Really hoping somebody can advise me with this increasingly frustrating problem. I have twin girls aged 4.5. One of them refuses to poo on the toilet. I have tried several times to sort this out, we always fail.
It all started because for a long time as a young toddler she suffered from constipation. She was taking Movicol for a while, is not taking it any more and there is no constipation. But as a result I think she has bad associations with pooing, and has developed her own 'technique' by sort of hopping from foot to foot whilst standing up and wearing a nappy.
Clearly I have my eye on September looming, and her starting school. I've taken her to the doctors about it a few times, although the issue was for a long while intertwined with the constipation - it isn't any more, but she absolutely refuses to go on the toilet. She will sit on the toilet, even after having held it in for days (if I refuse to give her a nappy) and even if just prior to sitting on the loo she has been saying she's desperate for a poo, she just cannot make the physical association with doing it once she's sat down. She'll sit there all innocently for half an hour, and then get off again saying she doesn't need to go.
Does anyone have any advice? We've tried sticker charts, promises of treats, encouragement, sitting with her, talking to her... it feels like we've tried everything. Last ditch attempt was to buy her a princess potty (oh the shame ) to try to take it 'back to basics' - she was very excited about it.... right up to the point at which she thought she was expected to actually do a poo on it.
If I take away nappies she just holds it in until she can't any more and then will eventually poo her pants. It's incredibly stressful and I feel like I'm torturing her by taking away the nappies - because she's a very capable and proud girl and she finds pooing herself horribly humiliating - it's as though she actually doesn't know how else to do it.
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4.5yr DD has never done a poo on the toilet...
17 replies
voiceofgodot · 13/05/2014 17:06
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