Stool withholding?! HELP!

[ivysmum17]

My daughter is 2 and 1/2, we potty trained her from 1st Jan and honestly, she smashed it! She was young but ready and she’s now entirely dry through day and night.

the ONLY issue is she hates to poo. Won’t put on a nappy, doesn’t hide or anything - she simply just doesn’t want to go. She goes maximum 5 days without going and I have to basically sit her on the toilet and hold her till she calms down, and then she goes and is SO happy after.

she has a relatively healthy diet, lots of fruit, standard veg. No chocolate etc - just kids specific snacks and things like sandwiches and crisps. Dinners always have carbs, protein, veg on them etc.

she is drinking a nutrigen fibre drink every day which she enjoys, but doesn’t seem to be exactly helping her. Her poos don’t seem like she is constipated either - pretty normal (albeit lots because she’s holding it in)

anyway … really looking for any advice about how to overcome this without needing to take her to get laxatives etc because she only will drink water, milk and this “special” juice - which took 3 weeks of her trying it before she’d drink it at all!

thanks :(

You say sit her on the toilet? Does she have a potty? Some kids prefer potties to the toilet which is quite big and scary. I would definitely up the fruit content more (porridge with grated apple and raisins in works well for my DD) and encourage her to sit on the potty (with maybe something like you reading a book to her or letting her watch some CBeebies) if you see the slightest sign she may be needing a poo.

My DS did this - was wee trained long before poo trained and had to go very softly softly.

I would feed him something to encourage a poo, like warm milk and prunes, and then put a nappy on him. I wouldn't discuss pooing before it went on, but would put it on and afterwards say 'if you need a poo, you can go in your nappy'. Then I began doing this whilst also talking about the poo, then eventually he began to tell me when he needed a poo and we'd put the nappy on then. Initially the poo would be done anywhere, but eventually I began to guide him to the toilet to poo with his nappy on, and then I think he began to poo into the toilet when an open nappy was laid inside. And then eventually a poo straight in the toilet. It really was one very small step at a time!

We bought dd2 this book

Janelle McGuinness and 1 more
Come Out Mr Poo!: Potty Training for Kids
Its on Amazon

And the nhs have a free app
Poo goes home to poo land
But just tried to search for it and struggling to find it but looks like it's in you tube.

Anyway dd loved them both and gave us a story of mr poo just wants to go home he's asking you for help. Helped her to choose to do it.

Just keep on eye on how much she with holds she'll end up being impacted and will need a proper course of laxatives to clear it

My son did this. I used to sit him on the toilet and I would sit in front of him on a low stool and read him a story. He got so engrossed in the story and it relaxed him enough to go but sometimes I would be there for over half an hour.

ERIC the charity have lots of helpful advice on this. They also have a free helpline you can call and they are so helpful. We always try to sit my little girl on the toilet 20-30 mins after she’s eaten as that’s when you’re more likely to need to go. Books, iPad, whatever will get her sitting there. Blowing bubbles helps relax the muscles that you need to poo x