They won't poop in the potty!

My boys won't poop in the potty. I refuse to give them a diaper/pull-up to do the job. I don't want that to be a crutch...therefore, I never know when it's going to happen. Their doctor recommended giving them a mild laxative to soften things up a bit, but now it's just a big mess. I know this is a common problem....any thoughts are GREATLY appreciated!

 

My brother is having the same problem with his 4 year old. They have tried everything and he will hold it for days until they give him a diaper or pull up. My sister read an article about this and told me about it yeasterday so since I saw your post thought I would share it with you. It said that some children have a fear of pooping because it wierd to them to have something leave there body, some children have a fear of the water splashing back up on them too. The article suggested cutting a whole in the pull up, enough that the business can go in the toilet, and sit them on the potty. It sounds a little weird but at the same time it makes sence. It took my girls a little longer too poop in the toilet, we made up a potty dance, called Nanna when they did go just about anything and they finally did it. I hope you find something that works. Sorry I dont have any other advice.

 

I think that is a typical boy thing. I have worked in preschools for 16+ years before having kids and I saw it all the time. Now I am dealing with it with my oldest. I kind of kept track of times he went and looked for signs that he was going to go soon (super silent, grunts, going and hiding). I then used that info to encourage him to sit on the toilet. One thing that is working for us is putting a TV tray in front of him with his cars, airpalnes, computer, crayons, etc,
I just know that has been working for us.
Hope that helps

Cari

 

Can they and they just won't or have they not figured it out yet? We've been dealing with it a little bit in our little guy but know that he is capable of pooping in the potty. Just yesterday I resorted to one chocolate chip for peeing and two for pooping. You better believe he pooped in the potty this evening (my two get little to no sweets). We used cloth diapers so we use the old diapers for cleaning up wet messes and I've also switched to having them take care of cleaning up any pee accidents - wipe it up, take off your wet things, jeans tossed down the basement steps, wet underwear and wipe up diaper in the diaper bin, go get new pants, and only then can you go play again. Doesn't work for poop but I think it's gone a long way in convincing them that it's a lot quicker to just pee in the toilet. Oh, I've also been having discussions with my son about getting cleaned up when he poops in his pants vs. in the toilet. Invariably the poop gets all over him and he has to lay down and it takes a a few minutes to get him cleaned up. A toilet poop is a fast clean up. I think he likes that too. Good luck!

 

Hang in there. We had the same issues here for a few weeks. It just took some time. I really think they were afraid to poop in it. I did a lot of consoling and singing in the bathroom to get them to relax. DD was holding it for up to 7 days though, so I started giving her mineral oil (1 tsp.) every night and it's working well--- not as harsh as a laxative.

Good luck,
Crystal

 

We just went through this with Nathan. He figured out peeing in the potty the first day and has been dry during the day since. He was waiting until naptime for me to put on his diaper before he would go poop. I didn't make a big deal about it, just tried to get him to use the potty. The first time he pooped on the potty I think it was an accident. He didn't do it again for several more days. I finally caught him right before he was going poop and rushed him to the potty. It had a been a day or two by that point and he was just happy to go poop. He was so excited he had pooped in Lu Lu's (grandma) potty and he got a piece of candy for it so he was good. We have mainly had success since then with pooping in the potty (he woke poopy overnight once but that is it). I wish I could tell you what turned the lightbulb on but I can't. We were using pull ups during the day because I can't clean poopy underware (yuck!) he still has fairly soft poop that goes EVERYWHERE!

 

I would give them the pull-up or diaper to poop. We went through the same thing and just didn't make a big deal out of it. We backed off for a few months and then offered candy as a reward. They will do it eventually.

 

here is what I have done...and my sister too..her dd has actually had some pretty severe issues and this has worked... If your ds has gone without pooping for a day, then the next day after every meal he must sit on the potty for 5-10 minutes (you decide)....put the kitchen time on...let them read books or hold a toy, but they must sit there for at least 5 minutes. If you do this shortly after meals you are most likely to reap the benifits of that natural response which clues the body to eliminate after new food has been put into the system. Certainly pump up the water and fiber, but don't go overboard....Personally I wouldn't go back to pull-ups or diapers unless the issue b/c very severe.... I would stick to this method..be calm, don't get worked up...if they don't poop then fine, let them play...if they get really ansy, won't sit still or seem like they need to poop ASAP, then put them back on again for another 10 minutes.... if they are freaking out, then calmly continue to reassure them, stay with them if that's what they want, rub their bellies if that's what they want.... but calmly, firmly insist that they sit there for at least five minutes...make the kitchen timer the watchdog instead of you... Most of the time I find with my dd and niece the real issue is not wanting to take the time to sit and do it... yes, constipation can be a real problem...but like I said my sister has dealt with that to the extreme with her dd and this timer method has been how she has been able to get her dd off meds and restored some level of sanity to her house where life isn't revolving around her dd's bm's

 

The girls started really getting the hang of pee in the potty at around your boys age. However we have poop problems for many months after that. Especially with Allison holding it till it was too late. I tried very hard not to get angry. A little after 3 3/4 months we no longer had accidents. It is frustrating but we made it through.