Another thought is that - in school, it is very hard for a child to have any time to sit on the toilet. If the child is constipated, it is even worse cause they have to deal with all of the outside kids, noises, etc. I agree completely that natural things like prunes, prune juice, or any of the dry mixtures added to water will help. I also think that once school is over, and he can quietly sit in his own bathroom that will take care of a lot of the problem. But you do want to deal with the constipation.
You are the mama and his is the child. Be sure he eats the prunes. I quite liked them as a child. I had no notion of their purpose (and maybe you shouldn't tell him what it is). You just stew them in a little water until they are soft and serve them with the juice. They are quite sweet.
Thank you for your response, and you may be right, however, he is eight and
at school and me at work all day, so I can't be by his side all day, I'd like to
but just can't. I have received some good advise, I thank all responders as I
just wasn't sure what the right action was, but I am working on the laxative
measure, but I don't know if he would be receptive to the prunes.
The best natural laxative is stewed prunes. That is what we were given as children. As to his habits, he was not properly trained by his mother who had issues of her own that preempted child care. So first take care of the constipation issue. With that in hand stay by his side all day and make sure he uses the bathroom when he should. Don't get angry or scold - just supervise. Your patient understanding will pay off. His main problem is that he has never been trained. Now this job falls on you.
It sounds like he's been suffering from constipation issues that were never addressed and it has hurt him in the past to go due to this. Often when this goes without intervention, they will hold the BM's and only some will come out. They are literally afraid of the toilet and allowing a proper BM because it is associated with pain. You need to take him to his pediatrician for evaluation and how to handle it. He probably needs a thorough check-up anyway before going to live with his dad.
Hasn't been a problem since.