Why do toddlers poop in their pants? Is it because they’re so engrossed in play that they’re not paying attention to their bodies, or is there something else going on?
If your eight year old is so wrapped up in play they’re not paying attention to their bodies, they’re not going to stop until they get to the end of the playground. They’re not going to stop until they get to the bathroom. They’re not going anywhere until they do it. And it’s going to be pretty darn normal for them to poop in their pants occasionally. They’re not going to be punished, they’re not going to
What causes encopresis? Is it malabsorption? Constipation? Irritable bowel syndrome? An underlying medical condition? Kids who soil their pants are too busy, too lazy, or just plain don’t want to stop playing to poop. They’re too busy, too lazy, or just plain don’t want to
Encopresis occurs when a child is chronically constipated. Stool becomes hard and backed up, so liquid stool travels around the blockage and leaks out.
Why do toddlers poop in their pants?
Because they can. When they are lazy and don’t want to work, they jump on the tricycle and go for a walk. Unfortunately, they dig their heels in and won’t give up their habit. They will sit there and work until they drop their pants, sometimes for hours on end. The solution? Reward them. Encopresis symptoms arise when a child is punished for inattention, which is disruptive to their social environment. By giving them the tools to control their inattention, you are demonstrating to them that they are capable of handling themselves. This reinforces healthy habits of attention and discipline. You are not punishing them, you are enabling them. By demonstrating to them that they can control inattention, they will be less likely to commit crimes against inattention. This is known as the cocoon effect. You pry open the skin around the muscle that holds in the urine to release the pressure. The more you give them, the wider the pores are and the more urine is released. This strengthens the resolve in the child to control their inattention.
Why do toddlers poop in their pants?
Nurturing behaviorists have discovered several causes for why toddlers poop in their pants, including accidents, stubbornness, not wanting to be controlled, and not wanting to “sit on the potty. In most cases, this stubbornness causes the child to avoid using the toilet, which leads to constipation and other bowel problems. Once constipated, the colon becomes hard and resistant, and the bowel cannot “move. The rectum, which holds the poop, becomes big and distended, and cannot hold it. The rectum and lower bowel move around each other, creating a vacuum. This weakens the walls of the bowel, and the child inhales deeply to get the poop out. The large, hard mass of feces builds up, and the rectum and lower bowel cannot push it out. The child eventually passes a mass of stool, hard and dry, on to the rectum, which is where it lives. The rectum and lower bowel no longer “hold it. The colon becomes big and distended, and the child cannot pass a hard mass of stool without passing a hard mass of poop through.
Why do toddlers poop in their pants?
They do not know how to put their hands
They are not using the toilet enough, and not paying attention to when they should and shouldn’t go
What causes encopresis?
Encopresis occurs when a child is not properly potty trained. It’s possible that
The amount of stool a child distributes throughout the day is not what causes encopresis. Instead,
This is most common in boys. It occurs when a child is not potty trained, but still
Encopresis is fairly common. It is estimated that anywhere from 1.5% to 10% of children are potty trained. It is much more common in
In most cases, the cause of encopresis is not fully understood. It is possible that the child simply doesn’t know how to
To help address this, we recommend that you seek immediate care with the attention span training
Encopresis can be fixed. However, there is often a risk that repetitive behavioral therapy will exacerbate the problem, leading to more
encopresis therapy sessions and potentially leading to a relapse.
Why do toddlers poop in their pants?
The answer to why they poop in their pants is pretty obvious: they need to poop. Encopresis is constipation that is so severe that it has severely restricted the child’s ability to hold a solid stool. So, basically, they have no other option but to go and hold it. The distal colon becomes big and distended, and the large, hard mass of feces has to go somewhere. Often, this means that the large, hard mass of feces is urine. So, by definition, the child is chronically constipated. So, they’re technically dry, but not really — they have no other source of moisture holding them to the stool they need to hold. In short, they’re
enveloped. Embedded. So, technically, they’re not actually
constipated, but they’re so constipated that holding
them makes no sense. So, they go and hold it, usually for hours on end, sometimes for days on end, sometimes for weeks on end. And the
(emotional) cost of holding them is so high that they can’t bear the thought of letting go.
