Scared of Poop

This happened to a friend of mine. The father said that they gave their son bubble baths and that took care of the problem. Simple....but it worked. Good luck!

Hi C.,
My son used to do the same thing when he was about that age, and he would react the same exact way. As soon as he saw the pooh floating toward him he would really panic and freak out, the bath would halt and I'd have to drain the tub, clean it, and start from scratch. I think it's nothing at all to worry about. I used to try to be as calm as possible (even though his screetching put my nerves on edge!) and reassure him that I was taking care of it, yes it's dirty but nothing to get all worked up about and he could feel upset without acting like that. I think little by little kids internalize these messages even if it takes a while.

I'd think of it this way, better to know that pooh is dirty than to want to play with it! And now when I tell him these stories he laughs like crazy.

i think it is a very normal thing. when potty training my daughter (when she was 2) she had the biggest fear of pooping in the potty. It was like she felt as though she wasnt supposed to poop - like why is this coming out of me. after going in the potty she would look in the toilet and cry because see it scared her. I had to constantly praise and jump around so she would know it was not a scary thing after she pooped. i know your not potty training but that was my situation.

I also read the book "everyone poops" it did help alot reading it to her to see that animals poop, people poop, etc and it was normal.

good luck. here's the link to the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Poops-My-Body-Science/dp/1...

this one is good too:
http://www.amazon.com/Wheres-Poop-Julie-Markes/dp/0060530...

My oldest daughter had exactly the same experience at about the same age, difference being that she wouldn't get in the bathtub after that! After a few weeks of trying to hold a squirmy slimy body in the shower with me, the weather was warm and she LOVED "swimming" in her pool. We then knew that it wasn't the water she had an issue with, but the poop. So to transition back to the tub, we let her wear her bathing suit, then just a swim diaper, and finally she was naked again! I made a concious effort to bathe her right after a poopy diaper to lessen the chances of a poopy tub time. She now loves the bath, but potty training with poop was difficult. She would pee in the potty with no problems, but for months the poop stayed in the diaper or in her undies, no potty to be seen. At this point, she was old enough to explain that if she didn't like the poop, the toilet would get rid of it and she wouldn't even have to see it if she didn't want to. A few weeks later, potty training took a turn for the better. I must tell you to count your blessings though, because my youngest daughter has absolutely no adversion to poop and has silently used it to accessorize her bedroom on more than one "napping" occasion!

Hi C.,
This happened to my son, too when he was around that age (he'll be 3 in October). He pooped in the tub a few times and each time got freaked out and cried. With him, his reaction was more that he thought he did something wrong rather than being actually afraid of the poop itself. I would just simply calm him down and explain the best I could that it was ok, just an accident, etc. That seemed to work. Good luck!

A. B.

I think its normal for some just as it is normal for others not to be bothered by it. My daughter did the samething, only she was older, 3. She had never done it before and when she did she was SOOO upset. I got her out, cleaned the tub, and it made her feel better when I told her that it was ok, that mommy used to do that to. Which I did, according to my mom. But for my daughter it was the fact she did it in the tub that bothered her. As for your son, it may be just the gross factor....I mean would you be grossed out if you had poop on your foot? I know I would. Have you made "eeewwww" or "yucky" remarks when changing his poopy diapers? He may just know that poopy is yucky and dirty and doesn't want to be near it. My opinion is be glad that he is scared of it, and doesn't like to play with it. A lot of kids enjoy smearing it on the walls :OP

All my kids (all 4) pooped in the tub at some point....some more often than others and they all freaked out when it happened....kind of funny to read your question now that we are past that stage - remembering how scared they were. I think it is totally normal....no worries. Best you can do is try to anticipate when it might happen and pull him out before it does

HI there :)

This happened with my daughter before she was potty trained. It seemed like the warm water loosened her bowels and next thing we knew, she'd pooped! Her reaction was just as your son's, minus the screaming. She stood up, tried to get out of the tub as if she'd just spotted an alligator swimming near her feet, and would watch wide-eyed while I took care of the situation. The second time it happened, her reaction was even more swift and severe, and she started refusing baths after that. She went through a period of showering until the memory wore off (about 2 weeks). After that I was sure to give her the bath before supper, made it quick, and we never had the problem again. Ironically, at 4 months old I had her brother propped in the tub with her and he had a poop explosion! She was horrified at his behavior! After quickly climbing to safety, she turned to him and told him in no uncertain terms, "Teddy, we do poops in the *potty*!" Ah, the voice of experience :)

L.

Quick question... Has your son ever seen his own poop before? If he is 18 mos., he has probably never seen it outside of his diaper, if that. I would freak a little if I saw a brown, long gross thing floating in the water, then saw part of it on me... He probably thinks it's some kind of weird bug or snake... Just food for thought.

Maybe you could start showing him his poopy diapers and tell him that this is what he saw in the tub. Then maybe you could show him where his poop is supposed to go (the toilet) and teach him to say, "bye, bye" to it when the toilet flushes. I wish you luck with this!

I would recommend that you get the book "Everybody Poops" to help explain what it is, that it is normal, etc. You may then want to take the time to show him his soiled diaper and explain that his body made it. Use a carefree voice when explaining it. Never complain that it stinks, is messy, etc. in order to avoid him having any fear or shame over this normal process. Best wishes.

Hi C. - Just a note that when something comes out of a baby's body, they might think (as is the case), that something is coming out of their body!

But he might think it's a bad thing - like he's falling apart.

The more calm and natural you are about this, the better. And, God forbid you'd give him all kinds of attention over his dramatics! You will be raising a "drama queen..."

So just easy and natural - say oops - this goes in the potty! And put it there. Remove him from the tub, give him a little cuddle to calm him down and go back to business.

Understand that this is natural and try to imagine how he thinks. Stuff is falling out!

Again, these are milestones that will set him up for reactions as he goes along in life. You are setting precedents. Life has a natural process and it's no big deal.

AND - poop belongs in the potty.