# Playing with her belly button...



## sea island mama (Dec 17, 2001)

Dd has been driving me crazy lately. She wants to play with her belly button constantly







& will do things with one hand so she can keep the other one on it. She will also lift her shirt up almost over her head when she starts, which I'd rather she didn't do in public. Since she started this she hasn't been playing with her "yoni" much, but at least when she was doing that I could tell her to go to her room. I don't really have a reason for her not to do this other than it's getting a little rough - not quite scabby, but getting there. I tell her it will get sore, but she gets really upset sometimes when she doesn't want to stop. The main reason I don't want her to do it is that it _really_ bugs me







to see her twiddling all the time. I feel like I am constantly telling her to stop playing with it or to put her shirt down.
Am I making things worse by bugging her about it? It doesn't seem to make any difference if I say anything or not (except she'll stop for a couple of minutes when I ask her to). I think it's just become a habit that she enjoys. Is it reasonable to ask her to go to her room to do it?


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

Quote:

_Originally posted by mama2nicola_
*Is it reasonable to ask her to go to her room to do it?*
Sure i think that would be OK. You listed a couple of reason why this needs to stop. She is doing harm to her belly button and she may hurtherself because she is so focused on her button instead of where she is going or what she is doing. i wouldn't make it a forbidden behavior vut I thin k limiting where she can play will help.


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## Juliacat (May 8, 2002)

Oh, my gosh. I thought I was the only one on Earth....

When I was a kid, I always had a finger in my belly button. My parents tried not to make too big a deal out of it (though they sometimes did have to tell me to put my dress down). I gradually learned not to do it at school. But I'm 24 and still can't fall asleep unless I have a finger in my belly button, and I'm not sure I could have stayed away from it entirely as a kid.


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## grumo (Dec 12, 2001)

is it worse to you than say... thumb sucking or hair twirling or nail biting...

I think all those things serve a similar purpose.


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## dentente (Aug 14, 2002)

My kid does this in a sort of meditative manner. Not constantly but she does get a blissed out look to her face when she does. Me? I never got off on the belly-button thing. Can't see what she likes about it.

Denny


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## Mallory (Jan 2, 2002)

I have a brother in law that does this too! I have never slept with him







so I don't know what he does at night, but sometimes like if he is relaxed watching tv you will catch him with his fingers in his bellybutton.

Quote:

The main reason I don't want her to do it is that it really bugs me to see her twiddling all the time. I feel like I am constantly telling her to stop playing with it or to put her shirt down.Am I making things worse by bugging her about it?
Being a long time thumb sucker and hair twirler, I would imagine you are making it worse when you tell her to stop all of the time. I know I did it cause it made me feel better and if someone was telling me to stop it I felt bad or under watch and wanted to suck my thumb some more.

I would imagine this is not the first relatively harmless habit she is going to pick up that will go away the fastest if you just ignore it, or at least don't let her know it is so bothersome to you. And like juliacat said, I don't know how you could really stop her.


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## teachma (Dec 20, 2002)

Be glad she's playing with HERS! My son likes to play with mine, and after a while, it hurts!


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## cameronsmom (Nov 20, 2002)

OMG!!! I thought my neice was the only one who did this. She is almost 7 now and ever since she was born she has played with her belly button. That's how we could tell she was tired, hungry, etc. she would have one hand in her mouth and the other playing with her B Button. One day while driving with her in the backseat of my car, she starts screaming "I can't find it!!" at the top of her lungs. I couldn't figure out what she was talking about and finally pulled over the car. It took me a minute to realize that she had overalls on and could not get to her B-button. Very traumatizing for her I guess. But then again this is the same child who was afraid of the color red for a while. Red lights, red applesauce, ketchup, you name it. Did I mention that she ain't quite right sometimes??


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## sea island mama (Dec 17, 2001)

Thanks for the responses.

Quote:

_Originally posted by grumo_
*is it worse to you than say... thumb sucking or hair twirling or nail biting...
*
I don't think so, but it's hard to say. I know I had some habits as a child that I would find really annoying if dd did them. I still bite the skin around my fingernails & if anyone asked me to stop, I think I would have trouble remembering not to do it around them.
Anyway, I will try not to make a big deal about it (& remind dh not to yell at her when she lifts her shirt) & hope it's a passing phase.
Now if I can just drag her away from the TV







, but that's another story.


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