Five year old poops in pants

amother

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 9:04 am

I've been having a lot of bathroom issues with my five year old. He used to wet his pants when he was too busy, but never in school until recently. The teachers and I have been reminding him to go often, but things have gotten worse.
He started pooping in his pants, claiming he doesn't even feel it.
His younger siblings are toilet trained, yet his bathroom skills are of a two year old.
We checked for constipation, and now I'm not sure if this is medical or behavioral issue.
Anyone have any experience with this? I'm at my wits end

amother

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 9:30 am

Spoke to pediatrician, who says we have to have strict bathroom schedule. He should sit on the toilet for 30 min in the morning, but thats not so practical. Especially if he doesn't have to poop then.

amother

Lavender

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 9:35 am

Some ideas
Check for strep with blood test
Constipation-mag every day can help this
Craniosacral therapy can help a lot of things
Does he have enlarged tonsils/adenoids

amother

Mocha

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 11:51 am

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

Some ideas
Check for strep with blood test
Constipation-mag every day can help this
Craniosacral therapy can help a lot of things
Does he have enlarged tonsils/adenoids

Curious about the tonsil adenoid connection?

amother

Bisque

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 11:56 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Will he come down from the toilet? When I was training mine they definitely would sit on the toilet for 30 min every morning. I would bathe the baby in the bath meanwhile most days.

amother

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 3:13 pm

amother [ Bisque ] wrote:

Will he come down from the toilet? When I was training mine they definitely would sit on the toilet for 30 min every morning. I would bathe the baby in the bath meanwhile most days.

He doesn't have the patience to sit for so long, especially when it's unproductive.

amother

Lavender

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 3:19 pm

amother [ Mocha ] wrote:

Curious about the tonsil adenoid connection?

I don't fully understand the science behind it, but it often has to do with breathing incorrectly.

amother

Maize

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 3:40 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

He doesn't have the patience to sit for so long, especially when it's unproductive.

It’s extremely unhealthy to sit on toilet if not going. Can cause hemroidd

He can be constipation. Even if lose and watery and doesn’t look it
One of my sons suffered from this. It’s age appropriate and associated with immature bowels
Please speak to your pediatrician about it. .

amother

Mocha

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 4:51 pm

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

I don't fully understand the science behind it, but it often has to do with breathing incorrectly.

I know there’s a correlation between mouth breathing and bed wetting but I never heard of a connection with breathing and bowel control.

amother

NeonYellow

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 4:55 pm

how often is it happening? is it only in school or also at home? he may be scared of the bathrooms in school. speaking from personal experience.

amother

Bisque

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 5:00 pm

amother [ Maize ] wrote:

It is not extremely unhealthy. Hemroid are when pushing and straining too hard. Children often just sit and don't push until they are ready. Not a hemroid risk.
It is possible it is constipation.

amother

Maize

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 5:01 pm

amother [ Bisque ] wrote:

It is not extremely unhealthy. Hemroid are when pushing and straining too hard. Children often just sit and don't push until they are ready. Not a hemroid risk.
It is possible it is constipation.

I have a child who goes to gastro dr and he says never sit on toilet for extended periods

Sitting on toilet won’t help constipation or leaking due to constipation. .

Chayalle

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 5:11 pm

My sister had alot of success getting my nephew a special watch that beeps every x amount of time (I think it was 1 1/2 hours but not sure - you can set it any interval that works), and then he must go to the bathroom. This helped him start remembering to go, and be aware of the sensations he needs to pay attention to. He wore it for a few months, and then didn't need it anymore.

amother

Bisque

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 5:22 pm

amother [ Maize ] wrote:

I have a child who goes to gastro dr and he says never sit on toilet for extended periods

Sitting on toilet won’t help constipation or leaking due to constipation. .

No it won't help constipation but it is effective for regular toilet training when a child is not trying to make but is just sitting until he has to make then makes. That's how you get them regulated and used to the feeling of making.

amother

Denim

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 5:27 pm

Please buy the book "The Ins and Outs of Poop". It really explained the physical aspects to me and I found to be so helpful with my DC. I think it would help you a lot in your situation.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com.....51394

You can buy it on Amazon.

amother

Thistle

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 6:09 pm

Two thoughts:
1) constipation (even mild) could be a real possibility. Taking a daily fiber gummy or miralax short term might help. Does he complain of stomach aches?
2) does he sleep well? I'm a pediatric sleep consultant and have worked with kids who's sleep is all wonky (wake up a lot, don't go to sleep/fall asleep until really late, wake up way too early in the morning) and they begin to have accidents. Bowel regulation can be connected to circadian rhythms and I've seen cases where we never had to address the pee and poop issues. If the kids was successfully potty trained before, once they are getting good amount of quality sleep at regular times, the accidents go away.

Sorry you're dealing with this! It's so stressful and frustrating. And hard when every issue could have a million causes and you're just running your mind in a bunch of different directions. Hope things get better!