Victimized as a child, adult man regresses into infantilism

[Thomas Veil]

Okay, it'd be really easy to get flippant about this, but read on and find out how this guy got the way he is.

The 'adult baby': Man who wears diapers, sleeps in a crib and is bottle-fed... at 30

Like any other baby, Stanley sleeps in a crib, wears diapers, and loves nothing better than being comforted by his mother as she bottle feeds him.

Except Stanley Thornton is 30-years-old - and his 'mother' is really his room-mate.

Mr Thornton seeks comfort in being treated like a baby, a condition known as paraphilic infantilism.

The 'adult baby' lives out his fantasies at his California apartment, where he has built himself a giant crib, play pen and even a man-sized high chair.

He spends his days playing with Lego as he sucks on his pacifier, and being spoon or bottle-fed by his room-mate Sandra Diaz, who willingly acts as his mother....

He said: 'For some people being an adult baby is a sexual fetish for them, but for most of us it's just, you know, you're doing it to relax, you come home from work, you change into baby mode, you put away your adult stuff and everything goes on hold.'

He first began his return to childhood when he was 14, as a way of coping when he started wetting the bed after being abused as a boy...

He said: 'I like it, it's very comfortable, it's easy to get into the baby feel while you're in it. There's nothing else like it, waking up in a crib as opposed to a bed.

'Sleeping in a crib, you wake up as a child and you go on from there, and it's easy to stay in the same mindset.'...

'I like to be treated as a baby, just to get the love and affection, safeness, just to go back to a time when you're caring for a one or two year old.'

Is that sad or what?

I guess, barring further information, we don't really know if Mr. Thornton never got the psychological counseling he needed, but from the little information provided in the article, it looks that way.

Like I said, it'd be easy to mock him, but he's not hurting anybody, so whatever. I just think it's sad this is the way he ended up dealing with it.

Hope the abuser is proud of himself.

 

[ender land]

I feel like over the 16 year period people either completely ignored him when he did this or completely enabled him and helped him.

 

[WillEH]

In life people just cope with things in their own way. If he enjoys life, and he's not harming anyone, I say people should leave him be.

 

[Thomas Veil]

In life people just cope with things in their own way. If he enjoys life, and he's not harming anyone, I say people should leave him be.

Yeah, I know. They'd leave him be a lot better, though, if the paper hadn't mentioned him by name, nor included the pictures. At least to me, this article is written in such a way that it's geared more toward exploitation than illumination.

At least they did note that this is neither sexual fetishism nor some form of pedophilia. That's something, anyway.

For all we know this gentleman has had extensive psychological treatment and decided for himself he likes this better. He does seem to be coping, after his own fashion. And he does have a very understanding roommate.

 

[iliketyla]

I'm jelly, bro'. I wanna play like a kid again.

I went to Wal-Mart last night and played with Nerf Guns and bouncy balls. Made me miss being young.

More power to him, live and let live.

 

[dukebound85]

sorry, his reason to relax makes it all the more weird for me

 

[Bonch]

Babies should NOT play with power tools. What the hell kind of mom is she? I would paddle her bottom!

 

[Lyle]

Yeah, I know. They'd leave him be a lot better, though, if the paper hadn't mentioned him by name, nor included the pictures. At least to me, this article is written in such a way that it's geared more toward exploitation than illumination.

I guess my sympathy is limited on that point. You know what's a good way to avoid that sort of publicity and exploitation? Don't invite camera crews in to your home to film a documentary about you.

 

[strider42]

This is waaayyyyy more common than people think and manifests itself in different forms. Sometimes its obvious and people embrace the lifestyle, other times its not and people keep it entirely to themselves. There is an active community of people who get into this for various reasons, including a community of people who want to take care of those who regress in age as parents. Sometimes its sexual, sometimes its not, but it often comes from a similar place and occurs for similar reasons (Childhood trauma is very common, but not entirely universal) I was good friends with a couple who was into this, and they were great people, happy, well adjusted and what not.

I say to each their own. If it makes him happy and allows him to cope and connect with other people perhaps, than more power to him.

 

[arkitect]

Oh well at least he is being bottle fed…

"Bitty…"

 

[cherry su]

Probably a healthier lifestyle than this (credits to MIT AI course 6.034):

Replace the computer with a TV if that's more accurate and give the dude a cheeseburger or TV dinner while you're at it.

 

[Abstract]

If he was being breast-fed by his flatmate, I'd be more disgusted.