my daughter is potty training----she is doing well with number 1 but has a hard time with number 2--she says she is scared of poop -- any suggestions? anybody know what I can say or do? she goes to daycare/pre/k and I really don't believe they are working with her as much as they could be.........
Here's an interesting blog on this topic by a child/family therapist. We own a preschool and w/o knowing more details (her age, etc), a large adult potty is sometimes scary to a child. If not, try using a smaller child potty. Good luck!
http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2009/09/22/...
That was the same thing with our daughter. She started holding it for almost a week at a time though until it was so painful for her. It was horrible for all of us. Along with the doctor's recommendation of miralax we started her on a poop sticker chart. That way we could keep track before she went too long with out bowel movement. The sticker chart was more for us to be aware of what was going on with her, but the candy (at my husband's suggestion) worked amazingly. So much so that she was trying to go all the time so she could get more candy! Total 180! We had to tell her that she could make as many poops as she needed to per day, but that she was limited to 2 candies per day. We just changed the type of gummy candy every week. Good luck!
We picked out a special toy for our daughter, that she was allowed to have the first time she pooped on the potty. I keep a box of small things I find that are on sale, or from the dollar store - coloring books, puzzles, finger puppets, books from the used book store, that sort of thing - for bad weather, or traveling, or whatever. The second time, she was allowed to "shop" in that box. After that, she got a sticker chart - five stickers got her another chance to pick from the box. After two prizes, she stopped reminding us to count stickers. After a while, she stopped asking for stickers, and we put the chart away. I NEVER reminded her that it was time for a prize or sticker. If she forgot, all the better for me!
Also, if your daughter is using the "big potty" instead of a potty chair, put a stool in front of it. BM is more comfortable for the little ones if they have somewhere to brace their feet.
First make sure it is EASY for her to poop--plenty of water and fiber. Second, bribe her. I swore I wasn't going to do it, but I tried stickers and patience and every other suggestion I could find. She wasn't afraid, she just WOULD NOT do it. In the end, M&Ms were her downfall! As candy is rare in our house, it did the trick. But, you MUST be consistent--no reward for "trying".
I put a screw top jar just outside the bathroom so that the reward was visible but not accessible. She got two for pooping in the potty. At one point she wouldn't say "I have to poop" she would say "I want chocolate". She was reliably pooping in the toilet in less than a week. I let her have the M&Ms until they were gone--though I *might* have thrown some away while she wasn't looking to lessen the amount of time they were around.
The daycare only used stickers, but there were also other kids training so it was more of a group activity.
