5 YEAR OLD POOPING IN PANTS

[MARYKAY]

RECENTLY MY 5 YEAR OLD SON HAS STARTING POOPING IN HIS PANTS.  IN THE PAST, WE HAVE HAD A SMALL PROBLEM WITH BED-WETTING BUT I THOUGHT IT HAD RESOLVED ITSELF UNTIL RECENTLY WHEN THE PROBLEM RECURRED.
I DO NOT DISCIPLINE HIM FOR THIS.  I DID TAKE AWAY HIS VIDEO GAME PRIVILEDGES YESTERDAY, BUT HE POOPED HIS PANTS AGAIN TODAY.
HE WILL BE STARTING KINDERGARTEN ON AUGUST 19 AND I DO NOT WANT HIM TO DO THIS AT SCHOOL.
PLEASE ADVISE ME AS I AM FRUSTRATED AND CONCERNED FOR HIM.
THANKS

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

If your son had been completely trained during the day, and is now suddenly soiling himself, it may well be that he has become constipated and his bowels may be impacted. This is the most frequent cause of such episodes. Schedule an appointment with his pediatrician to have this checked out. As an aside, when you took away his video game privilieges, you were disciplining him. In pointing this out, I am not criticizing you for doing so, but rather illustrating that your action, while you did not think you were disciplining him, is actually a form of discipline. As a behavior management tactic, you can actually try having him earn his game privilege by using the toilet and staying clean. But it's important to have him checked medically.

[RickCFP]

I'd think about whether things have changed recently at home.  maybe he is acting out for some reason.  Not sure punishment is the answer.  It sounds like he was trained and just started this behavior.  I know it must be very frustratingf.  maybe while you are home, allow him to go with out pants.  does he say he doesnt make it to bathroom in time or is it something else?

[bji2001]

Hi MaryKay-
We went through this exact senario with our son.  At first, I thought he was "soiling" which means purposefully "pooping in his pants", but actually he was experiencing what the physicain mentioned above- he had severe constipation, and loose stool was leaking around the impacted bowel - encopresis- I think is the spelling of the medical term.  I first had taken him to a therapist, as soiling can be a reaction to other issues, but his problem was physical.  We were fortunate to have a nearby university hospital that has specialists who work on ped bowel problems.  He had to go on a twelve month regimen which included two T of Milk of Mag  each day, a high fibre diet and sitting on the toilet at regualr intervals, after each meal, and after exercise (times when the bowel is active) and at morning and night.  (as he was school age, we had to include teachers and nurses in this regimen also-they were very supportive)He had to actively try to "go"- not just sit there.  What happens in this condition is that prolonged constipation causes the bowel to distend or enlarge, and the normal feelings of "needing to go" are gone.  The problem then compounds on itself, because the bowel keeps filling and packing in but the child does not feel a need to go. Then the stools are so large that it takes an enima for the child to pass them, and is VERY painful for the child.  Your son should in no way be punished, as it is a physical problem he has no control over.  Also, this will be a lifelong maintenence issue- our son still takes 1 T of MOM a day and has to poop daily, (he is 10- the problem was diagnosed when he was 7,) and he will need to monitor constipation throughout his life..  I really recommend visiting your ped and telling them about encopresis.  Good luck!

[c4mom]

It was good to read the above comments as my son, age 8, is going through the same thing.  This started when he was 5.  I have been so frustrated with him because of this and have disciplined him for it, taking away his video games, not being able to watch t.v., etc.  I even went as far as making him clean up his "mess".  I now realize that I was wrong in this.  I will be sure to get him to the doctor asap!  Thank you for posting this question as it really helped me out.

[stidda]

My son is three now and was potty trained when he was two and a half.  For two whole months he peed and pooped in the toilet with no problem.  Thereafter, however, he regressed completly regarding the pooping area..He knew that it was not right to poop in his pants, but he did it anyway and still does today.  Since then he has pooped in the toilet but only when he is physically put on the toilet and my husband and I spend the time sitting there with him.  He acts very hiper and misbehaves when he needs to poop and at times I can tell that he is actually holding it in.  He has a younger brother so we don't always have the time to coax him into pooping by staying there with him; if we don't have the time to wait for him to decide to go we let him down and he doesn't poop for a couple of days.  It sounds terrible on our part we  feel guilty, but he's very stubborn and when he finally decides to go he goes either in his pants (if his dad or I are distracted he goes and hides and poops in his pants)or if we make the time to stay with him he goes in the toilet. He feels awful about it he says it feels uncomfortable and demands to be cleaned immediately.
Well my question is this to you all: do your children experience pain when they do go and what does the poop look like? diarrhrea because my son doesn't have any of these signs.  I don't know what to do.  So far, we've reacted disappointed, angry, we take away his favourite toys or privileges like riding his bike or going for icecream.  He even volunteers his truck or bike after the fact and says 'mamma i can't go for icecream tonite'  he apologizes and says he won't do it again.  It breaks my heart, I feel so guilty.  He's so bright and loving and so intuitive he's been advanced in everything since the day he was born, but this situation perplexes us...and it just pains me....I'm at the end of the road I don't know what to think or do.

[t4h]

I was overwhelmed with tears of joy and sadness when I read the post by bji2001. It described what I and my 9yr old son have been dealing with for SEVERAL years. Please send me more information on how to deal with encopresis!!! I have taken my son to a pediatrician and he was diagnosis with chronic constipation. Although I was sent away with the information, we are still struggling with how to correct the problem and get him on track. The fiber drinks don't seem to be helping. Any further insight would be highly appreciated!! He is also taking DDAVP 0.2MG (3pills) every night for bed wetting. I have read that this causes constipation. Are we compounding our problem?

[eels319]

A related discussion, 6 yr old pooping pants was started.

[claysmom]

A related discussion, any of my business? was started.

[den65]

A related discussion, 5 year old pooping in his pants was started.

[tabbywabby]

A related discussion, what can i do about 5 yr old pooping on self everyday sometimes 4_5xs a day? was started.