6 Yr Old Son Still Poops on Himself - PLEASE HELP

amazon.com for books on Indigo & Crystal Children and for books on Prodigy & Adanced Children. He could just be angry about something and this is his way of expressing himself.

Also, NAET.com for allergy eliminations. Sometimes behavioral problems are caused by allergies.

be well.

N.

I agree with a couple of the posts below, if you don't discipline him for it (and make it effective discipline that is consistent and that you follow through on) then he'll keep doing this. If he's normal and healthy, then I think he just needs some guidance and can handle discipline for this situation - I liked the "pull-ups" idea, that's just what I would do, put him in "little boy" pants and not let him go places where he has to be a "big boy" (camp) unless you see that he is ready.

Hi J.:
One of the most important things for you to consider right now, is how you or your husband are reacting to his problem.If your coming across ,frustrated,angry or your disciplining him for This problem hes having,your only creating more issues for yourself and him.Get him to the doctor and have him checked,then allow him to discuss it with the doctor. The bed-wetting is not unusual for A boy his age. Especially if he's small in stature. Continue to have him go to the bathroom just before bed time,and start waking him once,to go. He will begin the habit himself. Use a mattress pad. DO NOT put him in a pull up or He will continue to regress.I wish you and your growing son the best.J. M

I would take him to the Doctor and thoroughly discuss it.

The thing is, he is now 6 years old and does not seem bothered by it. AND you said that it RECENTLY has started happening- ie: his pooping on himself. WHY ONLY RECENTLY? Did anything happen to him?

Is he under a lot of stress or emotional difficulty? Any traumas happen to him? Is his overall development on par? Does he have any learning difficulties?

I would really talk to your Doctor. I don't think this is the usual that happens, at least with the poop, and at 6 years old. There must be a cause... biologically or emotionally.

All the best,
Susan

First of all I would take your son to the doctor. There are many medical reasons that this would be happening. If not medical, it may be emotional and your son may need therapy. If it's not medical, children sometimes use bowel habits subcontiously for a feeling of control. I'd try to get to the "bottom" of the cause if possible (pardon the pun).

He is old enough to take care of his accidents and to become ostracized by others. I would send him in pullups with wipes if you think this is going to be a problem for a while, send extras, and teach him how to clean himself up.

I know this is a hard situation but it does happen so you are not alone.

Hi J., unless there are some strong coinsenquences for this behavior it may not change. If he is a normal 6 year old with no handicaps or dissabilities there really is no excuss for it, Im suprised they even let him go to camp, maybe you can tell him camp is only for big boys, and if you don't use the toilet like your supossed to you can't go. J. L.

Hi J.-

My son is now 10 and up until last year had the same problem. I finally took him to the Dr. and he said that there is something that makes it so he can't feel the urge to poop. It's a develemental thing, and he will eventually outgrow it. The Dr. recommended taking Metamucil. (For a 6 year old you need to 1/2 or 1/4 the dose.) I have to say that the Metamucil did work, but my son couldn't stand it! What we did was make deals with him, he take the metamucil for a week w/o a accident, then go off it and see if there was an accident. That seemed to help a lot, a lot less accidents, but I'd go in him room and find that he'd hidden his soiled clothes. So it wasn't an easy battle, but it did seem to help. Good Luck!

Wetting the bed may be seperate and may be normal. Most Dr.'s want to see a child for this if they are 7 years of age or older. As for the pooping, well, both, I'd consult your Dr. about. But with the information you provided which is a little limited - when you say pooping, is he having full blown out bowel movements or is it just a little bit and mostly liquid? If you answer yes to the second, please look up Encopresis and see if that sounds like your son. It is VERY common, especially in boys. My daughter who is 6.5 suffered and we got help (later than I would have liked) when she was 5. She is doing great now.

Best wishes,
M.

Hi J.,
I don't know if it is the same with you. But my stepson came to live with us when he was 9 years old. He wet his pants in school and it didn't seem to bother him. He also had a bed wetting problem at night. He was ADHD and had difficulty concentrating on more than one thing at a time. We had him tested for any physical problems then we discovered he was a heavy sleeper. So we got a device for bed wetting that would wake him the second he started to go and an alarm would go off and a light would shine in his eyes. I would go into his room to make sure he would get up and turn off the alarm and go to the bathroom and pee and splash water in his face before setting the alarm again. He would have to do this. The pad he slept on (naked) had sensors that would go off the second he started to pee and set the alarm off. I had a pillow case over the pad so all I had to change at night was the pillow case. After 3 months he was dry all night and so proud. As fas as the poop in his pants, maybe he just doesn't get embarrased. If he is hiper active he may need to be seen. Once we got our son on meds he did much better both in school and at home. It seems his brain was going too fast. I'm not saying this is the same for your son, but you may want to look into it. I'm sure you have tried talking to him about it. It could be an attention problem. Did this start when the new baby came? Maybe he needs some extra attention one on one. Just some ideas. I know how hard this is and embarrassing to you. I know I was embarrassed for my son. I couldn't understand why it did bother him. One time he told me that he was busy playing in the field and didn't want to miss anything. Does your son tell someone that he did it or do they just know. If he brings it up, that may be different. Encourage him, let him know how special you think he is to you. Anyway good luck to you. This will pass and he will grow up fine and you aren't doing anything wrong. It is work being a parent. It is funny though now my son has a son that is wetting the bed at night just like he did and he calls and asks what he should do and hardly remembers what he went through as a child. He just kbow whatever we did helped him.

The peeing the bed may be a developmental issue. Work on that separately.

My 7 yr old poops & doesn't wipe as well. It worked for a while when I checked everyday and rewarded clean underwear, but then I got tired of that. My kid is extremely ADHD and doesn't take the time to go when she needs too. Maybe you could try getting him to poop before camp or after camp (at home). Otherwise pack clean shorts for him to change so you don't have to leave work to deal w/ it. Sorry I don't have any great solutions.

You may want to see his pediatrician. There are medical reasons why some children poop themselves. In some instances they aren't even aware that they have pooped. If a medical reason doesn't exist, then it's a matter of changing the behavior as he is probably ignoring the signs his body is sending him because he's enjoying himself at camp or has issues with using toilets that he is not accustomed to. Have him "try" to go, even when he says he doesn't have to, in the evening and then again in the morning before he leaves to camp. Intsill a rewards system for the days he doesn't poop on himself. Although you are frustrated,stay as positive as possible, shaming him may bring on other unwanted behaviors.

You don't mention if your son has any delays. if he is otherwise "normal" take him to the pediatrician. there are medical factors that can cause this problem. Find out, if for social reasons if nothing else. Good luck.

I am so sorry you are struggling with this issue. I would tell you and recommend that you see a homeopath. They work with you and your child to find a constitutional remedy that will help your son move beyond this. It's something that can be fixed with homeopathy. I will give you a refer if you are interested here is a link with more information about homeopathy and what it is...http://nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/

best of luck and let me know if you need a referral

I would think about if there is any specific reason why this is happening now?
Rest assured though it is normal (in a way), it is normal for him to not care, there are actually lots of boys are just like that.
There is too much going on, too much fun for him to want to stop. Also, boys who have gas will just think it is gas and rather than run to the bathroom they just let it go and "oops, it wasn't gas".
With my friends son she wouldn't let him play with his friends after school if he had messed himself during the day.
With my son we went through this twice-once at 6 and once at 8 almost 9. The first time we tried bribes. Ice cream each day he made it through clean, then it changed to one "toy" at the end of the week if he made it 4 out of 5 days (Michael's has $1 crafts that work great). It lasted for about 2 years. I would do this first since he's younger he'll respond better to incentives.
At 8 we took away privileges and it still took a while but he has stopped again. Been a few months and so far so good.

Hope this helps. Good Luck, S.

No advice for the daytime- I dealt with it as well and the only thing that finally kicked in was that his friends began to comment on his "smell" and telling him that he stunk. He finally realized that he wasn't hiding it from anybody. For the night time, I highly recommend the "Potty Pager". That was our miracle since my son was such a sound sleeper. You can google it and find out more.
Good luck

maybe u need to have him do the play naked thing at home and have a potty in the living room or where he can get to it..might have one in his room at night..have u googled this? or talked to his doctor?

Don't be mean or anything but he's got to clean up after himself too. That means pee or poop, you'll have to show (with clean clothes) and then he will have to wash with his own clothes, hand wash in a bucket outside with soap until it is clean.

Just be matter of fact and allow plenty of time.

Make sure with your doctor that he doesn't have any medical problem happening first!

My son has the same problem.. Started when he was about 5 and he is 9 now and still has the problem.. His is a medical condition where they are constipated and therefore ALWAYS feel like they have to poop so when a "real" bowel movement comes they can't tell the difference until it is too late.. I had him in for multiple tests and I have to give him a cap full of miralax mixed with a drink in the morning to keep his stool soft. I also had to put him on a regular "pooping" schedule (whatever is most best for your and his schedule) whether it be morning or night?? It doesn't matter. I use to put him on the toilet at the same time everyday with his DS and make him sit there for 15 min or until he pooped pretty soon the problem slowly went away. For the longest time I thought my son was the only one to have this problem.. But after doing some research I come to find out that it is very common in boys ages 5-10... Hopefully this help. But I strongly suggest taking him to a pediatric gastrointestinal to have him checked out.