5 Reasons Why Your Child Won’t Poop in the Potty
Dec 13, 2023
Can you guess what the most common potty problem is? Not pooping in the potty. Most often, when parents reach out to me, their child is on the older side and will only poop in a diaper, and not the potty or toilet.
If you’ve experienced this as a parent, rest assured you’re not alone. As a Gentle Potty Coach, my goal is to prevent these problems before they arise. But often, by the time parents call me, we need to first get to the root of the cause.
Idea
With understanding comes compassion.
Sometimes, simply asking your child how their feeling can shed light on this hurdle. Once we have some information about why they are avoiding pooping, we can consider strategies that will help them.
Resource
5 reasons why your child might not want to poop in the potty or toilet:
- They are constipated.
You may not even realize your child is constipated because they poop regularly. However, if your child’s poop is hard and dry, it might not be so easy to get it out.
- They are afraid.
Consider their experiences with the potty and the toilet? What was their experience when they first potty trained? Reflecting on these questions could offer some answers.
- They don’t need to.
Do they get a diaper when they ask for one? Sometimes it’s hard for us to see our child uncomfortable and distressed, and that leads us to eventually giving in and offering a diaper if that means our child will poop. I’m not saying that this is never okay – but with gentle coaching and appropriate strategies, we can help children feel confident and comfortable saying goodbye to diapers.
- They want to be in control.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably experienced the dreaded power struggle. I jokingly say, “We can’t squeeze it out of them!” So ultimately, we have to find the balance of guiding our child and empowering them to feel good about learning new skills and gaining independence.
- The sensation is uncomfortable.
Letting the poop go into the potty is a huge change from pooping in a diaper. Some children have specific preferences: standing, hiding, holding a parent’s hand or squatting.
Tip
Reach out to your pediatrician about softening your child’s stool (this is not the same as a laxative). Even if your child poops daily, softening it will make the process more comfortable.
If a child is afraid or uncomfortable, take baby steps from standing and pooping, to squatting, and finally sitting and pooping on the potty with a diaper on. A floor potty like this one is super helpful here.
More questions?