03.24.09
1

The other day, our nanny (“Bee-Bee”), proudly exclaimed that Baby-Ko has been mimicking her. She told me that when she went to change his diaper, it was stinky and she said “Ooof,” and he copied her and said “oof!” She thought it was hilarious and I guess created a little game and while making a “pee-eww!” face says, “Baby-Ko, do you have poo-poo?” He then says, “Nooo. Ooof!” She  proudly showed me their little poo-poo shtick game and I laughed.  Funny (smart) kid, I thought.  Poo-poo is “ooof.”

But the next day, when I saw he was sort of struggling while making poops, I said, “Baby-Ko are you making-” and he, almost defensively, answered, “NO!” 
He seemed to be in pain. “Ooof?” I said, trying to lighten things up. 
“NO,” he said sadly and walked away.  Did I shame him???
Suddenly I remembered hearing that you’re not supposed to embarrass or call attention to your toddler’s poop or smell. “It will make them feel bad and make them not want to go.” I have no idea where I heard it, but I can only assume it dates back to one of Wacky’s lectures or a play date with a PREPMM (Perfect Read Every Parenting Manual Mommy).  But maybe this time, those nutty broads are right… Maybe “ooof” makes him feel bad. Maybe he likes his poop and wants to go freely.
I told my mom my theory and asked her if she thought I should say something to Bee-Bee — tell her that I would prefer not to “tease” Baby-Ko about pooping. “I don’t want him to have poop shame,” I said. “He should poop without any judgement…” As I was saying this ridiculously “West side” mommy thing, I started to laugh right along with my mom.
“Nahh. Don’t say anything. He’ll be fine. He’ll still poop… ‘Ooof’ or not… He’ll go. Believe me,” she said.
“He won’t feel bad? Ashamed?”
“J-Ko, have you known any man in our family (or in the world?!) to feel shame about pooping?”
POINT TAKEN.
But just out of curiosity and because my OCD is raging tonight, does annnnnnnnnyone think ooofing at his pooping may cause a little poop drama down the road? Or is Wacky’s word, once again, a load of crap? Literally…
FILED UNDER: A Little Life
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  1. Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
    LOL - we ooof and pee-ewww all the time over here with a little giggle to go with it. The kids laugh about it too! Its all in fun and the kids know it. He was probably upset when you said it, because he was having a hard time "going" - maybe he was a little constipated and it hurt? If it wasn't a constipation issue...I am curious as to his age? If he's around 2, he could be getting ready to potty train. When kids are ready for potty training they tend to feel embarassed when they go poops, they tend to hide, or don't like to know that someone is aware that they are "going". That is usually a sign that they are ready for the potty. :) Just my 2 cents.