Ask My Little Buddha

September 24, 2008 | Print

My son has been using the potty for the past few months, wearing a diaper only for naps and at night. He’s started holding his poops, until the point they have to come out so they hurt when they do. Do you have any suggestions?

Holding poop is a common challenge in the potty learning process. Children often take longer to feel comfortable pooping in the potty. Often they wait until their nap or night time to poop because that’s when they wear their diapers. They may start holding their poop for various reasons, our response is to help them feel relaxed again.

If a child holds their poop, we back off using the potty. We let them know it’s okay to poop the way they want, and we could care less what they choose. Most important, we let go of our own anxiety and concerns. We remind ourselves that at some point they’ll be out of diapers and we’re comfortable with whenever that happens.

We also adjust their diets to include stool softening foods (yams, prunes and prune juice are great) and avoid constipating ones.

And we add lots of epsom salts to their baths. If they have pain from constipation at any time of day, we put them in an epsom salt back for awhile.

Once the poops aren’t painful anymore, the child usually feels better about the process. We watch their cues about how to proceed, and always take it slow.

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