3 yo crying and screaming in the run up to a poo

[Inlander]

We potty trained our 3 yo over Xmas and he gets so upset before a poo. He cries, screams, clings to me etc and right before he needs a poo he runs to the potty and stands over it pooing until he is done. He’s totally fine afterwards but I can’t seem to help him beforehand. He’s says he’s scared of the poo and he doesn’t want to do it. We have told him we understand but he’ll feel much better after a poo, and he does so well at pooing etc but it doesn’t seem to make things better.

The pre-poo behaviour has been going on for over 6 months and potty training has just made it more pronounced. We took him to the GP over the summer when it started and were referred to paediatrics but the paediatrician said it was normal behaviour but it really doesn’t feel normal!

What can we do to help him? He poos once a day and his stools range from being firm to soft so I don’t think he is constipated. Any advice/tips/experience would be much appreciated.

Anyone??

Yep same here! 2.5 year old gets super grumpy and screams when he is pooping but it's soft and shouldn't hurt him. We too feel he is scared of it!

There's a story app called 'Pooland'. It can help a lot with toileting anxiety, so might be worth a try.

Pop goes to pooland. Free app. Really just a story but very good at helping with poo panic.

Poo goes to pooland

Have you tried telling him what it is? That it’s just old food? Some children feel as if they’re losing a part of themselves, others feel upset when their ‘creation’ is flushed away. It’s important he knows it’s just the bits of old food his body doesn’t need.

My only other thought is maybe he has some kind of gut lining inflammation that the doctors haven’t picked up on. It doesn’t hurt, right?