Stopping poops in the pants!!

[Twoterrorsmum]

Hey everyone, I hope someone may have a suggestion in what I can do regarding my son. He has just turned 4 and is toilet trained but just lately (probably the last couple of months) he is doing the occasional poo in his pants instead of going to the toilet. It doesn't happen every time he does one but has done it enough times for me to wonder why he is doing this now. The one thing I thought of was is that he has started kindy (which he loves going to) this year so maybe that has something to do with it?? When he does a poo in his pants I don't whether to not make a big deal out of it or tell him off for doing it, as being 4 yrs old, I think he definately knows what he's doing and is just being lazy in not going to the toilet. I've also thought that because he is a bit older I wonder if each time he does one in his pants is to take one of his favourite toys off him until he starts doing it again every time in the toilet? Please let me know if you have any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it!! Bye-bye for now.

[Maghan]

I think four is still little, but a reward chart of sorts could help. Maybe something is stressing him out. Kindy's a big step and as I have posted in other threads, I wouldn't want to poo in a communal area with other people around either!

[the_queen]

Hi there!
:)
At this age, maybe he gets too involved in what he's doing and just can't bear to leave it to go to the toilet. I would try really hard not to tell him off, because shaming a child about toileting habits will not ever make it better. If he feels like he's going to get told off for it, he might hide it from you instead of letting you know it's happened - how keen are you on finding a pooey pair of jocks under his bed a few weeks from now :p ??

Also, although it sounds a little odd, sometimes a "sneaky poo" is a sign of constipation. If he's bunged up, then sometimes a bit will "sneak past" the blockage (oh this is delightful conversation isn't it LOL!!). You might just need to increase his fibre intake and ask him if he needs to go to the toilet every couple of hours.

Good luck!! It's a tricky (and yukky!) situation, I hope you find a solution soon! :thumbsup: