3 year old toilet refusal following constipation

[Nollaig1]

We have a three year old little girl who is full of fun but very head strong.

Our concern is around her toilet training. We started training her over a year ago. In hindsight it was too early. She hated her nappy being changed and there was some pressure from her creche. She avoids going to the toilet when we can see she needs to go. When we suggest her going she gets upsets and shouts that she doesn't need to. We have been using a star chart the last few months with slight success. She goes on a potty at home but I think this has resulted in bad habits with us resorting to her going on the potty in front of the TV to get her to use the toilet. She uses a toilet in playschool and gets through the three hours without accidents. She has had constipation and recurrent UTIs because of this so I feel she is afraid of feeling pain. Her constipation is now mostly managed with one daily laxido although some days I can't get it into her because she hates the taste. She avoids drinking consciously so she doesn't have to use the toilet. Any advice on how to approach this would be much appreciated. How can we encourage her to I initiate using the toilet herself?

[ERIC-Charity Partner]

Hi Nollaig1,

This sounds like a really tough and stressful situation. If you would like to talk to a person about how to get a plan in place, our Helpline is open Mon-Thurs and you can also request a callback on our website.

Two of our blog posts spring to mind too -

eric.org.uk/blog/caring-for...

eric.org.uk/blog/stool-with...

You're doing much better than you think you are!

ERIC

[Nollaig1 in reply to ERIC-Charity]

Thanks so much. The charity is a god send.