soiled pants

[HarryDan]

DD is seven and I keep finding really gross soiled pants in the laundry. AFAIK, she doesn't have any probs going to the loo, she is just not cleaning herself properly.

I havn't shouted (or even told her off for this) but have broached it kindly & firmly a few times, saying she needs to wipe herself properly or she will begin to smell, or make herself poorly.

There are toilet wipes always available next to the loo, but I don't think she bothers to use them. Quite a few times she's had to be called back to the loo because she hasn't flushed or left the toilet in a disgusting state (poo on the seat) [vomit]

I really think she is old enough to be able to wipe her own bottom! I'm sick of finding poo-y knickers, but really don't want to go back to wiping her bottom for her!

Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this please?

She might be chronically constipated, which can counter-intuitively present as horribly skiddy pants (encropesis)

Your first port of call should be the GP to rule out constipation

encopresis, sorry

Thanks for replying Woof..I know she isn't as she will tell me if it was hard to go/hurt or anything. I asked her today & she said that her wipes had dried up so she couldn't clean herself properly (?) but I explained that there won't always be wipes available & she still needs to make sure she's clean. Blargh.

Reward charts? If it's just laziness.

If she is constipated or is having problems cleaning herself up afterwards she may just be overwhelmed by it and basically 'ignore' the problem by leaving the loo in a horrible state and just pulling her pants up. In which case helping her manage herself for a bit and teaching her to clean the loo (reward chart for when it's all done properly) might help.

Ah, yuk - I empathise cos I have two smelly boys - ha ha. One was a bit lazy on the personal hygiene front, and the other usually just got a bit too engrossed in his play to make it to the loo on time.

I ended up getting them to tell me when they needed to go - this seemed to make them more aware of the need, and it also meant I could go up with them and monitor what was going on - ie, if their pants were soiled prior going to the loo, if they went with urgency cos they'd held on too long, if they were wiping properly, etc etc. It also helped because I could clearly see that they weren't struggling to poo, and weren't constipated.

After a few weeks of supervised 'number two' toilet visits, both were pretty keen to do it properly so Mum wasn't tagging along every time. Also, I made the kids take responsibility for their own mess - pants would have to come off, be taken to the laundry room, be put in to soak, then given a scrub, then have anti-stain spray, etc etc - they soon got the message that it was easier to go when they felt the need, and to wipe properly when they'd gone.

Hope it all gets better - nothing worse than pooey pants to deal with - yuk!