https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 16 Apr 2026 02:16:17 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2766066 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 20:28:02 +0000 Mae 2766066@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know if my daughter was SCARED so much as impatient. We're only about a month into potty training but poop has definitely been a thing. She's been a bit reluctant, and definitely holding it for days at a time sometimes (we give her prunes which work wonderfully for her). What seems to help us is 1) iPad (we let her watch videos only when she's waiting to poop. Keeps her on the potty long enough to let it happen) and 2) rewards (she gets 4 skittles if she poops. BIG DEAL! lol) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2766030 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 18:29:31 +0000 math.nerd 2766030@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Shantuck: A #2 balloon! I love that. Hilarious.<br /> @Mrs. Carrot: I think we may have to pull out the ipad too. Great idea.<br /> @kiddosc: I totally agree - I don't want to force the potty either! But I offered him a diaper the other day and he didn't want that either. I think the fear is of the act of pooping, not the potty. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765912 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 11:58:51 +0000 kiddosc 2765912@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For us the answer was not to force him to poop on the potty at all. It was more important to me that he didn't develop a fear of pooping that let to digestive issues and constipation than that he was fully potty trained. We let him poop in a pull-up or diaper when he said he had to go. Every time we'd ask if wanted to try the toilet, and every time he said no. We talked about pooping on the potty, encouraged him to try without being angry or judgemental... and one day, he just said yes. He never looked back, he was fully trained with no accidents since that day. He just needed to be ready to do it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765910 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 11:50:13 +0000 Banana330 2765910@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>my daughter was definitely scared when she first started pooping on the potty. I think she also wasn't comfortable doing it. She pooped in her undies every day at daycare for almost a month. We did another pantless weekend, and told her if she did a poop in the potty she could have a chocolate bunny. She would say her tummy hurt before a poop, then ask for us to sit with her or hug her while she did it. But after she was so proud, loved her chocolate bunny and poop dance. It's been another month and she's done really well on the potty. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765904 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 11:08:52 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2765904@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This was my daughter exactly. The thing that helped us is distraction. We had an old iPhone laying around, we loaded it with a bunch of kid games (Daniel Tiger Stop and Go Potty was a big hit, but anything else your kid may be into would work), and we told her that she can play games while on the potty. It was incentive enough for her to sit down long enough for nature to take its course, and after a a few times of successful poops, the association was broken that it was painful and now she goes without a problem. It takes time, but something will flip for him too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765878 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 10:02:50 +0000 Shantuck 2765878@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had this exact problem and my son would hold it out of fear. One day my husband picked up a children's suppository from Walgreens, they used it and hung out in the bathroom, and he basically couldn't hold it in anymore even if he wanted to. Then after that he realized that it didn't actually hurt and we gave him a big boy gift (a toy car he'd been wanting) and had a little "poo poo" party (a cake, a #2 balloon, sang happy poo poo to you, etc.) and that was the end of it for us. After that, he was officially potty trained! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765873 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 09:54:53 +0000 MamaG 2765873@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@math.nerd: We live near a water tower and pass it daily. Since we had already explained the function of the water tower and having pipes underground I used this all to make up a story too. For us it was the fish that ate poop. And, while the fish weren't in the toilet, the pipes underground did carry the poop to them in the lakes, streams, ocean, etc. Worked for her :)</p> <p>Now the little one was seriously afraid of pooping in the potty, so I didn't even try. She would have been afraid of the fish biting her bottom.</p> <p>I also used "brave" and "strong" with our second over the past couple of weeks when we were working through learning to poop on the potty. </p> <p>When all else failed for us, the exercise really seemed to get things moving to where she didn't have much of a choice but to let it go. Speaking of let it go, I recall our neighbors using Frozen's let it go for their son a few years ago. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765862 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 09:36:50 +0000 math.nerd 2765862@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@autumnleaves: @MrsF: @MamaG: Thank you all so much! I will be sure to read the Bees posts and watch the videos (but maybe not in the office! :-)) </p> <p>And @Ajsmommy: YES! He did have a pretty hard and painful poop last week so I'm sure that's what stoked his fear again. I feel for you and your DD - you're describing exactly what's going on with us. Last night he finally said he was 'afraid' to use the potty. And I told him it was OK to be afraid, but that I know he's really brave which means we do stuff even if we're afraid. That seemed to help. </p> <p>That and telling him that there are crabs in the bottom of the potty that need to eat his poop and they were hungry for dinner. HA! As soon as that came out of my mouth I thought - Oh, shit. I'm going to make it worse! Crabs??? In the Potty? But he kind of loved it, pooped in the potty and was talking about the crabs eating his poop for the rest of the evening.</p> <p>Kids (and the things we do for them) are so weird. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765828 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 06:34:52 +0000 Ajsmommy 2765828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oomph, story of my life the past 6 or so months!! DD was pee trained early but asked for a diaper to poop for quite some time. We were ok with this bc she was so young and basically trained herself to pee on the potty (we believe due to older kid influence at daycare, since they were peeing on potty she wanted to too). </p> <p>Anyway, she'd ask for a diaper to poop and we had no problems giving her that. However, what started to happen was if she had to poop at daycare they tried to get her to go on the potty and she just wasn't ready so this in turn began her cycle of holding it. She realized she could hold it and everything got worse because then she'd just hold it for daysssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!! SHe'd hold it at daycare bc she didn't want to go on the potty and she'd hold it at home bc she was too busy playing. Then when she'd finally go it was a nightmare. Would take her hours/even days to poop, it would hurt and she'd cry and scream. I spent days, literally holding her hands while she tried to push out her poop. We ended up on miralax which sorta helped. </p> <p>She finally gave up the diapers, not really sure why, I mean we talked to her about just going on the potty and stuff but we didn't force anything bc lord knows we didn't want to make anything worse. She just started going on the potty. We do still have issues though.... if she holds it for even a day it hurts her and she screams and cries, it's quite terrible!! I've asked the ped many times if this is ok and they say it is. We'll have 3-4 good days where she goes no problem and she's happy/excited that she went with no problem and then we'll revert back to a tough poop day and she'll cry.... but at least now it's on the potty and it's not taking her days to pass her poop. </p> <p>All that just to commiserate. Did your DS have any painful poop experience? that could possibly make him revert?</p> <p>Good luck!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765795 Mon, 07 Aug 2017 21:56:57 +0000 MamaG 2765795@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've read some on the topic recently as we were having issues with our girl. Seems to be really common for boys. Our breakthrough came recently on a full size toilet where her bum sort of hung down. I think gravity helped a ton. We read books until her legs got tired. Then she ran laps down our main hall for about five minutes. After that her body was ready. Ever since its been daily progress. </p> <p>Can he express what his fear seems to be about? Seems a little odd that he'd regress. But I'm certainly not an expert. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765775 Mon, 07 Aug 2017 20:07:33 +0000 MrsF 2765775@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're going through some of this with my son. He's only 2.5 and jack starting with potty training but definitely fearful of pooping. I haven't read the book but I've found these videos from the "oh crap potty training" author helpful. </p> <p><a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=atiXFc6x3C8" rel="nofollow">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=atiXFc6x3C8</a></p> <p><a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8H--B5v8ehw" rel="nofollow">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8H--B5v8ehw</a></p> <p>we're definitely still working on this, but her advice about using a small potty at the beginning, right in the middle of where they are playing so there's no panicked run to the bathroom (even though it's so much less gross to use the big toilet) and being really nonchalant about it has helped. I think we were getting all frantic (even though we thought it was encouraging) and adding to my son's feeling of his panic rather than helping him relax. </p> <p>The Bees' series on constipation and the books that they reference were both very helpful as well when my daughter went through similar issues. She was actually constipated though, which luckily we have been able to around this time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765752 Mon, 07 Aug 2017 18:36:11 +0000 autumnleaves 2765752@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@math.nerd: I am sorry that you are going through this. My LO was scared to poop but for a relatively short period of time. Awhile ago Mr. Bee did a series of posts about this though - have you had a chance to look at them? <a href="http://www.hellobee.com/2012/10/26/the-ins-and-outs-of-poop-part-1/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hellobee.com/2012/10/26/the-ins-and-outs-of-poop-part-1/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/iswas-your-lo-scared-to-poop#post-2765742 Mon, 07 Aug 2017 17:49:23 +0000 math.nerd 2765742@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sorry for the probably TMI post, but if I can't talk to other parents about poop, who can I talk to?? :-)</p> <p>My 3.5yo son has been peeing in the potty for a while, no problems. Poop was a different story. But recently we got him going and we had some great success for a few weeks. He was still reluctant to go and sit on the potty, but he was doing it with less and less whining every day.</p> <p>Because he was so apprehensive about pooping for a while before and during the beginning of using the potty, we've been giving him Miralax (under Dr. supervision) as well.</p> <p>Well, suddenly this week he seems to have totally regressed. He's been holding in his poop for a few days but we can see that he's so uncomfortable dancing around. When we suggest the potty he sometimes says he wants to go, but then we get in the room and he freaks out and will not sit on the potty. He doesn't want a diaper either. I think he's just really terrified to poop! </p> <p>Did you have a kiddo with a similar fear? Any suggestions on how to help him? His poops are soft - I think he's just anticipating that they will hurt. How do we help him understand that pooping doesn't have to hurt and will actually make him feel better!!</p> <p>TIA! </p>