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Behaviour/development

Pooing his pants

4 replies

blushingmare · 22/11/2016 08:54

My DS is 2.7 and potty trained over the summer (early I know, but he got half way there himself with running around naked and copying a friend using the potty on holiday, so I just carried it on once we got home). He's done so well and since September has been very reliable and no problems really.

Now, in the past month he has gradually regressed. He still wears a nappy at night and it started with he was waking up and doing a poo first thing in the morning before I got to him. That started with every now and then and gradually became a regular thing. Then he started having a few wee accidents here and there. And now over the past 4 days he has pooed in his pants several times.

I'm not sure what's going on or why he's doing it. Why would he go from being fully in control to virtually no control? And I don't know how to react - I never get cross with him, but I do tell him it's not the right thing to do and he should do it on the toilet - I guess my tone is a bit exasperated in the past few days too! He always says "sorry Mummy" and when I say "do them in the toilet next time", he's very enthusiastic, but then the same thing happens.

I've started this afternoon giving him incentives again (stampers on hand) for getting anything in the loo. But beyond this I really don't know what to do.

Any advice anyone?

OP posts:
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crocodarl · 25/11/2016 20:51

Don't give him a hard time about it. Just calmly keep repeating yourself, explaining that we do that in the toilet, not in our pants.

Also, if you are aware of when he might be needing to go - eg some need straight after eating, some get in patterns where they usually go at a particular time of day, and some you know just because it's been a while since last time, it can be helpful to remind him/ask him if he needs to go... i know they usually say no whether they need to or not, but just lightly say something like "Don't forget to go to the toilet if you need to poo/ give me a shout if you need to go to the toilet..."

Incentives are great. Incentives and calm repetition and you'll have him sorted before you know it... if you believe he can do it, he will too.

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mjas · 27/11/2016 20:54

I hope it is not the case, but could he have chronic constipation? Are these normal poos, or more soiling? Just asking, because my son had regressed after fairly well going potty training (or at least we thought so), and it turned out that he developed a chronic constipation, most likely due to poo witholding, and gradually completely lost control of it. It too as a while to realise what was going on, because he was still pooing fairly regularly.

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MollyHuaCha · 27/11/2016 21:22

I remember feeling really stressed when my 3 yr old regressed to wetting after starting school nursery. He's already been dry for months, and then gradually started wetting again when in the nursery environment. The nursery staff weren't bothered about it, neither was he! Now he is a teen, I wonder why I stressed at that time because now it seems so insignificant. So my advice wd be just hang in in there with the patience of a saint. Your DC will get there eventually 

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Stepmum123 · 27/12/2016 18:30

I wouldn't say it's early for potty training at all sounds like he was very keen to try it! My DSS went through this too, is he still using a potty or a toilet training seat or straight on the toilet? For DSS he was using a potty when he started pooing his pants and someone suggested it might be uncomfortable for him so we tried a toilet trainer over the toilet which has a bigger hole for his bum and a step to get up to it and told him it was because he was a big boy now and he hasnt had an accident since. It could have been a coincidence but who knows! I would also consider chronic constipation too just in case as if he has been holding it in because he's uncomfortable or for whatever reason you can get a backlog and then as mjas says they struggle to control when it comes out.

Keep being patient I know how frustrating it is you're doing a great job and he will get there!!

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