Forum From toddler to preschooler

Potty training for bowel movements

2 replies

Mama2014
Hi, our daughter is 4 and has been at primary school for 4 weeks. She’s still not fully toilet trained when it comes to pooping. This has resulted in quite a few dirty diapers for a while now. We tried telling her that if she felt something, she should say so, and then she’d get a diaper. That worked for a while. Then we said we’d try the toilet first; if it didn’t work, she’d get a diaper when she felt the urge again. We eventually worked up to trying twice. Our girl eventually didn’t want to do this anymore and sometimes only wanted to sit on the toilet for a few seconds. To keep her on the toilet longer, we started chatting more actively, reading a story, or sometimes even watching a video on a phone or tablet with her. We noticed that when she was on the toilet, she was just sitting there and not actually trying to poop. Now that she’s at school, she’s having a relapse. She has dirty diapers more often (almost always) and doesn’t mention it anymore. Sometimes she says she doesn’t feel it when she’s pooped in her pants (which is hard to believe because she often clearly stands in a corner and strains), and other times she says she finds it stressful but doesn’t know why. At school, they (understandably) don’t have time to change her pants every time. Last week, she came to after-school care with a very dirty diaper, and once the teacher called us to pick her up. It gave us the feeling that she was being punished for pooping in her pants. The teacher said that was absolutely not the intention, but we think it might have happened unconsciously. Does anyone have tips? We’re at a loss.

Replies

  1. Blotevoeteninhetgras #2

    Tricky....
    Here's a 5-year-old boy who also only poops in his diaper. Now he holds it until he's home and then asks for a diaper. Does she also poop in her pants when she's at home?
    The step to school is very big for a child, so accidents happen again for a while. I understand that school finds a poopy pants different from a wet one, but you can't let a child walk around like that. Can she hold it or does she not have control over it yet?
    Maybe they can give some explanation and tips at the CB or on the poop clinic!
    Good luck
  2. Debby Guest #3

    Hi,
    That’s really tough for your daughter. If you’d like, check out the website www.spelendzindelijk.nl.
    Under the “info” section, there are practical tips for parents to move forward, and the book has even more. You can also book an advice session if you’d like.
    Wishing you lots of success with it.
    Warm regards,
    Debby

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