Poop Accidents in 6 to 10 Year Olds
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Questions
Daughter, 7, pooping in pants and on the ground
March 2007
I know this forum has discussed encopresis and other issues with toilet-trained children having problems controlling bowel movements. However my child is going to be 7 in July and is still having problems. She eats lots of fruit and vegetables and is regular. I know when she will probably be ready to have a BM, I remind her to try the toilet, and she insists that she does not need to go. Then 20 minutes later she has pooped in her pants. Then I have to get her to tell me the truth about it so we can get her cleaned up. I have tried gently reminding her to pay attention to her body, encouraged her to be in charge, and tried not to make her feel ashamed. Now I am wondering if a little shame may help or if she needs medical help? The last straw was yesterday. She was playing outside and I reminded her again to try the potty. Then later she came inside and told me a ''strange animal'' had pooped outside. She took me to the site and there was a nice healthy little girl poop on the ground. I lectured her, showed my dissappointment, tried not to throttle her. Then I got a shovel and buried it. She got excited about the shovel because she likes to dig and I told her this was not a fun thing because human feces do not belong outside. She lost some privileges that afternoon, but did not seem phased by what she did at all. Do I have a puppy or a child? Help! Anonymous
My nephew went exactly through what your daughter is experiencing at age 7, too. What my brother simply did after doing everything you've done is something drastic that you might not like the ''smell of'' but it brought results. My brother made his son simply carry ''the load'' (the bigger the better) for a day to see how he liked it. After my nephew's ''yucky'' experience, he decided NEVER AGAIN to poop in his pants. He simply didn't want to go through that again. It smelled and it hurt his bottom! So this might seem drastic but she might just get the message. First you can warn her of your plan and if she still doesn't bother to change her ways, then change your way and follow through and let her carry her own ''poop'' for a day and see what the result is! Good luck!! Pooped Out
hi, i am worried about your child. i have a friend whose son was pooping in his pants at age seven and the family found out that the cause was extreme emotional stress due to a horrible event he went through. please seek immediate counselling. thanks. worried about your chlid
7-year-old's food allergy = poop accidents
April 1998
My 7 year-old son has hopefully conquered a bowel problem now that he is on a dairy free diet. He had been having occassional accidents but it wasn't until last fall that it became chronic after starting first grade and being at school all day. It was humiliating and awful for him. I confided in another mom at school who told me that he could be lactose intolerant because his symptoms sounded similar to her son. First we eliminated milk from his diet. We bought lactaid instead of cows milk, lactose free margarine and switched Mocha Mix or Rice Dream for ice-cream. He continued to have problems until we eliminated cheese (I found tofu cheese at El Cerrito Natural Grocery which he really likes).
We went through alot to get to this point. Last fall his pediatrician ran every test on him to make sure he didn't have a disease. At one point he thought it could be a behavioral problem so we tried sticker charts and a daily potty time plan to no avail. He had told us that the only way to find the source of the food allergy is by process of elimination and that you can be lactose intolerant and still be able to eat dairy products, which really confused me. Also everyone is different and some people can tolerate a little dairy and others none at all. Since then we have seen a nutritionist who explained the need for him to get calcium from other sources and he has been eating and feeling better. I have found helpful food allergy info through the Parents Digest listing on the internet. It has been a trying experience and a relief to have it under control although we will always have to stay aware of it.
I thought I would share my experience to warn other parents that sometimes a food allergy can be the source of an ongoing bowel problem and that it should be considered, investigated and ruled-out.
Your child may also have a wheat allergy, glutin intolerance, or Celiac Disease. These cannot be diagnosed by standard blood and allergy testing. These problems are woefully under-diagnosed. Perhaps you could eliminate wheat products for a few weeks (if you haven't already tried this) and see if your child's condition improves. Elysse