DD1 (4), not actually constipated but holding it in because she thinks it's going to hurt.

[wem]

She was constipated once a little while ago and it's left her scared to poo now. For about a day she'll wriggle and squirm and will sit on the loo but won't try and will get upset that it's going to hurt. Eventually she can't hold it in any longer and gets very upset because it's all suddenly very urgent, but when she actually gets on the loo she's fine and it doesn't hurt. We try to talk to her about this and remind her that it didn't hurt but it doesn't make any difference for the next time it happens.

She's never been a frequent poo-er, and would often go a few days without it being a problem when she actually got round to it, but now she's seriously poo phobic. Any ideas what we can do to help her?

I had this at a similar age with DD2.

We used lactulose to soften the poo, and rubbed her tummy, and gave lots of water.

In the end, as we were on holiday, I refused to let her out onto the beach until she had done it.

Thanks, I thought about using something like lactulose, but wasn't sure, as she's not actually constipated. But I guess after the first couple of times when it's soft she might be more convinced that it's not going to hurt.

My DD is also 4 and has the same problem (intermittantly now). We played this really silly game!!! See who can do the loudest 'bottom burp' (whilst on the toilet obviously) and can we hear her from different places in the house. With her trying to do this she forgot about the potential it may hurt and Bobs your Uncle everything happenned. We now don't do this very often any more as she has realised its OK and it probably won't hurt.

Thanks, making a game of it is a good idea. We've tried distracting with books but something a bit more interactive might work better.

See if your library has this book. It is v good.