1 Year Old Keeps Pooping in the Tub

He is one year old? How many months? I only ask because a true one year old can't poop on command, but is responding to a schedule or an external stimulus. The likelihood of this being a "behavior" problem is extremely unlikely. If he is closer to 2 years old (20months+), it could be, but is still very rare for a boy.
It is much more likely that the warm water allows him to relax enough that it just happens. I would suggest skipping a bath one night, just sponge bath instead and see if the poop happens still at that time, or if he holds it. Another option would be to dim the lights, snuggle up, get him nice a warm, and rub his back in a circular motion. If it is a relaxing thing, this should cause the poop to happen in the diaper, which is developmentally appropriate for a one year old.
Certainly do not scold him; a simple "ooo, Yucky." should get the point across.

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I would try putting only a little water in the tub and not putting any toys in when he first gets it the tub. The "Black Death" is a result of the warm water relaxing not only him but his bowels as well. And cleaning the tub real quick is much easier than cleaning tub and toys. A warm wash cloth may also do the trick prior to getting in the tub. Have you tried letting him sit on the potty before bathtime? I would make it more of a game than a chore. Give him a toy or a book. Hmmm maybe fill the pot of the potty chair with warm water and get him to go in that?

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My son (now three-years-old) went thru the same thing. A couple times later, every time it was bathtime, BEFORE I'd put him in the tub I'd ask him, "Where does poo-poo go?" He'd tell me "In the potty." That little reminder helped him remember (and I also reminded him while he was in the tub..."Remember, poo-poo goes in the _____" (he'd say "potty"). I also started making his baths as short as possible. He really loved to play in the water and splash, etc., but I loathed the poop in the tub. He hated the shortened bathtime and he'd cry because he didn't want to get out. Eventually, he related the two..."If I don't poop in the tub, I get to stay in longer"...and all of a sudden (THANK GOD!!)...he stopped...and the lengthy bubble bath playdates resumed =)

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Do you bathe him at the same time every night? If so try, placing him on the potty for a few minutes before bath time. He may just be a scheduled pooper. Also, the warm water may stimulate his bowels so after being in the bath a minute or two, take him out and sit him on the potty.

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I would say that all you are doing sound like you ave a good approach...but I also read in a magazine one time this same problem, and the answer basically said...1)the child's body has programmed itself to have a BM at this particular time of the day/routine and also at the sensation of being in the bath water. 2) you have to retrain his body (re-program, if you will) So it suggested that the parent stop putting the child in the tub until the reprogramming has occurred. To accomplish this: 1)sponge bathing (no immerssion), and 2)change routines (at a different time during the day) The article did also say that the child may not have a BM for possibly a few days because of the change in external stimulus, but that this path would "fix" the problem of always having the BM in the tub. Just passing on what I remember reading. I hope that whatever you try goes well for you and your family.

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Hi H.,

Just as there are certain times a child will always do his business, there are also certain activities which make them go. A warm bath does relax them and make their gastric movements... flow.

My son doesn't poop in the morning unless:
1. we have to be somewhere early
2. we go to the gym. I don't know what it is about the gym, but morning, noon or night when we go he ALWAYS poops there.

This will pass. You're doing the right thing keeping a potty near, but he's pretty young for potties and poop training is often harder than pee.

I'd just try to get him bathed and out as fast as possible. I feel for you with the tub cleaning.

Good Luck.

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Your hilarious post brought back so many memories.... Good times, good times....

Don't scold him. He's way too young to even realize what he's doing. As other posters have stated, it's the warm water relaxing his bowels. Just start the bath with only a little water, and no toys. This way, you'll see any "little nuggets" (LOL) that pop out unannounced. Move him to the potty when he starts doing his business, go ahead and say, "Poo poo goes in the potty", rinse out the tub, then put him back in with more water and toys when he's done. Trust me, you'll remember this fondly later. It isn't so bad.

Hahaha! I know this situation isn't funnywhen you are dealing with scrubbing the tub & toys on a nightly basis, but hang in there. I'm sure it's the warm water. If bathtime is right after dinner, maybe move bathtime or dinner time so he's not in the tub after a good meal. If you've got him on a schedule & he eats & poops at regular times, maybe you can just move bathtime. I know you are tired of cleaning the tub, but hang in there. I think you are right not to punish him & trying to sit him on the potty when he starts to go. You're doing the right thing & this will pass... hopefully sooner rather than later. Best wishes & thanks for the laughs!!

We started taking showers with our little one until this phase was over. She did not seem to feel the same inclination to poop while in our arms. Thank goodness.

Hi,
I want to laugh "The black death" how funny.
I sympathize with you. The last thing you want to do at night is wash and sanitize half your house.
Perhaps you could put some pull ups on him in the tub and explain why. Then let him decide. Whatever happens, he will grow out of it, espically if he has to clean the poop out of the tub. Or at least help with it. Good luck.

Why don't you try bathing him after his first dirty diaper - then the chances are much slimmer of him doing it in the bathtub. Changing his routine a little may just get his mind off of his little bathtime game & hopefully he will forget about it after a while. He is probably relaxing too much in the bath if you are doing it after dinner and thus feels compelled to "let it out". He also might like all of the attention and commotion it causes when he does this - it's hard to understand what is going through their little heads sometimes, isn't it? I hope you find this suggestion helpful.

I read this this morning and was thankful this hasn't happened to me yet. Ooops! Thought that too soon. After fingerpaints with my 16 month old today, we took a bath together. Thankfully I had gotten out before she decided to poop! That's what I get for laughing at your post, right?!

Good luck!

Well warm water in a tub helps relax a baby's bowels and it makes it easier for them to poo. I guarantee he is not consciencously doing it on purpose. You might realize that that "time" is when he has to poo - maybe he is already regular. Try changing his bathtime, to a little later after he poops, or in the mornings or something a little different. If it continues when his bath time is changed, I don't know what to try. But my 1 yr old dd was pooing in the tub too. Even worse is that she usually had a sister in there with her. But I caught her twice and set her on the toilet to finish, but it's not something they can control at this age. Good luck. I eventually just waited until my baby pooed, before putting her in for bath.

My daughter used to do this at about 11 months. We didn't think there was much we could do because it was obvious to us that she couldn't control it (we did immediately end the bath because we had to clean!). Thankfully, it was a phase that went away in several months.

Haha....I love the way you worded this. I told my husband about the "black death" and he nearly died. The reason this tickled us so much is because we also had this problem with our daughter. Unfortunately, she was too young at the time to really understand what happened, so we just kept repeating "the rule is: no pooping in the tub!". She is potty trained now and to this day, Daddy still asks her what the rule is and she repeats it before getting in the tub. I think you're going to have to wait this one out. Just keep doing what you're doing and putting him on the potty when he starts so that he can begin to make the connection that poopy goes in the potty. At some point, he may beging telling you that he has to go so that you can get him there before he starts. Until then, as annoying as it is, you're probably going to have to keep cleaning the tub and the toys. We actually started limiting the number of toys in the tub until this got under control just so we wouldn't have so many to clean! Good luck to you and just keep your sense of humor about you. He'll outgrow this eventually! :-)

I bet it has something to do with the warm water relaxing him. Since it has become a pattern, I would definitely not put in any toys or anything until you know he's done or not going to. Maybe try a gentle shower instead? You can also buy a shower head/hose that attaches to the bath spout and when it happens, just hose him off and let it run down the drain. But, that way he's not sitting in dirty bathwater that you have to wait for it to drain. You can clean him and it right then and there. Wait to give him a bath until he's had his bowel movement? If he hasn't, then just sponge bathe him when time constrains you.

Do a tummy massage (roll his legs round and round, and pop them up to touch his nose, stimulating the tummy/bowels) just before the bath. Then sit him on the potty, and see if he will go before he get's in the tub. Praises for a job well done of course. If he is on the latter side on one year, tell him no bath til he poopies in the potty. Show him how to "push" with your face, and squeeze your arms together so he can see the effort he may have to try to produce.... etc... your own little tricks, but just give it a shot BEFORE the tub. Right before, the tub. I wouldn't aim for "pottie training"- in full force, just to eliminate this little problem area,. who knows maybe he'll just catch on though...........good luck! Curious to hear how this turns out!

Wow. I had forgotten about that. My youngest did that. They just get so relaxed, I think, it comes out. You're doing the right thing, talking about it to him. I just waited it out, and he figured it out, I can't remember if we did anything different than what you are doing. Thanks for the smile, though, 'cause I can now look back and laugh, but it wasn't so funny washing everything at the time, I do remember that.

It could be a timing issue more than a bath issue. Mabey changing his bath time could help.

H.,
I have no suggestions, just wanted to tell you how hard I laughed and that this too shall pass! Treasure these memories because, even though it's not fun right now, you will LOVE telling these stories to his girlfriend later on!
All three of my kids did this ~ something about relaxing in the bath I guess.
Enjoy! And have a very merry Christmas.
D.

You should be a writer! Are you? You have a wonderful attitude toward your current situation w/your sweet little 1yr old.
My 3rd child had a habit of pooping in the HOT TUB, which was particularly nasty when all 3 would be having a good time and then "OOPS" you can imagine!
Do scold your 1yr old - just a bit, tell him NO and take him out of the tub and then bath time is OVER...tell him why and then that's it. He'll indicate when he needs to go the next time.
The bath water is so warm and relaxing that this is perfectly natural and a very easy way for your son to start being aware of when he has to poop.
You can also try giving him his baths right after he's already gone poop or at different times of day, i.e. mornings vs evenings...this will save alot of sanitation duty for your husband.
And remember, this too shall pass.......

Hi H.,
My son used to do the same thing. As I was reading up about it , it turns out that their muscles relax as they are sitting in warm water , or showering.
Keep reinforcing that it is not acceptable to poop in the shower.
What I ended up doing is buying a video that is called "Once upon a Potty, by Alona Franklin. I would sit my son onto the Potty , put an attachment onto the toiletseat , so it would comfortably seat him and he would not have to worry about falling into the toilet , and the two of us would watch the short movie together . The video describes body parts , their functions, it has children modeling sitting on the potty ,that going potty takes time etc. He initially would just sing along to the potty song and not do any poopoo . Every time he had an accident in the tub , I would sit him onto the toilet and tell him Poopoo goes in the potty , not in the shower .
But low and behold , one day he asked me to help him put the attachment on the toilet seat because he had to go potty . I was like like "can it truly be that he has comprehended the concept ????". To my suprise , the little guy was sitting on the toilet and indeed going poopoo, and has since then. Of course I made a big deal about it , and he still asks me do this day do give him praise for a good job going to the toilet, which I gladly do for him. Now the little man sits there on the potty flipping through toy catalogs as he does his business LOL. .
So hang in there , it will get better .

The samething happened to my grandaughter everytime my daughter gave her a bath, and it is the warm water that makes their tummy want to go . Don`t have any suggestions, but it will stop when he realizes what he is doing, just put up with it.

H.

I'm sorry, I have no advice as my soon-to-be 1-year-old hasn't done this... YET. But your posting made me LOL and I really needed that today. I know ya'll are frustrated, so I hope you're able to resolve the issue soon. If nothing else, you have a very funny story to tell his future wife when they're about to start their own family. : )

Good luck!

P.S. - The "Black Death" nearly made me spit my coffee out. Good stuff!!

I have no idea what to tell you, but your post did make me laugh. Thanks, and good luck.

I bet the tub relaxes him, and makes it easier for him to go. I had a pet iguana in college who was the same way.

OK, i didn't have any advice but wanted to read what others had said. After reading what others said, I reeeeeaaaalllly don't think you should make him help clean it up like someone suggested, nor scold him much (besides what you're doing). He's too young to understand that!

I would try getting the little swimmers diapers and putting those on him when you give a bath until the phase passes. Good luck!

Ok I can sympathize. My youngest did this. I just started bathing her very quickly--plopped her in the tub, scrubbed her down and took her out. This way she didn't have a chance to get comfortable and poo. And I kept the water very shallow.

She was closer to being two years old, so when she told me she wanted toys and to play, I just frankly told her that when she plays with toys in the tub, she poops in the tub and that isn't allowed. After a couple of months of the quickie baths, I put her back in the tub to play and she did fine. I think her body had to get used to pooping outside of the water again. It is just a phase, it will pass. Don't worry, won't be pooping in the tub when he is 10 or anything! :)

Hi reading the responses that video Once Upon A Potty is also a book, a very good book. Beautifully written to the very young child.
Also, just making him aware, not in a yelling manner, but that is icky in the bathtub and a no no. Lets go on the potty.
Have you tried to put him on the potty before his bath? Maybe emptying his bowel before may help.
But yes, you will look back and smile about it one day.