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Child is Pee Trained, but Still Not Pooping in the Potty


I received recently an email from a parent whose little girl is 99% pee trained using The Potty Boot Camp.  Her daughter is rarely having accidents but still is not pooping in the toilet.  Below is her question and my reply.

Question:

"E" is 99% potty-trained for pee in the potty, but that last transition of poop in the potty seems to be tough. she tries: "E" pushing poo poo out. No, just pee pee."
She has pooped in the potty before -- a few months ago I caught her pooping in her diaper and ran her over to finish on the potty successfully. And one month ago she was peeing and noticed she pushed a bit of poop out then.

I don't think she is scared of pooping in the potty, it just isn't happening for some reason.

How do I get through this? she now poops about every other day, sometimes the poop is in her nap time diaper or pull up. I don't think she will poop in her panties, the stigma is bad enough that she seems to know that isn't an option.

Answer:

The poop issue many times will resolve on its own given time. Especially when the child is doing well in every other aspect- like yours! It is much more of a problem when the child is 'sneaking' off to poop, hiding, or going in their underwear.

You can try to make it a separate 'event' - once per day have a 'poop' sit. (around nap time, maybe). Tell her you are going to work on getting the poop out. Maybe use the little potty instead of the big one.... Or the big instead of the little. (whatever is different from what she is using for pee.)

Just try to make it a special event- a cozy stuffed friend to hold, special music, a book - tell her you are going to stay until she goes (or at least tries for a while)......

She is doing so well I bet it will all fall into place soon!


Another source for parents to help with "poop problems" is Where's the Poop?, available from Amazon.com and other major booksellers.  I have heard feedback from many parents that it's light-hearted approach has helped many children overcome hesitation about using the potty.
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