I have a 3-year old that is not potty-trained. He goes peeing on the potty and toilet once in a while. He was never interested in doing #2 on the potty, he just wanted to stand in his room by himself. Since one week he has been holding in his poop. Two days in a row he was in the bath and then had to make so I sat him on the toilet and he made. Now we are going on 3 days without making and his tummy is rock hard and he complaints that it hurts and he wants me to hold him all the time. It's horrible to see him in pain and then it takes sooo much of my time. I don't think it is constipation, it's more a thing in his mind, he tells me "I don't want to poop" when I tell him that if he pushes it out it will feel much better. I've been reading on the Internet and it seems to be pretty common for them to have problems like this, but I don't know, it's really hard. I've also been watching his diet, making sure he drinks a lot and eats fruits and veggies. Really appreciace any advice! THanks, C.
Wow! Thank you soooo much for all the responses, thiw website is great! He got fever last night and still had it this morning so I went to doctor. She told me to give him Miralax and Children's glycerin, which I didn't like. We also found out he had Strep throat so he received antibiotics for that. Doctor said I should wait with the constipation medication since the antibiotics might help. When we got back home his belly just got worse and worse and he was crying every 5 minutes out of pain. I felt I couldn't take it any more so again I went to the pharmacy, and bought everything you guys mentioned and I also found something called Fleet Pedia-Lax, both LIquid stool softener and Liquid Glycerin Suppositories (a liquid that comes in a lubricated applicator). I brought it home and realized that the suppositories said they would work from 15 minutes to 60 minutes. I changed my sons diaper and gave him a lollipop and when he was relaxing watching TV I put it in! He immediately started screaming and I realized something was coming out very soon. I put the new diaper on fast and it started immediately. The funny thing was that as soon he felt the first came out, he was standng and pushing without crying. He worked on it for about 10 minutes and I was next to him telling him that what a good job he was doing. It was rock hard, so no wonder he didn't want to push it out. This worked out for me now, but I can see this problem can be a long-term one. If it continues tomorrow I will probably try the mineral oil and other things you suggested. I'm not a big believer in long-term use of medication and children so I rather try the natural way if it works. But today, the medication worked out for us. We felt as we got our son back again after he had pooped:)
Thank you all so much and I will use all of your advice!
My son did the same thing. He would ask me to put a diaper on him so he could poop. The pediatrician told me it was a control issue for him. They told me to use glycerin suppositories and he'll HAVE to poop on the potty. I did that approx. 4 times and it worked like a charm. You can buy them at Publix. Just as the pharmacist.
Good luck
My heart goes to you. I went thru the same situation with my today 6 year old. I tried to force his toilet training because he was starting school with 2.8 years old. Big mistake! He got traumatized and started to have the same symptoms that your child has . It got so bad that until 1st grade he was having accidents. He was postponing the need to go the bathroom and poop so when I got to him it was too late. I took him to a psychologist and here are some recommendations:
1. 2 tbs of mineral oil daily (this will help him soften up his intestines)
2. Establish a pattern of modifying behavior for him.,
Ex. Wake up
go the bathroom (even if he does not feel like it)
Dress him
During the day (at a consistent and determined time
sit him in toilet even if he does not feel like it and wait. If he doesn't do anything thats fine. It's just trying to establish a pattern. (his body will respond)
Whenever he goes reward him with something simple (take him to the park, buy him an ice cream, etc)
This requires a lot of discipline, consistency and tons of patience. Trust me it will work. My problem was that I was not consistent and it took longer. I hope this helps because I know this could be very frustrating for you as a mom and trust me, for the child as well and can affect his self esteem. Hope this helps. God Bless!
C., I had a problem with this when my son was 4 years old and already potty trained. I found this doctor's info on the internet and it worked very well. No harsh laxatives involved! Here's the link:
http://askwaltstollmd.com/body_cons.html
good luck! (ps this is similar to Ileana's recommendation; it's important to get this resolved when your son is a toddler because it can have far reaching effects once the child is in school. )
Reward him for going potty on the toilet. Give him those little gummy fruit snacks (I think Gerber makes them). Show him the treats...let him try one. Hopefully he will like them enough to want more...BUT let him know that he won't get another one until he goes poopy on the toilet. And ONLY give him ONE treat every time he goes. If he wants more, you tell him that he needs to make more poopy and he'll get another one. I used the fruit snacks, stickers, a few minutes in the pool as a "reward" for my daughters, who were both potty trained by their second birthday. I am now potty training my 3rd child and he'll be 2 in July but still he's not going poopy on the toilet yet. It does take time but you have to be consistent. Another thing I did with both of my daughters, especially when I knew they had to go but they were holding it in, was to put them on the toilet and make them sit there until they went. I would make excuses to leave the bathroom, like "mommy has to get a drink of water, or I need to go get something." Having them sit there until they finally go worked for me. You have nothing to lose but to try it. Good luck.
I would say go to the doctor to see what he says and make sure exactlty what might be causing it. I also have 2 suggestions. My daughters Doctor told me to give her 1 TBS of Kyro Surup per 4 to 6 oz of juice. This help a lot. I also give my son an Epson Salt Bath every night for other reasons but one of the side effects is that it helps him poop. In the middle of the bath he will get out and poop and other moms have told me the same thing. You just do not want him to drink the water. But just by them sitting in it it helps.
Good luck
Hi C., I would take him to the dr just to make sure that its not costipation.
Hi C., I have had the same problem with my now 4 year old son. He started te same thing when he was 3, maybe even 2. He finally became fully potty trained when he was 3 1/2 or so. This is what I have found to help.
His pediatrician tried to give him laxatives which onlt made the problem worse because then he would have accidents. I went the natural way and it has been the only thing to work. Most likely your son won't go because he had a bad experience with it being painful in the past.
On a daily basis I give my son a teaspoon of either cod liver oil or Scott's Immulsion (in the morning), I buy at the supermarket BoltHouse Farms Berry Drink(blue bottle), you can usually find it near the fruit and it's a smoothie consistency, it's organic and is full of fiber, 8 grams of fiber per serving! It tastes great so is more of a treat to drink.
Even though it's not constipation this will make it more comfortable for him to go, so after a few times he will realize it doesn't hurt anymore.
As far as potty training, the only thing that worked to get him completely potty trained was anytime he was at home, I took off his pull ups so he didn't have anything on, when he had to use the bathroom he knew the only choice was to go to the potty, it took only 2 weekends of this and then I started sending him to daycare with his big boy underwear....he never had any problem since.
Hope this info helps.
I still have to be on top of him and sometimes bribe him to go #2....If I see that it's been 2 days and no potty, I tell him if he goes #2 on the potty he will get a surprise...cookies or some treat. It works every time.
Hi C. did you try giving your son warm water with fresh lemon juice early in the morning, wait for an hour then put him on the potty and give him a few books to read make it fun and see what happens.
J.
My daughter went throught the same thing.....a few good funny children's books out there.....Everyone poops, everyone has gas, It hurts when I poop........all Great! The big thing was my daughter wasn't comfortable.....until I got her a smaller seat to go on top of the toilet, she was comfy and went......Also alot of kids don't want to poop because they feel "it's part of them and are scared to "let it go" that's where those books I mentioned come into play Good luck! Isn't being a mommy, so much fun?!?!?! LOL!!!
I'm glad you were able to fix the problem but I don't agree with giving your child half of the stuff listed in the other posts. Again, just my opinion. My mom always talks about how when she was little her parents gave her cod liver oil/castor oil/or mineral oil once a season or more frequently "to keep her regular" and she SWEARS to this day, she's 57, that she's had problems with her bowels all of her life b/c of this.
Blueberries, strawberries, apple juice, grape juice, cheerios, kix, leafy green veggies, raw broccoli, lots of water and a good overall diet are great natural helpers. =)
Poor thing, he had strep and was sick, constipated,and probably felt horrible. =( Kids can be very stubborn. It's probably in his mind and then a little bit of constipation made it worse. That's like kids refusing to eat dinner but eating snacks and junk food. If you take away the junk food they try to test your limits and refuse to eat "real food". Well guess what, they will eat evenutally. Same for #2. lol. It will come out evenutally weather he knows it or not. I was constipated after the birth of my 2nd child thanksto the pain meds. It was a horrible horrible experience. It seemed to go on for an eternity but maybe 4-5 days. I feel his pain! I took colace. Not sure if children can take that. Hopefully it will never go this long for your boy again. Keep a look out. Good luck!
take your son to the dr. If it hurts him and he does not want to go, it will only get worse- then every time he goes it will continue to hurt because it is so hard. the same thing happened to my friend, she waited too long, and her son ended up having to go to a specialist. a lot of times they will give you laxatives to make him go more often and loosen him up. it definitely is not something to try and solve yourself. good luck!
You are doing very well on watching his diet and hydration. Try sitting him on the toilet every 30-40 minutes and praise if he goes, but do not scould if he doesn't. My grandaughter used to take a teaspoon of mineral oil (For the constipation)and it worked well. Some children feel they are "loosing" a part of themselves when they see the poop go down, so don't flush while he is still in the bathroom. Also, consult the pediatrician, they're a good source of help.
Hi C.. My son had the same problem. I had him drink a lot of water and also if your son likes cereal the ones with bran is very good cherrios, captain crunch, these are the two which I fed my son. Sometimes he went morning and evening. Also sometimes they do not like the potty because they do not see anyone else using one. Try putting him on the toilet and compliment him, tell him what a big boy he is to use the big toilet like mommy and daddy and compliment him after wards. I hope that you do find a solution, I wish you all the best with this.
C.,
You are not on your own, but I will give you a wonderful tip. You can purchase DARK Karo syrup from most grocery stores. Give it to him straight or mix it with his favorite beverage. At 4 months old we gave her about 1/2 tsp in a bottle of milk. Now that she's older I try to give her about 1 1/2 tsp. You might have to do it several times a day until he's regular.
Also, Walgreens sells a children's laxative called Fletcher's Laxative for Kids. It's a liquid that smells like licorice. We just gave it to her last night, as a matter of fact.
You should be careful that he does not become too constipated. About 2 weeks ago, our daugher was straining a lot on the floor in behind her toy box. Her poops were extremely hard, and she ended up having rectal bleeding. The pediatrian suggested changing the diet and giving her a lot of fiber. Well, 2 weeks later, she is still constipated. Last night she was in a lot of pain when she tried to go, and was crying because it hurt. My husband went to the pharmacy, and that's when they gave him the Fletcher's. It takes 8-12 hours to kick in.
Other suggestions, if he does not have these allergies are prune juice or actual pitted prunes. There are also children's suppositories that I would not try doing if he's awake. It works within 1/2 hour.
Hope he gets relief soon.
