3.5 year old regression after constipation

[ciderpixie]

Please help, my formally toilet trained son is point blank refusing to poo in the loo. He has been potty trained since before the summer (about 7/8 months) and we had just cracked night time nappies too (about two months ago!) It started about two weeks ago and he was saying it hurt to poo, he got really upset one day and did a really solid one in his pants and got really upset if we suggest the toilet. For the next few days he physically withheld it to the point he was doing a dance and squirming on the floor in pain trying to keep it in so I suggested we got some nappies so he could do it in there (just to get it out really) He agreed to this and did one almost immediatly we put a nappy on him. We have taken him to the doc and he gave us some stool softener which I think has helped as he's not in pain when he poos now, but still wont do it in the loo! He gets really angry when we talk about it and his general attitude has changed aquite bit as well, he is a lot more shouty and cross a lot of the time from being a very happy funny boy. Should we just be playing it down? We have tried all sorts, bribery, face to face talks etc.Its breaking my heart to see him so upset and breaking my spirit too!

We had something similar with my Ds when he was 6yrs old. He got to the point that he wouldn't so a poo for days and was dancing around and squirming with discomfort. It was very difficult to watch as he wouldn't go to the toilet, but we kept telling him that's what would help!!! I found it very stressful, but he did come out of it after a couple of weeks. I did some research (found out this kind of thing is more common in boys) and tried not to make a big deal about the whole thing! Hopefully your Ds will get back to normal soon.

Thank you for your reply! We've had one poo in the loo today so fingers crossed! Behaviour is still not right tho bless him! Hopefully that will sort itself out when he gets his head around using the toilet again!

Yes - just try not to draw attention to it and hopefully he will be back to normal soon.

My 3 year old boy is going through exactly the same problem. It's an absolute nightmare. the doctor has put him on Movicol and suggested we forget potty training for a few months until things get a bit more regular. he's going more often but I'm struggling massively with the screaming and crying.

there's a new book on Amazon called 'Stool withholding:what to do when your child won't poo' which im reading now. it's got some good advice - not v. expensive. It says not to force them or pressure them and try to back off from the subject. Movicol seems to be the way forward as well. will keep you posted.

Thanks, he's much better now, but it was truely horrible! Just so sad to see him in pain and fustrating that it was entirely down to him to make it better. I think we definatley made it worse by going on about it and trying to force/bribe him to poo in the loo! It became a massive issue for all three of us for over a week! Movicol definatly helped coz he didnt have the option of holding it in anymore and also it no longer hurt him but I agree, laying off the subject and just going with regression for a while is the way forward.