can pass watery stools(thus the accidents on furniture and in clothes), but not pass the large compacted stool.  You might want to look into a pediatric GI spcialist.  

I hope this helps.

[chattyoops]

My Foster son also smears and plays with his poop like play doh. I have been dealing with this for sometime now and what I have found is the issue keeps coming back to sexually and phyiscal abuse towards the child sometime in their life. Therapy hasn't helped and neither did medication. Everything I have read helps me understand it better, but doesn't help me deal with it any better.... I found consequence and reward system does make him smear less often.

[margypops]

Heres yet another old thread being dragged up ....

[tracy162007]

My son is 4 years old and is also smearing poop on the furniture and was fully potty trained at one time. He also has regressional behavior. And is mainly Towards his dad but i have also seen it. Has went back to acting like a baby i was tod this is a sign of abuse so im taking him in to be tested hope this helps some of you.

[bumsy]

Often the poop of 12 year old boys is best when they get straight A's. Is he a very bright boy? He might just be trying to express his genius potential. You see, the brain smarts releases a gas into the lower intestine causing the boy to fart alot if he is a straight A student. The poop excess may cause the particularly bright boy to smear on nearby walls an jons as a desperate resort.

[teach501]

This is a serious topic.  You are an idiot.

[andib96]

I see alot of similar stories here but no real answers on what to do about it.  Anyone found any help out there?

[cathy197373]

i have just found poo all over my 10yr old sons room under the rugs behind wardrobes and book cases im beside myself ... hes a bright boy and very advanced with his computers and games my husband thinks it is down to him being lazy but the places he hides it would take longer to get to and more hastle than just going to bathroom and washing hes what you would have called a strange boffin when i was at school interested in weird stuff you would not expect from a 10yr old ive asked him why and he replys hes does not know ive made him clean it up and tried to stay calm and reassure him of our love for him im not sure what else to do please help

[Barbara1012]

I had a 16 year old female client with this issue. She is also very bright and has a loving family.  It is a complicated issue. It takes the right pediatrician working in conjunction with the right therapist. This behavior is often associated with a form of encopresis. Having them properly diagnosed is good. Even though there are medical aspects to encopresis, it is consideded a mental/emotional disorder. A lot of these kids have oppositional defiant disorder. But it can be specific to just this behavior, if you run a typical ODD test, it may come back inconclusive. It takes a good therapist/neuropsych to identify it. There may also be surrounding factors such as ADD, or anxiety disorders. Once all issues are identified, a plan can be worked up specific to your child. Most doctors will advise not to get angry. Stressors and triggers need to be identified and a behavior plan needs to be implemented sometimes in conjunction with medicaiton, but not neccessarily. Good luck and don't give up!