My son will not have a bowel movement on the potty.

Stephanie - posted on 02/07/2010

Went through the same thing w/ my son. He would hold it in for 3 or 4 days & only stand up to go #2 when he absolutely had to. When I mentioned this to his ped, they referred him to a gastrointogist (I'm sure the spelling is wrong, but I have been up since 3:30). They ended up putting him to sleep & scoping from both ends. He was 6 weeks away from his 3rd birthday when this happened. They put him on Miralax (you can now get it over the counter but check w/ dr first) & then suggested Benefiber as a supplement. The doctor told me he wanted him to have a bowel movement daily & when he found that Alex loved to "read" books, he suggested that I keep some books in the bathroom & encourage him to sit & "read" them while he pottied. At first, I had to sit w/ him but pretty soon, he decided that he needed his privacy & would shoo me out the door. I don't mean to scare you, but if he is holding his BM's in you might want to check w/ your pediatrican.

One note of encouragement: I am a Early Head Start teacher (my students are between 6 weeks - 3 years old) & if I have learned nothing from them (& my son), I have learned that for the most part - THIS TO SHALL PASS (no pun intended).

Good luck & hang in there!!

Jennifer - posted on 02/06/2010

Depending on his age, I would ask him to tell you when he needs to poop and maybe put a diaper on him just for then. Would he poop in a potty rather than the toilet? He might not like the splashing feeling on his bottom.

Deva - posted on 02/05/2010

My son was having a simlar issue. He would got pee but not #2. We found out that his BM were so painful he would not go unless it was accident. I took him to the dr and got some meds for him now we don't have any problems. If his BM are hard I would take him to see his dr and see what they can do for him.

Martine - posted on 02/05/2010

Don't worry about it, he'll do it when he's ready. My nearly three year old won't poo on a potty /toilet and will ask for a nappy when he wants to do one and I will put one on him. My daughter who is now seven had a problem with pooing, she was advanced for her age etc but refused to poo on a potty / toilet even when she was dry at night. She ended up being constipated and this went on for weeks, when she was ready she did it. Patience is the key.

Glenda - posted on 02/05/2010

Buy him his own potty. My daughter refused to use the adult potty so i bought her the princess potty from walmart and I haven't had a problem since. It lets a congratulatory song when she urinates or poops. She loves it.

Kekua - posted on 02/04/2010

my son, and many others - this isn't uncommon, hated pooping in the potty b/c it makes a splash and sometimes that splash is big enough to splash up onto the cheeks. very unpleasant.

so when he was learning we used a "poop mat" which is a strip of toilet paper laid onto the water before he goes. no splash.