He Wont Poo!

You might try getting the book called "Everyone Poops" by Taro Gomi. I have found it to be successful when reading in the bathroom with my child sitting on the toilet. I have also tried taking toys in the restroom or having a "fun activity" to do in the bathroom while my child is going potty. It changes the dynamic and the bathroom becomes more of a "fun place" than a "dreaded place". Good luck - it definately takes time and patience. Don't forget to breath!

DO you have the childrens book called Everyone Poops? My kids love it!

Get the book Everybody poops! It talks and shows all kind of animal poop as well as explaining that adults, kids and babies all poop. It shows everyone pooping, and says "everyone eats, so.... EVERYONE POOPS!
Great fun! My kids love it.

has anyone recommended the book "everybody Poops" May be a helpful prop. Good luck

Hi R.,

I just wanted to let you know that I feel your pain. My son is in the exact same boat right now and we are constantly working through this. We seem to have good weeks and bad weeks. Last week was great, but this week is bad. Here are some of the things we're doing that are working a bit (and I'm not above bribery on this issue):

1) Potty chart just for pooping that leads to a long term goal. For my son, a very expensive pack of underwear is what he wants, but we've told him he can't have them until he's consistently pooping on the potty.

2) His ped. recommended putting a diaper on just for pooping in case he's scared of the popping in the potty. Unfortunately, my son refuses.

3) His ped. also recommended using mineral oil to help soften the stools at 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp a day. We haven't tried this yet.

4) Here's the one thats working best right now: bribery. We have a stash of inexpensive toys in our closet that we will put out on a shelf for him to see, but he can't have unless he produces a (decent sized) poop in the toilet. He'll sit on the potty for marathon potty sessions and he can hold the toy while he's on the potty to help motivate him, but he can't really have it til he's gone. Whatever toy that your son loves and will be a big motivator works. For my son, its legos, but we've also used bubbles, sand box toys, puzzles, books, magazines. Sometimes, its a complete surprise and sometimes (when I know he's really resisting going, I let him pick which one he wants and it will go on the bathroom shelf. We've started fazing out toys for each poop and now we're using different motivators, like a trip to someplace special he likes or extra bedtime story.

I hope this helps. I'll keep checking this thread, but please email me if you get some amazing sage advice. Good luck!

-H.

R.,
This hits home for me... My daughter went through the sam thing, starting when she was 2 1/2. It lasted about a year and had us so worried! As a psychologist, but mostly as her mom, I intuited that this had nothing to do with anything physical, it had an emotional cause. It was a 'control thing' and something she would have to work through until she was ready to let go. Taking her to the specialist, I felt, would only deepen her feelings of helplessness (I did discuss all this with our pediatrician, who agreed), so I concentrated on 'damage control'. Sometimes, she would keep it up for a week straight and what would come out would be huge and solid and the process would be pretty painful, only reaffirming her fears. Trying to avoid medication, I learned how to bake high fiber 'bombs', filled with bran and oils to keep her poo soft and her intestines stimulated. Boy these kids have such a strong will. Like I said, it took her about a year and by then other OCD-like symptoms showed up as well. Now, she's a healthy, well-adjusted 11-yo. I believe in supporting our kids through whatever phases they need to move through. They will decide when they're done and, in the meantime, we need to support, while gently urging them forward.
Though this problem happens to many kids, it can be scary and isolating. I hope sharing my story helps you a little. It's hard to see our children hurting..
Good luck!
Y..

My oldest is three and is now fully potty trained. He went through the same poo issue. He went from going a couple of times a day to holding it for up to a week! I just kept feeding him normally and explained it wouldn't hurt if he just let the poo fall out. My husband got his favorite tootsie pop (a rare treat) and put it on a shelf where he could see it and we told him when he poo'd in the toilet he could have it . . . and another the next time he went. I'd sit with him in the bathroom and read to him and advise him to "push" when he felt it - because before he was holding when he felt it and also reminded him of the lollipop. Within a couple of weeks he was back to normal with only a couple small accidents. I know it's tough, but he'll get it. Hang in there!

What about bribing him?... Lots of people do that to get a child potty trained and eventually the bribe isn't necessary anymore.

There's a book for little ones called "Everyone Poops," that my kids loved. They even loved it when they were older! It has great illustrations, and it very simply shows what various animal poop looks like. If you can get him to laugh, he won't be able to hold it in! Also, I don't know how straightlaced you are, and it does sound like there's a difficult problem here, but if you can make jokes about it, kids sure do love poop jokes!

Hi R.!

I think you're doing everything right. My 3 year old also holds his poop....somehow he got it into his head that it's bad to poop. I tried everything. I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of stuff, wrapped it up and told my son that he gets to pick out a prize everytime he poops. That has worked well (I tried m&ms, stickers etc. before and they didn't work for him). Our pediatrician told us that this is more common than you think....so don't think that you're alone! What it boils down to is a control issue. Did anything else change when your son started this behavior? For our son, it started when we moved out here from the east coast. Will you son poop in a diaper or pull up? If so, can you revert back to diapers for pooping in the short term. Once you get him pooping....then work on getting him to go in the toilet. I recommend reading Toilet Training the Brazelton Way. Although your son uses the potty for peeing, it helped me understand how my son needs to take the lead when it comes to potty training. I backed off on all pressure etc. and wouldn't you know, my son relaxed too....and pooping became less of an issue. When it comes to this issue, don't expect things to get better over night....think weeks or months. It's been months in our case...but it is getting better...it's just slow going.

Good luck!

It's a boy thing. There's a cute children's picture book called " Everybody Poops". It might help - boys love that stuff.
You may try bribery. Also - when he says only babies poop - correct him by saying babies poop in diapers, big boys and girls poop in the potty.
Perhaps have practice drills going poop and when he pees on the potty - make him sit down so if he needs to poop it might just happen on it's own - then make a huge deal about celebrating his success.
Good Luck!