“This may only be a case of ‘curiosity,’ just as his stepson says,” said Jesse Bering, PhD, a research psychologist and science writer who regularly contributes to Slate, Scientific American and other publications. Is your stepson a diaper perv? Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. I believe we have a fetish growing here, and I don’t think a parent needs to be involved in it, but he’s stinking up the joint. I may be more grossed out by the prospect of piles of dirty diapers hidden somewhere in the house, but the thought of purposely peeing your pants isn’t pleasant either. We are pretty grossed out by it, despite being pretty open-minded people. We’ve told him he has to stop stealing diapers – from our neighbour, because stealing is wrong, and from us, because these things are flippin’ expensive. (He says “curiosity,” but this has been going on so long that he knows what it feels like.) He has even stolen some of the neighbour girl’s Baby Alive doll diapers to wear and soil. After discussions with him, I’m certain that wearing them is a pleasure thing for him.
I’ve found them after he hides them in his closet, which also serves as a general storage area. I recently discovered that my 14-year-old stepson, who lives with us full-time, has been stealing, wearing, soiling and hiding his toddler sister’s pull-ups.
