My daughter is learning how to potty train but she is afraid to poop. What do I do?

Question

it seems she can pee with no problem in the toilet but afraid to do number 2 any suggestions?

Answer 1

If you think she's holding because she's afraid it'll hurt if she goes, try this: run her a warm bath and put 2oz of baking soda in the tub. Give her some tub toys and let her play for up to 30 minutes. The warm water will help her relax and go. If she goes in the tub, no worries - that's why there's bleach. =) This hint has been used by parents of stubborn 2 year olds and they've said it works wonders - most kids don't even need the full 30 minutes.

If she's afraid of falling in or being flushed down the toilet - try the potty chair - it's kid-sized and hard to fall into. Be encouraging and praise the anticipated result.

Answer 2

I had the same situation with my oldest.
After six months of potty-training with no results, she decided she had to pee one day at wal-mart! So I set her on the big toilet, and she peed just fine. She never again peed her pants...but she would NOT poop in the potty. I don't know if she was scared to see the poo, scared of my ecstatic reaction, or just not able to poop in the position on the potty.
Since then, I've found other parents whose daughters would not poop on the potty for a while after being "pee-pee" trained. We all share the same story: "She asks for a diaper, I put it on her, and she hides behind the couch (or door), and poops right away."
For my own daughter, this phase lasted about 4 weeks; the longest I have ever heard of is 7 or 8 weeks.
Don't stress about it. This is a phase that will pass on it's own.

Answer 3

This is pretty common. I've been through this with all 3 of my kids. It might be a little messy for a bit. Encourage her as much as you can. Be sure to continue praising her when she potties. This may be gross but, let her know you poop too. As a "big girl" she can too. It will probably be a bit of hit and miss for a while, even after she gets it.

Answer 4

My granddaughter was afraid to at first too but you have to be patient. The last thing you need to do is pressure her.It will come with patience and time. Offer her a reward she cant resist if she poops in her potty. And when it happens act like its the greatest thing youve ever seen on the planet then give her the reward along with hugs.

Answer 5

Treats can work sometimes, but not with all children. The little boy that I nanny for would NOT go poop on the potty - he would wait until naptime or bedtime and go in his diaper. SO, for a day we fed him things that would "clog him up" ... then the next day he got all sorts of things to make him go .... it worked, he's been a success ever since.

Answer 6

I went through this with my daughter as well. In her case, it was hurting her to poop so she would try not to, hiding when going instead of sitting on the potty. What helped us was a trip to the pediatricians office and getting her on powdered fiber, as well as adding more water to her diet. Good luck!

Answer 7

My daughter was the same way. This is gross, but I let her come in the bathroom with me when I went and she was no longer afraid. She saw nothing happened to me and she actually used the words "now I see you, I am not afraid anymore". Happy pooping.

Answer 8

I gave my son a treat every time he went to the potty. It might have been a sucker or something really small but we told him how great it was that he was going to the potty and it seemed to work...after he got the hang of it, he kept wanting a treat!

Answer 9

Just be patient w/ her on this. I know quite a few kids that had issues w/ the number 2. One caveat...when she does go, don't let her watch you flushing, close the lid and flush. My friend's daughter screamed and regressed b/c she felt like a part of her body was going down the "drain".

Answer 10

Well just tell her nothing is gonna happen sit her down and push her stomach its the same thing as using a diaper but in the toilet