5 year old will not poo without pull up in the toilet

[Emma_tennis]

Hi all,

I have a 5 year old - she is scared of going to the toilet without a nappy. She will happily poo with a pull up - the longest she has gone without a nappy is 9 days before we caved in.

She is also very stubborn, no rewards, bribery will work. She will lie down after school, which i assume lessens the impact of holding it for so long.

I have movicol and have decided to go cold turkey - I think deep down she knows we always give in - I am just scared about long term constipation.

Any thoughts?

Thank you

[ERIC-Charity Partner]

Hi Emma.

The aim of a daily Movicol dose is to help your daughter poo once or twice a day and it can have a bit of a negative effect if the daily dose is stopped too soon. Constipation can be a really common obstacle when potty training and some children do react to it by only wanting to poo in a nappy - it would be worth filling out a Poo Diary just to see if she is constipated at the moment as if she is, your best bet would be to treat that first. Have you seen ERIC's guide to disimpaction? This is based on NICE guidelines and gives a really straightforward process for clearing out all of the poo traffic jam. Lots of children will need a disimpaction before they can even tolerate the idea of pooing on a potty, as constipation is so painful.

For now, it is best to meet her where she is at and give her the nappy if she asks for it. Once the constipation has been sorted out you can plan out a supportive 'journey' to the potty so that she keeps moving forward and gets closer to pooing on the potty step by step. You might like our guide for children who will only poo in a nappy - lots of case studies in this guide with ideas that have proven successful with lots of other reluctant potty-users in the past.

Good luck!

ERIC x

[Emma_tennis in reply to ERIC-Charity]

Thank you for your response. She is sitting on the toilet but only with a pull up - not without. It is as if the pull up is a safety blanket. I have tried holes or keeping one side of the pull up open but she just will not entertain the idea. Any tricks to removing the safety blanket of nappy? Thanks x

[ERIC-Charity Partner in reply to Emma_tennis]

Hi Emma. The downloadable guide called Children who will only poo in a nappy will be perfect for this - lots of case studies & tips for how to remove the nappy at a pace that suits your little one. Good luck with it!

[Emma_tennis in reply to ERIC-Charity]

Thank you so much

[Emma_tennis in reply to ERIC-Charity]

Where can I find that guide please?