3 Year Old Holds in Poop

My daughter used to do the same thing. The only thing that worked that I didn't like to do was to give her a suppository, she will not be able to hold it in then. It would normally work in about 15-20 minutes or so. I hated to do it, but her stomach was also distended also and nothing else worked. She didn't like it at all, but after having to do it a few times, I would tell her if she doesn't let her poop out, that I would have to do that again and she stopped holding it in. Good luck!

Maybe mom needs to poop with her...I would suggest fig bars, raisin bran cereal or prune juice to help nature take its course but not all together since , if she had an accident on herself she'd be back to square one after the embarrassment. Check with the doctor, since she might have an impaction from too much cheese or other binding foods...If it starts to hurt her when she tries to poop she might stop instead of straining...A tear in her anus would be bad for her health...Last resort would be an enema but not as a punishment but only as loving help to keep her healthy...Maybe you need to explain that the poop is just like taking out the garbage....Good luck!
i have heard of this before and it does go away...

Hi Sandra,

I have gone through the same thing with my daughter (almost three) since she was very little in regards to holding in the poop. No amount of convincing or bribing with treats would make her go. We took her to see a GI doc at childrens close to a year ago and she has really improved. If her belly is distended and full, they might recommend "cleaning her out" first by using an enema. You can just give her one of those suppositories at home. It is a bit awkward, but the harder poop needs to come out first, to make way for the rest. It actually took my daughter a couple days of suppositories to finally go. She then was put on the full cap of miralax and a dissolving strip of pedialax once a day for a couple months. She continues to take just the miralax now and has a couple bowel movements a day, very loose. She is also completely potty trained and has no problem going on the potty and her appetite has quadrupled. Poor kid must have had such a full tummy. Definitely lots of praise like the other moms said when she does go. It does take a bit of time for the miralax to really kick in ( a couple days) or your daughter may need a bit more. We increased my daughters dose (per the GI doc) to a cap and a half for awhile as soon as we noticed her holding it in. One of the best things we did for my daughter was to cut out dairy in her diet, that really blocked her up. She drinks soy milk now and loves it. Lots of fruit and as much veggies as she'll eat of course. Rasins she loves. But honestly, we did the whole changing her diet route first and it didn't work, we had to add in the miralax. She held it so long, she had a 105 degree fever and we had to take her to the ER thinking she had a bowel obstruction. She didn't, but I totally understand how frustrating this is and how much it hurts to see your little one in pain. Good luck and definitely make an appt to see a doc at childrens if things don't improve.

My daughter has been doing the same thing and she is four (fully trained). We have used the miralax as well and given her lots of positive encouragement when she goes in the potty. It is working. If you haven't taken your daughter to the doctor you should to make sure that their isn't an infection. Good luck! I know that it can be frustrating, but your positive reinforcement when she does it right and being very patient when she has "accidents" will really help.

We had the same problem for almost a year! My daughter (now 3 yrs) got really constipated once and that made her afraid to poop. Our doctor recommended miralax and we had to use suppositories a few times, which she hated! Lots of fiber was essential to loosen things up. Try adding ground flax seed to your daughter's food. Nature's Path makes wonderful low-sugar cereal called Flax Plus (whole foods has it for $2.99 a box!). They also make flax seed oatmeal. Avoid too much white bread, sweets (chocolate!), bananas. In January we made a beautiful chart for our daughter, where we would put stickers every time she pooped on the toilet. We would also reward her with a piece of white chocolate after each poop (I know, bribery, but since she couldn't have any milk chocolate, it seemed fair). We talked to her a lot about how everyone poops, and used some humor ("poops like to swim in water"). At first it took A LOT of encouragement, and she only pooped every 3-5 days. Now, 5 months later, she's pooping once or twice a day without a problem. It seemed that this problem would never end! We were so tired and frustrated and worried about her health (she also eats very little). At some point she realized that pooping makes her tummy feel better, and she stopped doing her "holding dance." Hang in there and be patient! This too shall pass, as they say. In the meantime, lots of fiber! Best of luck!!!

My son does the same thing. I talked to my dr. and he said to give him miralax (full adult size amount) for at least a month. The colon is no expanded so they an hold more and it needs to get back to it's normal size. If it's too runny at the full dose, cut in half. It works, he goes, but still in a diaper but at least he's not holding it in. They have to go eventually. My son is four!

OMG! that sounds exactly the same situation that I used to have. My son would cry because he would force himself to keep it in. One day after crying and screamming, my babysitter told him that if he wouldn't let it out, mommy was going to take him to the doctor, the doctor was going to open his belly and get the poop out. She told him that it was going to hurt! Believe it or not, that did the trick. Ever since then, everytime and I mean everytime he pees, he also poops. The first week he was very proud of him self and he would tell me "mommy I went poo poo, my belly dosent hurt, don't take me to the doctor, ok". It's being more than 3 months since this happend. Also, not sure if you eat Papaya (mexican fruit) but the papaya also works as a laxative. It's sweat.

We used Miralax for my son when he did the same thing last summer. He had a couple of BMs that hurt so he was afraid to go. The DR said with the Miralax he would have no choice but to go. It worked. He hasn't held it in since. Good luck!

Sandra,

I agree with the Miralax or suppository to get things moving for now. If she's been holding it in she may need help (from both ends) to move things along. There is a very gentle glycerin "bulb" made just for babies and toddlers that is premeasured with the solution inside. Our ped recommended this "as needed" because instead of a "hard" suppository, it's soft, wet and lubes the rectum to help any compacted poop come out gently. She explained that "hurting poop" is the most common reason for this "holding in" phase.

Make sure your daughter is getting enough fiber - everyday and you should be able to forgo the Miralax. I don't know about you, but I'm not big on meds, especially for the kids. I'd go with the natural methods for the long run.

Fruit, granola, fiber cereals/bars and watch out for bananas, cheeses and too much dairy. Kids will often choose foods that are fun/sugary so make these "snacks" fun too. Apples with peanut butter on them. Let her pick out some granola bars or fiber cereal at the store. Then let her sprinkle granola/cereal on top of yogurt. Also, make sure she's drinking enough water. Kids can get very dehydrated - esp with a laxative and in the summertime. Pick out a little "water bottle" for her that she can drink out of whenever she wants. Make sure you always have it in the car, on errands, etc. Not milk. Not juice. Just a bottle that you can freeze some water in overnight and fill with some water for her to have all day. If you make it a BIG DEAL, then she'll use it. Even better, let her pick one out.

Best of luck.