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4 year old Potty issues - refuses to do anything to help!!!
I have a 4
Good afternoon everyone,
I had no idea that this thread was still up on this website. I was checking something online and found the thread again and was astonished to see that my question now had over 26 responses to. Glad to hear that people feel they are not alone, and trust me when I tell you, we are not alone. I am glad to report that my 5
I had no idea that this thread was still up on this website. I was checking something online and found the thread again and was astonished to see that my question now had over 26 responses to. Glad to hear that people feel they are not alone, and trust me when I tell you, we are not alone. I am glad to report that my 5
One other thing. After reading thru all of the other statements above it seems that everyone has questions about the Merilax and how much to use and how long it will take. What the doctor told us was that with Encopresis the colon because very large and the child no longer has sensations when they have to go to the bathroom and when they don
Momof3boys- I hate to say this but it is nice to hear that we are not the only ones with this problem. We have been down that path and still on the road for this issue. Just this morning I had a long talk with my son
A related discussion, I disagree was started.
A related discussion, My daugher refuses to pooh was started.
A related discussion, encropesis pooping in pants was started.
It was comforting to find this site after just typing into google. "my 4 year old won't poop in the potty" and your comments appeared. just to mention I have a 7 year old daughter who potty trained completely at 2 1/2 even at night and has had relatively no accidents since. I didn't do anything different with my son and he has just potty trained pee. He will be 4 on July 31st and just will not go poop in the potty. We have done reward charts with stickers, we have taken away priveledges, and like you said he just accepts it and goes onto the next thing. I have never made him clean his underware but I have actually let him smell the stinky mess. He gets upset when it causes a rash and we explain to him that if he would go on the potty he wouldn't get a rash. Then he promises next time he will do it on the potty and of course NOT!!!! He's very bright and very active and very head strong . I know he knows what he's supose to do but he just won't do it. I have him in a preschool that will still clean him up but was unable to send him to my daughers's private parochial school because he must be trained. My husband and I are are just so frustrated. WE have lost control in this matter and I'm sure he knows it.
If any of you have had this problem, which I know you have. Can you tell me at what age this finally resolved?
If any of you have had this problem, which I know you have. Can you tell me at what age this finally resolved?
I have the same problem as you all!! My son is 4 years old and I am at my wits end as what do to. We have seen a paed for the past 12 months, we have been in hospital with a naso-gastric tube for two days and I have tried rewards, punishiment and a calender on the fridge.
my son talks about going to the toilet and how he does it, flushes and washes his hands, but he just won't actually do it. My doctor doesn't think he needs a psycological test. I to have given up work to help him get thru this but I am running out of patience. we recently moved to the country and now he has a great teacher who wants to help me with this problem instead of pushing my son aside. we have started a new routine of putting him on the toilet morning, lunch and after school but for the past few days he has done poo's in his pants only 15 to 20 mins after this!
I have taken away his toys and put them on top of the fridge so he can see them there but can't have them. After a day he had forgotten about this. Recently I took him to the shops and let him look at toys etc, he choose a Batman Bedspread and Batman shoes. I said he could have these when he goes and does poo's in the toilet but this has not worked either. I am finding myself getting cross at him, as we know it is not a medical problem, but I know I shouldn't do this as all the books say not to.
Please help me anyone who has anything different. I do like the idea of leaving them naked for a couple of days as we live in a warm climate, but this could prove difficult with school and my eldest son plays sport on the weekend, but I thnk I will give this one ago. What a great website I never knew so many people were dealing with this problem. now I know my son isn't an ailen. LOL.
my son talks about going to the toilet and how he does it, flushes and washes his hands, but he just won't actually do it. My doctor doesn't think he needs a psycological test. I to have given up work to help him get thru this but I am running out of patience. we recently moved to the country and now he has a great teacher who wants to help me with this problem instead of pushing my son aside. we have started a new routine of putting him on the toilet morning, lunch and after school but for the past few days he has done poo's in his pants only 15 to 20 mins after this!
I have taken away his toys and put them on top of the fridge so he can see them there but can't have them. After a day he had forgotten about this. Recently I took him to the shops and let him look at toys etc, he choose a Batman Bedspread and Batman shoes. I said he could have these when he goes and does poo's in the toilet but this has not worked either. I am finding myself getting cross at him, as we know it is not a medical problem, but I know I shouldn't do this as all the books say not to.
Please help me anyone who has anything different. I do like the idea of leaving them naked for a couple of days as we live in a warm climate, but this could prove difficult with school and my eldest son plays sport on the weekend, but I thnk I will give this one ago. What a great website I never knew so many people were dealing with this problem. now I know my son isn't an ailen. LOL.
I have to say, it's disheartening to have found this site... this is such a widespread problem that I'm sad to see it goes on for so long and with no SOLUTIONS!
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
Whoops. This site was having issues when I was trying to post. I'm so sorry for posting 3x.
I have to say, it's disheartening to have found this site... this is such a widespread problem that I'm sad to see it goes on for so long and with no SOLUTIONS!
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
I have to say, it's disheartening to have found this site... this is such a widespread problem that I'm sad to see it goes on for so long and with no SOLUTIONS!
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
I have to say, it's disheartening to have found this site... this is such a widespread problem that I'm sad to see it goes on for so long and with no SOLUTIONS!
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
I have to say, it's disheartening to have found this site... this is such a widespread problem that I'm sad to see it goes on for so long and with no SOLUTIONS!
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
My almost 4-year-old has been on Miralax since January, pee-trained perfectly, and now I'm in danger of having to find another preschool/daycare. I love where she is, but they just won't let her into the class for her age group because she poops in her underwear/pull-up. My husband and I are both employed full-time, and completely frustrated and there is pressure all around us now.
On Wednesday we went to a child psychiatrist who recommended that we leave her in a pull-up, take time off work to spend with her, and take the pressure off. Just have rewards if she DOES go, but no big deal if she doesn't. Also, give her more choices all around (we already do!). Well, from the looks of this board, nothing's going to change with this method, and I only have next week to figure something out.
Tonight my mother-in-law said that her sister's daughter had this issue. She solved it by having her spend a couple of days naked; no diaper, no undies. Has anyone tried this? I'm willing to go there... I have a feeling my daughter will not poop on the couch or the floor.. and we only are giving her enough Miralax to keep it soft, not liquidy.
Your thoughts??
I am also very glad to have found this website. Our son is going to be 4 years old in 2 months and will go pee fine but when it comes to poop...................
He was doing really good, going poopy on the potty, then all of a sudden he reverted back to pooping in his underwear. He held it in for 4 days then we gave him an suppository and he pooped the biggest poop! Then held it again for 3 days and we did the same thing. Our pediatrician prescribed him enlose(a laxitive). That was helping,but now he goes little bits 6 to 8 times a day and all in his underwear! He will sit on the potty fine,but it is always after the fact. He starts prek in August and he HAS to be poopy trained before school starts or he can't go. I hate to have that kind of pressure on him. We have tried everything that has been mentioned in this chat. Right now we are doing the; if he goes in his underwear we take a toy (that he loves) away and if he does go on the potty then he can pick which toy he wants back. It does effect him, but he is still pooping in his underwear. The nurse at the pediatricians office said he should be going at least once a day and that he may skip a day which is normal, so I don't know if the enlose is working or not. I know everyone is trying to figure this one out and I pray we all find a way to show our kids how. I have a friend who's son is 2 1/2 and goes poopy just fine on the potty and has been doing this since he turned 2. She said she did nothing fancy,just explained how it works and where it goes and he does it. Thanks for listening.
He was doing really good, going poopy on the potty, then all of a sudden he reverted back to pooping in his underwear. He held it in for 4 days then we gave him an suppository and he pooped the biggest poop! Then held it again for 3 days and we did the same thing. Our pediatrician prescribed him enlose(a laxitive). That was helping,but now he goes little bits 6 to 8 times a day and all in his underwear! He will sit on the potty fine,but it is always after the fact. He starts prek in August and he HAS to be poopy trained before school starts or he can't go. I hate to have that kind of pressure on him. We have tried everything that has been mentioned in this chat. Right now we are doing the; if he goes in his underwear we take a toy (that he loves) away and if he does go on the potty then he can pick which toy he wants back. It does effect him, but he is still pooping in his underwear. The nurse at the pediatricians office said he should be going at least once a day and that he may skip a day which is normal, so I don't know if the enlose is working or not. I know everyone is trying to figure this one out and I pray we all find a way to show our kids how. I have a friend who's son is 2 1/2 and goes poopy just fine on the potty and has been doing this since he turned 2. She said she did nothing fancy,just explained how it works and where it goes and he does it. Thanks for listening.
I spoke with a child psychologist recently and we discussed this issue of our children pooping in their underwear. My son is 5 1/2 and she suggested making the responsibility of "clean up" completely up to him (i.e. washing his own underwear, cleaning up in the bathroom after himself, picking up the poop off the floor and cleaning the floor, stripping the bedding and putting it in the wash when he poops in his bed and leaves it smelling). My son often poops in his pants before falling asleep, in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning while laying in bed. Therefore, the bedding stinks!!! I am tired of washing it over and over and over...I have told him he can no longer sleep with his blankets simply because I cannot keep washing them. He sometimes complains of being cold, but oh, well. We'll see if this helps.
Hope things are getting better with all of you and your children.!!!
Hope things are getting better with all of you and your children.!!!
At first he fought off the miralax and we were not great about giving it to him everyday...he has to have it everyday in order to go once a day. We give him about 1/2 the dose prescribed to keep him going everyday. Like I said, it has been well over 1 1/2 years of miralax. I started giving him soy milk too because I read that constipation could be from an allergy to the protein in milk, not the lactose. My advice is to definitely keep up with the miralax. I wish I did this earlier.
How long did you use miralax before the pooping was consistant? My daughter has been on this for 3 weeks now and we haven't seen any pattern yet. Any sugggestions?
My husband got a call at work today from our 5 year old's kindergarten teacher. She told him that she discovered our son has been peeing and pooping on the floor in the bathroom. I did not believe it when he called me. When I sat down to talk to out child he admitted he has been doing so. When I asked him why, he stated, "I thought Mrs. S wouldn't catch me". First of all I could not believe what he was saying. He is a smart kid, and has never had problems in the bathroom. I told him that was not a reason why and he told me, "I wasn't thinking". Now he is so smart he gives you the answers he thinks you want to hear. So needless to say I still have no idea why he is doing this. I hope someone can help!
I just wanted to share that I finally got my four year old to poop in the potty and not a diaper (he has been on Miralax for almost 2 years). I put the diaper in the toilet just over the water and left him to sit on the potty. This worked twice yesterday and I am keeping my fingers crossed. This is the first time he has ever gone on the potty. We couldn't even get him to sit on the toilet without a fit. I hope this is the answer. We took him to a specialist and everything medically was fine. I guess it was a control/fear issue. Maybe the security of the diaper will help someone else out there have some success as well.
Hello all. I've been away from this site for quite some time now. I like to come back to it once in a while to see how everyone is doing with their children and their pooping in the potty issues. Sounds like some of us (those names I mentioned)are going through very similar things with our children. As frustrating as it is for us...I do have to say that I feel a little bit of relief when I hear that others are experiencing the same problems that my husband and I are going through!
BEE2.....you mentioned your that poop falls from your sons pants at school and children pick it up....you and I have much in common. We are always finding poop on the floor (in the house, outside, at friends houses). Yes, its like little marbles. This is extremely frustrating!
As I mentioned in previous posts we tried so many different things from rewards, punishments, calendars & stickers. We are extremely frustrated and exhausted with this whole issue (our son is 5 1/2 now). My husband and I have just gotten to the point where we don't make such a big deal about (most of the time) and make our son clean himself up the best he can even if he has to take a shower.
I firmly believe our children has some type of psychological issues going on and we are going to have to be very patient with them and somehow get them the proper help that they need. I will be calling a pediatric psychologist today to get more advice.
I think we are all going to need each other for our own sanity! THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR POSTS!
BEE2.....you mentioned your that poop falls from your sons pants at school and children pick it up....you and I have much in common. We are always finding poop on the floor (in the house, outside, at friends houses). Yes, its like little marbles. This is extremely frustrating!
As I mentioned in previous posts we tried so many different things from rewards, punishments, calendars & stickers. We are extremely frustrated and exhausted with this whole issue (our son is 5 1/2 now). My husband and I have just gotten to the point where we don't make such a big deal about (most of the time) and make our son clean himself up the best he can even if he has to take a shower.
I firmly believe our children has some type of psychological issues going on and we are going to have to be very patient with them and somehow get them the proper help that they need. I will be calling a pediatric psychologist today to get more advice.
I think we are all going to need each other for our own sanity! THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR POSTS!
Thank you for sharing your stories!
My 4 1/2 year-old is not poop trained either. Highly intelligent, but says he doesn't have to go. I don't even think he realizes after he poops. Sometimes I change his soiled pull-up and he didn't even know he was poopy. If I try to sit him on the potty he cries that he doesn't have to go. Yesterday I asked him if he knows how it feels when he has to poop? Or if he can tell when he is going poopy? He said, "No, what does it feel like?" I was very surprised. I did my best to explain these sensations.
Sometimes I let him sit in poops because I know he will just be poopy again in 5 minutes. I am tired of ridiculing from big brother (14) and grandma saying "I can't believe that!"
I am hoping this will end soon.
My 4 1/2 year-old is not poop trained either. Highly intelligent, but says he doesn't have to go. I don't even think he realizes after he poops. Sometimes I change his soiled pull-up and he didn't even know he was poopy. If I try to sit him on the potty he cries that he doesn't have to go. Yesterday I asked him if he knows how it feels when he has to poop? Or if he can tell when he is going poopy? He said, "No, what does it feel like?" I was very surprised. I did my best to explain these sensations.
Sometimes I let him sit in poops because I know he will just be poopy again in 5 minutes. I am tired of ridiculing from big brother (14) and grandma saying "I can't believe that!"
I am hoping this will end soon.
Just a thought, but milk allergies can cause frequent accidents in the poop department. Unexpected where did this come from can't believe it accidents. One mom was talking about her child starting to poop in his pants and then trying to make it to the bathroom, having had issues with milk allergies, and not figuring it out for ages, brought this to mind. Milk with a bowl of cereal, a cup of icecream, direct related milk products brought on urges that were uncontrollable to an adult and left this granny running to the bathroom. When I stopped milk products and bulked up on foods I learned to trust the impulse feeling one is suppose to experience to signal potty time, if you know what I mean. So perhaps with your little guys you could bulk up their foods a little and hope that the urge gives them the time to get to the bathroom. Our oldest finally learned, he too was a very busy little guy, who would forget...we used to let him drop uncooked brown pinto beans in the toilet while he sat on it. He liked the plop plop sound the beans made, it was only when he dropped a matchbox car in the toilet that we had to make sure that he understood tht it could only be poop, toilet paper, those silly beans or pee pee that the toilet liked, anything else made the toilet sick....it worked for him. Now our two year old grandson that is a different story....he calls everything poo poo, even those little toots! And delights in grandpa's gassiness....he even brings grandpa a diaper and says poo poo when grandpa passes gas, so we hvae some potty training humor going on in the house again....but we do remember your frustrations expressed.
So this summer, we are starting wtih the shorts and no diapers, and those old pinto beans, and doing it the old fashioned way, running inside every 30 minutes of so to feed the potty! Sounds silly but you know, it worked before.
Never until this moment gave it a thought about how many pinto beans we flushed! lol or what our toilet lines must have looked like! lol Good luck to all of you.
So this summer, we are starting wtih the shorts and no diapers, and those old pinto beans, and doing it the old fashioned way, running inside every 30 minutes of so to feed the potty! Sounds silly but you know, it worked before.
Never until this moment gave it a thought about how many pinto beans we flushed! lol or what our toilet lines must have looked like! lol Good luck to all of you.
Im glad Im not the only one having this problom. My 4 yr old son does not want to try to go to the bathroom. We have tryed since he was 2 and he doesnt care..he has been punished and dont care. He goes t school or grandparents house, but not at home. Can anyone help please??
Lisa_lou
Lisa_lou
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