2 year old withholding poo

[Esthersmummy2020]

I’m at a loss to what to do to help. My 2 year old hasn’t any previous problems with her bowels but since attempting potty training she won’t go for a poo either on toilet or nappy. She holds it in for days. The only way she’s been going is with me holding her in a seated poo position so she can’t stop herself.

doctors prescribed lactulose to help get her going regular but I can’t see this helping and isn’t so far as it isn’t because she’s constipated it’s because she’s scared to go and stops herself going

there’s a lot of tears from her every evening because she needs a poo but just won’t let herself do it.

a lot of tears from me too!! She’s always been such a happy little girl but this is making her upset and causing a lot of tantrums

I'd say don't give up on the lactulose just yet! It's quite a long term solution but has helped my LO, along with a sticker chart reward system and lots of praise.

look up ERIC which is a charity that can help.

keep going on the lactulose and if that isn't strong enough, go back to the GP for movicol. this is a common issue & she needs the right stool-softening medicines to get over it.

We had the same situation with my now 9 year old. She started withholding when toilet training. She would hold for 7 days at a time and the scream with pain.

really do work on the meds. We had some sort of liquid which tasted salty. We basically had to keep upping it until she couldn’t physically hold it to prevent impaction.

things which helped were regular servings of kiwi fruit, prune pouches and constant bribery for even trying to go on the toilet.

I think it took about 9 months of meds and mess but we got there

Movicol. That’s what it was

Advanced warning - TMI and yuk

My DD really hated the sensation of the poo dropping away when we started potty training. Since diagnosed ASD and it was just one of her sensory issues.

Once she had got into the habit of withholding, the only place she would go was in the bath. Gross I know but we were desperate so used to put her in a tub of warm water in front of the tv each day so that the cycle of withholding was broken and she got used to the poo not being ‘there’. Obviously we scooped it and her out very rapidly and then put her in a proper bath.

I realise ours was a very niche situation but just thought it worth a mention as your issues started with potty training too.

Some children's books that may help:

Everybody Poos amzn.eu/d/hyiP336

What is Poo? (Very First Lift-the-Flap Questions and Answers) (Very First Lift-the-Flap Questions & Answers): 1 (Lift the Flap Very First Q & A) amzn.eu/d/13x1VTL

Dash's Belly Ache: A book for children who can't or won't poop (Dash Learns Life Skills) amzn.eu/d/3twhDF9

We had the same issue you described, read these 3 books every day... eventually the penny dropped!

We also feed prunes every morning as a pre-breakfast snack and like you DD is on laxatives. But she's just about to turn 3 and she 'got it' at 2y 5m... so hang on in there!