4 Year Old Still Poos Pants

DJJ

Not the most attractive topic but this is becoming a real problem for us and our little boy.

Our son (only child) has been using the toilet for wees for the past 12 months, and will tell us when he has to go. Unfortunately this is not the case with his poos.

He regularly poos his pants and has never once said "I need to poo". In fact, he will quite happily sit in his clothes after an accident and doesn't seem to recognise the fact that this behaviour is totally unacceptable. This is the situation both at home and in his creche (where the staff are at their wits end).

We have tried rewarding him on the rare occasions when we see him trying to poo and manage to get him to the loo just in time, and have tried not to punish him so far.

He is starting school this autumn and we have to do something to change this behaviour, urgently.

Thanks.

gwhiz

My friend had the exact same problem with her son. He used to hide when he wanted to do a poo and she never manged to catch him in the act!! He would never ever tell her and the only way she would know was when she got the smell. He was only months away from starting school and was at her wits end as to what to do. She never punished him either as I think this would just turn him into a nervous wreck. She just constantly asked him over and over again through the day did he was to do a poo... I spend a lot of time in her house and I have to say it was starting to go through my head the amount of times she asked and the amount of false alarms with him sitting on the toilet for ages.... anyways, it worked in the end and he started school and never had one accident again.... just persevere and stick with it and keep at him all the time and it will eventually happen !!! GOOD LUCK and let me know how you get on....

Wantobe

Is there any treat that he really likes? Like going to feed ducks, bubbles, going to a soft play centre, or even ( and I know I am going to be castigated for this!:o ) jelly sweets or chocolate.

Get him a star chart, if he does X many poos in the toilet he gets a treat.

lolo26

I had the same problem with my little girl for almost 2 years! Its awful. There were days where I wanted to pull my hair out and scream out of pure frustration. I tried EVERYTHING friends, family, doctors etc suggested and nothing worked. But one day about 4 months ago something 'clicked' with her. She stared going. Two weeks previous to her starting to go I had taken her to a pediatrician in the Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, I basically begged for help because like your child, my daughter is due to start school in September and I was starting to panic she wouldn't be allowed and she's more than ready intellectually etc. The pediatrician prescribed Movical Pediatric as she believed my daughter had a fear of going, that perhaps she associated poo with pain because she was constipated as a baby. She said that the movical would loosen her stools and that if I put her on the toilet about ten minutes after every meal she should start to go. It didn't work for the first week but then I couldn't believe it, after 2 wks she started going, just like that. I had tried every other laxative going in the past and none of them worked but Movical did........along with the fact my daughter, I reckon, just decided she was sick of the huge deal surroundeing her poo that she decided to just go to shut everyone up I know it sounds sad to parents who haven't been through something like this but I was delirious! We are now able to take her places, visit people etc without having to worry about her pooing in her pants. Its great. I really hope your wee one starts going for you soon. Don't give up, it'll happen. Good luck.