My 6-year-old still poops his pants: Advice?

my son is still pooping his pants at six, and I have tried everything can someone please write a post asking the other members for advice please and thank you

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OMG We are going through the same thing!!! I am so over it! We have tried begging, punishment, toys…etc.

He’s probably scared of something in the bathroom

My daughter had this problem up until she was 4 1/2 she then decided she will poop in the potty if I left the bathroom or turned around to were I couldn’t see her …" she always hide to poop"

Have you tried talking to him my son had the same issue and I finally got him to talk to me about it and he said the toilet hurt his butt so he got a padded kids size toilet seat and hasn’t had an issue since

Check the diet. My son was having issues too and turned out he needed more water and higher fiber. Sometimes it’s because they can’t make it there due to other issues.

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Try having him sit on the toilet for a few minutes every other hour… even if he says he doesn’t want to go … my oldest was the hardest … but I kept at it a week and no more problems… worse is at night when your tired … he’ll be tired but with kindness it’ll sink in… good luck

Consult a doctor! So many things can contribute to this issue and there could be something medically that needs addressed like change in diet or something psychological could be causing fear/anxiety

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I would speak to your doctor. My son has the same problem only here and there and it is because of constipation. They did and xray and he was so backed up. They recommended miralax and the little chocolate thing as well as having him go on the potty here and there. My son also has accidents when hes been watching something scary that he shouldnt. There is always a reason.

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Make him wash out his own underwear. I know it sounds mean but dump the poop out and make him wash them.

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My 7 year old daughter is the same way. I felt like I was doing something wrong and everyone was questioning why I was allowing her to still wear pull ups. I thought is was trauma related as her father had been removed from the house for child abuse and domestic violence. I felt helpless and it honestly broke my heart. I could see she was just as confused and upset over it so I knew it wasn’t intentional. We spoke with her doctor and discovered that it’s most likely a medical issue. I really felt bad because I should have spoken up sooner but it was an embarrassing topic. We’re now on the schedule to see a GI doctor and hopefully get some answers and best of all a possible solution! I say all of this to let you know you’re not alone. It’s best to just have an honest heart to heart with the pediatrician and get an opinion. Good luck Momma :heart:

Is he constipated? I had my son’s doctor, my son is also 6, said that if they are very constipated they will soil themselves. Their poops also tend to be super large. Her recommendation was to give him a tablespoon of mirilax for up to a year. We have had him on it for maybe 2 months and have already noticed a difference. He hasn’t soiled himself recently but when they get constipated like that their body doesn’t tell them that they have to go like ours does. I used to get very upset with my son because he would soil himself and I now realize that I was wrong. And honestly just being calm and reassuring him helped a lot too. Its embarrassing to them as well.

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My 6 year old daughter pees constantly in,her pants. She just hates going to the bathroom. Doesn’t want to stop what she is doing to go. She is in 4-5 outfits a day because she pees through them all. We have tried EVERYTHING. Stickers, rewards, punishments, loss of toys, TV, etc. Ugh. I can’t deal anymore. When ya’ll figure out the secret PLEASE share! :joy:

Its called encropresis. We are experiencing this too with our little one… Most of the time it is caused by chronic constipation. This video is helpful. There is a FB group that is super helpful as well. The Poo in You - Constipation and Encopresis Educational Video - YouTube

Pedia-lax chewable laxatives have solved my son’s constipation. They’re more predictable than Miralax and more natural since the only active ingredient is magnesium.

I went thru it with both my boys. I tried everything! I stopped fighting with them and eventually they just stopped.

He may have had something traumatic happen that he’s afraid to talk about(doesn’t have to be tremendous just something that made him afraid).
My mom passed away 21 days before my 5th bday and I had constipation and ended up going on myself sometimes.

Don’t degrade him. Don’t be mean. Just be understanding. Give him things to do on the toilet. Apple juice helps him go. It may be uncomfortable for him to go poop.
There are laxatives and steps to take to help the poop.

I have both a 5 and 6 year old that pretty much refuse to use the potty its awful. We’ve tried everything the school tried everything and there is nothing medically wrong with them. Totally at my wits end.

Give him castor oil he will go then. Talk to.your dr.

Seen ppl suggesting castor oil please DONT do this unless a paediatrician tells u too it can completely mess up their insides. Speak to ur doctor good luck x

My nephew was like this! He didn’t know he had to go! Drs said he had no warnings to signal him when he needed to go ! He’s 18 now and has to make himself sit on the toilet !

My youngest son will be 6 in September and still does this :expressionless: my almost 7 year old does not… 10.5 months apart and completely different kids!

Make him wash out his own underwear when he poops in them

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My son is 6, almost 7 and still pooped his pants. I give him miralax every day and he stopped going in underpants.

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Does he tell you or try to lie about it? One of my dad’s girlfriend’s kid did this but would always lie about it. It ended up being that he couldn’t help it do to like some dead part in his intestines. He ended up having to have surgery to remove that part but now his poops are so big he has to cut them up before they’ll go down the toilet. He’s now 20 and can look you dead in the face and straight up lie say that wasn’t his poop he left in the toilet, cuz he was too lazy to cut it up🙍‍♀️

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My daughter still does this to .
Dr prescribed lactralos and water morning and night .

Sometimes when kids hold instead of going toilet it causes build up of hard poo,which causes block up and the soft poo just to let it self out .
Though most of the time they do go toilet it’s what the Dr calls the slip that causes them to have accidents .

So buy using lactralos it’s slowly getting rid of the block which will eventually stop the slips .

My son is almost 5 and had similar issues. I started telling him he has to make himself fart before he gets up from peeing. (Still sits to pee) He likes the idea of farting because what boy doesn’t think farts are funny? And then he started to understand the sensation of pooping. After about 2 weeks and just a couple slip ups, he has no issues now.

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My daughter did that. When they hold it too long it weakens their muscles and they eventually lose the ability to hold it in. This in return makes them very constipated. He might have something similar… Its a pain to train those muscles back my daughter is 11 and still has (urine) accidents sometimes.

My grandson done this it’s something he couldn’t help…Drs everyone tried to help with nothing helping… I got him a gummie vitamin that restores water and nutrients to his bowel it has worked wonders!! It’s been 3 months and it’s still working!!!

He was holding it because of hard dry bowel he needed the vitamins

Is he constipated ? Sometimes that can cause them to poop themselves and they can control it

This makes me think that there’s something distracting their attention/ something they don’t want to pull away from or be interupted by needing to go poop. I am not discrediting the possibility that they may not be able to tell, I as a 31yo woman, mother, rarely can tell when I have to poop- rather it is the pressure from my poop that triggers a need to pee that takes me to the toilet 80% of the time I need to poop… this started during my pregnancy… :woman_shrugging: is it possible they can’t feel they need to go, yes… but maybe not the only reason… I have taken distracting items away from my child when she’s had accidents repetitively. :woman_shrugging:

Talk to his pediatrician. Normally it’s a sign of more complex issues. My son had this series of problems, he’s 15 and still has issues. We’ve found out he has a few GI issues.

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My son is 6yrs nd only recently started pooping in toilet, up till now he always held it in didnt like the feeling of pooping, tried movicol, lactulose etc and would go with these but straight away hold again and now finally something seems to have clicked on how important it is for him to let poo out thank heaven, we have had so many talks about the importance of pooping aswel as teachers talking to him to etc but now seem to have turned a corner hope yours does soon to can be very worrying x

If it hurts to go they start holding it and then they can get constipated. Once they get to a certain point they can’t control it and liquid will go around the hard part. We had to use Miralax. She was scared it would hurt so she would stand up off the commode and hold it. I bent down and had her put her feet on my knee. When she had the urge to go her feet were to high up for her to fight it so she went. After that she stopped having accidents. Miralax takes a few days to work, but it really helps if that’s the problem. Of course I would talk to the doctor first to make sure there aren’t other medical problems.

Agree with above. Constipation is bad for kids if they they don’t drink enough water or to busy to let their body finish their business

When my mom tried to potty train me my doctors kept saying “oh she’s just lazy” “she will go when she can” “she’s just constipated, try more fiber” and guess what 20 years later I find out I have a rare condition called “colonic inertia” (my large intestine doesn’t work and need a colostomy bag). When you get “flair” ups sometimes you are unable to hold your bowels at all. So I would do a test called a Sitz Marker Study to see how slow your child’s transition time is… it’s super easy test and you go in swallow a clear capsule with like 20 tiny pvc type rings, get an x-ray, then go back later and they count how many rings you have to determine what is wrong.

We used peppermints for treats everytime my son peed or pooped in toilet and it worked great he was potty trained in no time but with my 4 yr old she still has accidents, dr. told me to jus make sure to remind her to go try to poop atleast 3 times a day… My 3 yr old is potty training and does great for a few days then will go 2 or 3 days of constant accidents…

Probiotics daily + establishing a routine time to try and go.

My sons routine is probiotic in the morning and every evening after bath he tries to go on the toilet.

This worked for us. I hope it can help you

Have you looked up encopresis?

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If it isn’t a health issue, then consider taking him to the bathroom more frequently. Particularly if he tends to have a BM in the mornings , afternoon or evenings. And rewarding him for making it to the bathroom. I always took my son to the store for stickers , special hand soap or cool new undies. And i would remind him that if he doesn’t want to mess up his cool new ones , he has to remember to go potty like a big boy. The same thing with brushing their teeth, a cool new toothbrush, toothpaste, or mouthwash :slightly_smiling_face:

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My sis took all electronics away. Left toys and books for him to entertain him self. They used a radio to listentoo. They stayed for 3 days. Everytime he asked to go out or to play outside she just told him their focusing on potty stuff and changed the subject. She asked him often remind him why its important to use the potty and not his pants. Worked for them…

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Anything he may be eating?

Could be a health or behavioral issue. If conventional methods aren’t working consult your child’s doctor.

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He may have IBS. I have it and sometimes cant make it to the bathroom which causes weak intestines. Things that he eats may be causing it. Put him on fiber and a probiotic. It has helped me so much. Get a referral to a gastrologist, they may have to do a EDG or a colonoscopy. I know it sounds extreme. But I have had this issue with myself as a child.

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Beat his ass every time he shits his pants and then stick his hands in it. Don’t let him wash his hands!!
Trust me it will work!

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Take everything away and make him clean himself. He is old enough to know better.

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Have you tried letting him run around naked ( while home of course) so that the act is a lot more real and he understands the “process “ of pooping? If he’s got clothes/underwear it’s almost as if he can hide it, but being nude is a lot more real…

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Could be a constipation issue. My son was having accidents randomly and his doctor ordered xrays and that ended up being the problem. He had to take miralax every other day for a few months until we got him regulated.

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Try keeping him sitting on the toilet every 15 mins or 15 -30 mins after he eats . And use positive reinforcement when he does poops and maybe gifted him small . It helped me potty train my son

1- make sure that he doesn’t have constipation , as it leads to what is called retention with overflow.
2- how is his IQ?
3- does he do it in public or only at home?
4- what is his reaction after he does that? Does he clean himself or ask for your help?
5_ was there any periods that he had control?
6- was he examined by doctor to exclude organic causes in his anal sphincter?
So many questions need to be answered first. Exclude organic causes then visit a child psychiatrist please

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My son used to do this at that age, turns out he had a fiber problem. Take him to a Gastroenterologist.

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Have you tried asking him why he still poops his pants?
He’s old enough to explain maybe something is making him uncomfortable.
If there’s no reason that he can explain to you than take him to the doctor, if they can’t find anything wrong try retraining.
I personally wouldn’t reward him with physical stuff but verbal I would.

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Is he constipated? Does it hurt him to go? I think encopresis could be likely, can be easily sorted with laxatives from doctors

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He’s old enough. That’s a choice… when he goes in his pants, punishment (room or no electronics) only way to get it back is to go by himself…make the choice to go in the toilet. even if it takes days… he has to WANT to go to the bathroom. He has to WANT to do it for himself. So make him want to… . If he wants out of punishment. He’ll be praying for the next toilet time .

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My step son was doing this. He was almost 7. We finally took him to the doctor and he had a condition where he couldn’t feel that he had to go. He got put on some medicine that he takes twice a day and now he has no more accidents :raised_hands::raised_hands:

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Might be getting touched or raped by dad/boyfriend or a family member.

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Get him checked out sometimes they can’t tell if they have to poop

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We are going through the same thing with my 6 year old nephew I need help also lol

Carla I do not agree with you he could have some kind of medical issue I would not treat my dog like that

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Make sure there isn’t a fiber or stomach issue. Some kids have loose muscles - not enough ir too much fiber can cause issues.

Have him checked medically. IBS-D sufferer here and my son had potty training issues, we sought medical help, he has encopresis. He is 16 now and still had what people call "accidents ", but he has NO Control over his bowels emptying, he has NO choice in the matter, his nerve endings do not work in that department, so no warnings, no pain nothing, so please don’t ignore it just rule out medical first.

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It could be a behavior issue. If medical issues are ruled out first. My friend’s son did this for attention when they had a new baby. He knew better. He was 5.

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My brother did that. He was fully potty trained then our cousin moved in with us for a while and he started just going in his pants. I was only 3 years older so I don’t remember why he did it.

My son will be 6 in oct. He still poops his pants. His is a sensory issue. When asked, he says he can’t. The most progress, we have made is getting him to stand in the bathroom. He was holding him poop too, so he takes miralax to prevent him from holding it. Tons of drs said he would grow out of it, yet here we are :woman_shrugging: im at a loss on how to help him, but just know, you are not alone!

https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/it-hurts-when-i-poop-howard-j-bennett-md/1102578932

My son had this problem he just didn’t like to clean his but plain and simple!! He had an accident where he got it on his hands on the wall everywhere!! It was definitely a boy thing my girls never had this problem he outgrew it

Maybe lactose intolerant

My step daughter was still doing this up until a couple months ago. I sat her down asked why, she said she gets busy doing other stuff and doesn’t want to stop playing to go 🤦 so now she’s on a scheduled potty break lol maybe this will help?

Seek medical advice.

I filled a gold fish bowl with things like matchbox cars, crayons, army soldiers, erasers, toy bugs, small party favors. Everytime he pooped in the toilet, he got to choose anything from that fish bowl. One day, he just went on his own and asked now what happens with the toys in the fishbowl? I told him he could have it all now if he kept it up for a week…he did! No problems after that!

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More fiber, fiber gummies work well. Had the same issues with both my kids. And lots of talks.

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check his tummy my son had bathroom problems as well his tummy hurts made him not wanna go i had to change his food milk ext

Take her to her doctor an have tests done on her to make sure she is healthy inside an out

One of best friends son had this problem and I urged her to take him to the gp just to make sure he was ok. Ended up having a huge clog in his bowles and that had stopped his muscles working properly. He then went on 6 months of treatment and if that didn’t work he’s need an invasive surgery and a colostomy bag. Luckily it was caught in time and the 6 month treatment worked. It was just about teaching his muscles to work again. He’s now 10 and a very happy boy. Always worth a checkup for these things, it’s also alot more likely to happen with boys. Hope this helps :blush:

Following. My son does the same.

Not everyone is going to agree but my kids got spanked. They knew what n where to poop and pee and understood. If we werent near a toilet that’s a whole other situation. But if were at home n u gotta go n choose not to, they got in trouble. All 6 of my 7 were trained by 3, and im working on number 7 within 2 months and potty trained my nephew in a week at 2 yrs old last year.

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My Son when he was 6 still wet the bed every night. We got onto a pediatric continence Nurse she was Fantastic!

Get medical advice. My son experienced the same thing, he was diagnosed with encopresis -

Encopresis is the repeated passing of feces into places other than the toilet, such as in underwear or on the floor. This behavior may or may not be done on purpose.

My brother did this. My mum decided to make him clean his own underpants in the cold toilet water. That was the end of that.

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I had that problem at 4 years I took my boy to brad guildner great chiropractor in Abbotsford

Simple adjustment he is great

My son got spanked if he pooped in his underwear at home. And he had to scrub them babies clean.Cause I ain’t even doing all that. Once they hit 3 I’m telling you boys will poop like grown men.

Let him wear the pullups he will stop sooner or later especially when other kids notice

My son had a problem with it but he ended up having issues we ended up having to do xrays and found out he has some issues with constipation