Identify your child’s problem
Toilet anxiety
“Mom, I need a diaper.”
- Do you hear this request every time your child needs to poop?
Are you unsure whether to give him a diaper or not? - Have people advised you to tell him you’ve run out of diapers?
- Did you take that advice, but then your child stopped pooping for several days?
We generally see toilet anxiety in kids of 2 to 5 years. They simply can’t poop in the toilet. Instead, they poop in their underpants or ask for a diaper to poop into.
Soiling
- Does your child always release a little feces before going to the toilet?
- Does your child poop everywhere and then carry on without changing his underpants as if nothing happened?
- Have you seen your child doing his best to withhold, and then denying it when you suggest he goes to the toilet?
While children in this group poop in the toilet, they also soil their clothes. They release varying amounts of poo into their clothes and continue with their business as if nothing has happened.
Soiling and constipation
- Does your child withhold her poo?
- Does she reach a point where she can’t eat or play because of the burden of her constipation?
- Does she release tiny amounts of feces many times a day but never has a full bowel movement?
This affects children who-for long periods of time tend to retain their poo and constipate for days or even weeks. Now and then they may release small amounts of poo into their clothes. Kids in this group experience extreme distress both physically and psychologically.