Withholding poo

[OwlAndDragon]

DD is almost three and decided herself that she no longer wanted to wear nappies so after a summer with some accidents she hasn’t had any for several weeks. However, since she insisted on only wearing knickers she will withhold poo for several days. She never did this before and reliably went at least once a day. When she does poo, she will do it on either the toilet or the potty so I don’t think they are the issue.

She very clearly wants to poo and keeps pulling down her trousers to sit on either the toilet or potty but then tells me it isn’t coming out. I’ve tried rewards, ignoring her and feeding vast amounts of fruit. When she does poo it is soft.

Any suggestions? I think it’s psychological and to do with wearing knickers but she cries at the suggestion of going back to nappies and I don’t want her to feel she is being punished or has done anything wrong.

How long does she sit and try to poo? I took my little one a couple of days to realise it doesn't necessarily come out instantly.

There is a free app called 'Poo goes to Pooland' that we let her watch on a phone whilst trying to poo and it just made her sit there long enough to allow it to happen!

Thank you for the suggestion. I’ve just downloaded the app and I think you might be right that she expects it to be immediate. I will see what I can do to get her to sit down for longer. I suppose when she can’t hold it in any longer it comes out quickly and perhaps she doesn’t realise that isn’t always the case.