Pooey problem

[pob]

dp actually suggested putting a note here as we are completely lost as to what to do with this...has anyone had anything similar/can help?
dd1 is 2.4 and used to adore going in the bath - special time with dp, and just good fun. Last week she did a big poo (painful?) whilst in there and is now absolutely terrified of going in...begins crying at suppertime, talking of 'no poo bath''poo bath?' all day. She had a similar reaction when asked if she wanted to go on the toilet at playgroup yesterday - literally shaking...we had been leading up to potty training. Pg leader has said to stop all potty trainingg ideas - fine by us - and try to dissassociate baths and poos....but how, batman? Any ideas greatfully received by all of us....

Hi Pob

We had exactly the same thing not so long ago ... DS did a poo in the bath and was really distressed by it ... but it wasn't until it happened a second time a few months later that we then had a real problem with him getting in the bath ... he also developed a fear of the bath because he thought he was going to go down the plughole.

What we did to begin with was let him have a shower (might not help if you don't have a shower) for a week or so. We then told him one day that the shower was broken and he had to have a bath ... just put a couple of inches in the bottom and didn't make him stay very long in there ... he lasted a minute the first night! Then slowly but surely he managed a bit longer each night ... strangely he refused to have any toys in the bath for ages and would just sit there looking miserable until I got him out!

Now, he is back to normal and splashes about for ages and has a lovely time again - it has take a couple of months to get back to normal but we did it very very gradually.

HTH a bit ... they can be so sensitive can't they? I started a thread around that time about how sensitive my DS is and how he gets frightened really easily ... just today he lost the plot because a bird got trapped in our house so now I have to do something to avoid him having a lifelong phobia of birds!!!!

Just take it slowly and make sure she knows that she can get out whenever she likes - don't even need to wash her, just get her a bit wet and go from there ... sorry, rambling now!

Ghosty, thank you soooo much! It is so helpful to hear that someone else has had the same thing; and bizarre too, as it is also the second time dd has done it - the first time she was surprised but soon got over it! She also doesn't want her toys in either. She usually hates showers, but we'll give it a go. I hadn't seen your other posts - not much spare time at the mo - but do sympathize with the bird phobia....they seem to get 'desensitized' (is that a word?) if they are around them more - background not foreground IYSWIM, but I certainly wouldn't invite the bird back for a daily whizz round the house!

My son wouldn't go in the bath for ages after a faulty shower attachment on holiday scalded him. We left him for a month or so, only strip washing him, then moved a children's step into the bath so he could sit on it, and filled the bath with only a couple of inches of water. He was quite happy to do it that way as long as he didn't actually have to put his bum in the water, so we just added more and more each time he bathed. Eventually he let us take the step away and now he's back to normal again. It did take quite a while, but I think it was worth persevering. Hth.