Last Updated on February 16, 2021
Difficulties with potty training has got to be the most exasperating and disheartening thing for both parents and toddlers to go through, more especially toileting regression. It’s worrying when your fully potty trained tot starts having endless accidents. It could be a signal that something may be wrong so don’t overlook it! 
There are many reasons why children poop their pants;
The only best answer to your toddler’s toileting issue is getting down to the root cause of the problem. Most children don’t like how long it takes for them to be sitting in the bathroom passing a stool, or they are super engrossed in whatever it is that they are busy with so they just ignore the urge to go.
Holding in a bowel movement is a very common thing amongst toddlers and often times it could lead to constipation and other health conditions such as encopresis. This can be avoided though, make sure that you give your child plenty of fluids and a diet rich in fiber foods. You will of course need to wear your Sherlock Holmes coat and hat to be able to find out what the source of your child’s toileting issue could be.
Find out if he has any problems pooping at daycare.
Carefully monitor your child’s bowel movements and this can help you solve your problem, for an example is your child going through his entire day at daycare without having an accidents but then poops his pants on the drive home? Well, you will have to try encourage him to use the bathroom before you both take the trip back home!
Upon arriving at the daycare center give your child a big bear hug to show some affection, then take him by the hand and lead him to a bathroom where you will need to patiently wait for him to do his business. Try to choose a quiet bathroom away from hustle and bustle of the other kids because he may resist to go to use the toilet wanting to go play also.
Do this as often as possible so that your child ca learn that he needs to use the bathroom everyday round about the same time that you come to pick him up from daycare. Speak with the caregivers at the daycare center to establish if he has any discomfort in using their bathrooms, mainly because a lot of children are very uncomfortable pooping in unfamiliar surroundings and may be withholding a stool causing him to have those accidents on the ride home.
Is he just too playful that he ignores the urge to go when the need arises?
It is not uncommon for your child to just ignore the urge to go use the toilet, more especially if he is very engrossed in what he is doing at that moment in time. So the only time he may realize that he needs a potty break he may be half through with his toileting in his pants. Help him out by scheduling toilet breaks in between his play times to avoid this mess.
Be sure you be on the lookout for the times at which he has his accidents during the day then you can set an alarm for about 15-30mins before the expected accident times.
Check to see if he is properly wiping his tiny bottom.
Your toddler may be spotting poop streaked underwear which is a sure sign that he still hasn’t mastered the technique of wiping properly. There could be two valid reasons why your toddler always has skid marks on his underwear. It could be that he just doesn’t like the thought of clean up poop or he just still battling with getting the wiping technique right.
All you can do to help this situation is to tell your toddler to always ask for your assistance whenever he goes toileting, also make sure you give him those lovely warm and cozy night baths to help him stay fresh and clean. And also most kids only fully master this wiping technique at the age of 5years so don’t pressurize you little one so much, with time he will get things right!
You may need to rule out the possibility of encopresis.
Once you are super sure that your child is doing a sterling job at the wiping technique but are still seeing some skid marks on their underwear then you may need to check out for a medical condition called encopresis. This encopresis is mostly caused by chronic constipation, where the stool becomes hardened and pushed way up the colon, so all the lubricating liquids that help pass the stool out move or travels around the blockage and begins to leak out.
Often times we may want to punish our kids for this because we just believe them to be extremely lazy or just to stubborn to want to master their toileting skills. But you need to first rule out any constipation issues by taking your child to see a doctor who can give a proper diagnosis and possibly help manage the condition with medication and diet.
To fully overcome any toileting issues you need to encourage your child to have some bowel control.
Here are few tips to help you achieve this;
- Be sure to keep your child hydrated by giving him plenty of water and other liquids. Keeping your little man as hydrated as possible will help eliminate any problems that may arise in the bathroom.
- Give him a healthy diet which will include plenty of fruits and vegetables with lots of whole grains too. Giving him this healthy and balanced diet will help his little growing body to function at it optimum.
- Drum it to him that going to the bathroom is a natural yet very important bodily function that needs to happen uninhibited. Your toddler needs to know that the is nothing embarrassing about using the toilet and that everyone including grown ups use the toilet too. Try to also ease his anxiety about using toilets in unfamiliar places such as at the daycare center. Get him the book ”Everybody poops” and read it to him as a way of reinforcing the message about pooping in the toilet.
- Choose for him clothes that he can easily undress whenever he gets the urge to use the bathroom. Avoid zips or buttons as they are hard to undo. Rather dress him up in loose fitting trousers with an elasticated waist band so he can be able to push them down and pull them up with ease too.
- Always monitor any signs of constipation and quickly address them. You can use home remedies such as juices or adding more fiber into the diet as way to help alleviate the problem, but if the problem persists be sure to see your doctor for help.
Other tips you can use to prevent toileting accidents.
Apart from the challenges that your child may face with toileting, there are several tips or thing that you can apply to help their along on their way to independence. Just remember though that different tactics work differently on different children because all kids are unique you know. But find ways that will work well for you and your child, without shaming him for any of his accidents.
Here are few techniques that you might want to consider to help both you and your little one;
Include your child in the clean ups, especially if he is always pooping in his pants so he can take responsibility for his actions. be sure to have him wash his hands afterwards, You will find that this form of action helps him quickly shape up in terms of following proper pooping protocol because let’s face it he would much rather spent his time playing his favorite game than to be cleaning up.
Don’t get too angry, while it may be extremely annoying and frustrating to deal with your child pooping in their pants all the time expressing anger and disappointment can cause your child to behave negatively. So try avoiding getting angry but staying calm. Take time out to inhale and exhale a few times if you find yourself very upset before you can start with the cleaning.
Do use discipline whenever needed. If you have spoken to your son numerous times about his pooping in the pants and still there is no course of action for change then you can discipline him gently by taking away his play time and including him in the clean regime.
