Toilet Training Time! When my son was 2 he was also doing this and I tried everything and in the end Toilet Training him worked! He was quick too and picked it up in less than a week!!

totally frustrating.  at this age though, any behavior you react strongly too will get you more of the same.  i would follow the advice of putting him in a onesie with snaps so that it's harder to get in his diaper.  also, he might have a developmental need to explore textures with his hands, so maybe some child-safe playdoh is in order, too.  also, water play at this age is so popular.  that would occupy him positively as well!  good luck.

Hi honey,

I know EXACTLY how you feel . . My 22 month old daughter is doing exactly the same thing!! . . I have found a simple way to stop her though. I put her back into bodysuits!!!

Problem solved - for now at least . . .

Cheers Kellz

OMG!  We have just managed to get our 2 year old out of this habit! lol. I'm going to put a link to a helium.com article my partner wrote about boys and their genital obsession under the question, for those with girls, it applies too, just add 'girl' instead of 'boy'.

Actually, we did everything to stop our daughter from 'digging for gold' as my partner puts it, and nothing worked.  It drove us nuts for about a year, but, one day, she just stopped.  We keep expecting her to start again, but when she has a dirty nappy, she tells us and we change it. Our floors, walls, furniture and their toys were the targets, and I can tell you now, there are patches of floor, wall and furniture that are super clean.

Realistically, you like us are just going to have to ride it out.  He will stop it when he is ready, and it might be time to start toilet training which could provide a distraction.  We are going to start with our daughter in the next few weeks!

I sooooo know what you are going through, and just hope that your hair is still in place, because I am sure my partner and I have torn just about all of ours out in frustration.

Hi,

I wouldn't assume he is being intentionally naughty.  He's just discovered something new. A bit like when babies discover their toes.  But not as cute.  lol

You could try a baby grobag.  They are quite expensive but it would be extremely difficult for little hands to get into the nappy.

Can you put him down for a nap earlier or later?  That way he won't be alone when the nappy fills.  If you can't change his nap time, try checking on him every five minutes towards the end of nap time so that you can get him up the moment he stirs.  I did that with a little girl at the daycare and it worked really well. 

Another idea would be to  play playdough and fingerpainting with him during the day and chat about what's okay to play with and what's not.

Good luck.