Almost 4 year-old girl poops pants 2-4 times daily

[Anonymous]

She's almost 4 she can clean up, give her miralax like the dr suggested so maybe she will go once or twice but will go more eachtime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your question about appox amount and time a day is medical. Ask your ped. I am not one to hysterically run to the doctor but this absolutely sounds like it could be behavior that has caused constipation that she now cannot help so I would seek a GI specialist.

OP here: Is my daughter constipated if she poops at least twice a day? She pooped last while we were eating dinner. It was soft stool that was a little larger than a golfball.

Since her stool doesn’t seem to be hard I am not sure Miralax will help but I’ll ask the pediatrician about dosage and time. The pediatrician wasn’t so hot on Miralax but just said—it’s scalable, you can try a little bit for a week and it could make the feeling of having to poop more obvious. [mastodon]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your question about appox amount and time a day is medical. Ask your ped. I am not one to hysterically run to the doctor but this absolutely sounds like it could be behavior that has caused constipation that she now cannot help so I would seek a GI specialist.

OP here: Is my daughter constipated if she poops at least twice a day? She pooped last while we were eating dinner. It was soft stool that was a little larger than a golfball.

Since her stool doesn’t seem to be hard I am not sure Miralax will help but I’ll ask the pediatrician about dosage and time. The pediatrician wasn’t so hot on Miralax but just said—it’s scalable, you can try a little bit for a week and it could make the feeling of having to poop more obvious. [mastodon]

Yes! Small poops like that are definitely a sign of constipation. 1000%. Even if they’re soft and frequent.

[Anonymous]

Golf ball sized is small?! How much are 4 year old supposed to poop? I feel like her stool is similar in appearance to our six year old’s.

The pediatrician also said there is no “normal” amount of poop and even kids eating the same diet can have very different quantities. She told me some things to look out for though that would be a sign of problems and I haven’t seen any of those.

[Anonymous]

My experience with Miralax was a half a cap (half an adult dose) in their water bottle in the morning, which would usually get them on the potty before bedtime. Both DCs issues were withholding poop until they were sleeping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make her clean it up

+100 also I would not her hold the barbie clearly she's not motivated by this. I'm wondering if op is making a big deal of these accidents and she likes the attention even negative. Act like it's not a big deal but tell her you are no longer cleaning it up she will have to.

A toddler?!! Are you all remembering just how little a toddler is? How cruel.

The cruelty and the shaming is awful. And it won't help on top of it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make her clean it up

+100 also I would not her hold the barbie clearly she's not motivated by this. I'm wondering if op is making a big deal of these accidents and she likes the attention even negative. Act like it's not a big deal but tell her you are no longer cleaning it up she will have to.

A toddler?!! Are you all remembering just how little a toddler is? How cruel.

An almost four year old is not a toddler!!

The cruelty and the shaming is awful. And it won't help on top of it all.

[Anonymous]

OP - you keep insisting that what the ped said about it not being a medical issue is the absolute truth.
And I see several people trying to tell you it might be, and get a second opinion from a GI specialist.
In encopresis you still see soft poop, mostly in accident form, as these are the bits that leak around the hard, big poop that blocks the rectal area.
Shaming or offering rewards to a child that has this won’t work. They simply don’t even feel it when they need to go. It takes a long time to clear.
You can watch the video “the poo in you” on YouTube to understand what people are trying to tell you about.

[Anonymous]

Even if it’s not encopresis, frequent little soft poops can be a sign of withholding. That’s how my kid is. She’s aware of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Golf ball sized is small?! How much are 4 year old supposed to poop? I feel like her stool is similar in appearance to our six year old’s.

The pediatrician also said there is no “normal” amount of poop and even kids eating the same diet can have very different quantities. She told me some things to look out for though that would be a sign of problems and I haven’t seen any of those.

Okay well then I guess you don’t have any problems so what do you want.

[Anonymous]

OP here—I think I am going to try this: first I’ll go back to the pediatrian and discuss what’s been going on. I’ll be sure to ask her: how can a GI issue be rules out?; At what point would you recommend a specialist.

Second, I’ll do whatever the pediatrian suggests.

Third, (and assuming pediatrian agrees) I am going to have her wear “thin” underwear all the time, including at pre-school. (The weigh of a pullup or “thick” undies seems to make sensing difficult.) I am also going to ask that they make sure she uses a stool on the potty and that she sits for 5 min before going on the playground. (From talking to her I know that most of her accidents happen on the playground.)

I think this is the best I can do.

I suspect there is one mom posting to this whose kid has some unusual GI diagnosis. I don’t think that’s what going on. I’ll defer however to my pediatrician who I trust and know to be very knowledgeable and experienced.

If there is something else anyone suggests to do, especially with the pre-school, I am open to suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Btdt. Don’t put any pressure on her. Don’t shame her. Don’t make a big deal of it. The more you make it an issue, the worse it will get. Have her wear the pull up. Change her like you would a baby like it’s no big deal. Eventually she will stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - you keep insisting that what the ped said about it not being a medical issue is the absolute truth.
And I see several people trying to tell you it might be, and get a second opinion from a GI specialist.
In encopresis you still see soft poop, mostly in accident form, as these are the bits that leak around the hard, big poop that blocks the rectal area.
Shaming or offering rewards to a child that has this won’t work. They simply don’t even feel it when they need to go. It takes a long time to clear.
You can watch the video “the poo in you” on YouTube to understand what people are trying to tell you about.

All of this. And worst of all, trying to fix it with behavioral methods can make it worse because it will increase the stress your child feels around toileting, which only leads to more withholding and makes the constipation worse.

The good news is that while it can take time to clear, usually just regular doses of miralax are enough to do it over time and you don't need any more intervention than that. It can cause what looks like a regression in toileting at first but in the long run it actually resolves potty training issues because as the constipation clears, the child has an easier time recognizing when they need to go and also starts to associate using the toilet as a relief instead of a source of anxiety.

But a GI specialist will be able to tell you exactly how much to give and at what time, and will be able to monitor the problem so you know when it's actually resolved. Some will actually do scans so you can see the compaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here—I think I am going to try this: first I’ll go back to the pediatrian and discuss what’s been going on. I’ll be sure to ask her: how can a GI issue be rules out?; At what point would you recommend a specialist.

Second, I’ll do whatever the pediatrian suggests.

Third, (and assuming pediatrian agrees) I am going to have her wear “thin” underwear all the time, including at pre-school. (The weigh of a pullup or “thick” undies seems to make sensing difficult.) I am also going to ask that they make sure she uses a stool on the potty and that she sits for 5 min before going on the playground. (From talking to her I know that most of her accidents happen on the playground.)

I think this is the best I can do.

I suspect there is one mom posting to this whose kid has some unusual GI diagnosis. I don’t think that’s what going on. I’ll defer however to my pediatrician who I trust and know to be very knowledgeable and experienced.

If there is something else anyone suggests to do, especially with the pre-school, I am open to suggestions.

Constipation is not some unusual GI diagnosis for preschoolers. It's incredibly common. Withholding poop and then having poop accidents, or always saving poop for nighttime diapers, is extremely common in 2/3/4 year olds as a response to potty training. Constipation where the kid still poop but don't seem to realize they need to (because the constipation is getting in the way of sensing when they need to go) is also pretty common. Giving kids miralax during potty training is super common. None of these are unusual issues.

Also, there are multiple people telling you about this, because again, many parents encounter this issue during potty training. It can present several different ways. In my DD's case, she never had daytime poop accidents but she would withhold all day and then poop in her diaper at night, sometimes in the middle of the night. But it's the same set of problems -- withholding which leads to constipation (this can often be exacerbated by uneven toddler diets as they start resisting certain foods), and that leads to accidents and issues with toilet training because constipation disrupts their ability to sense when they need to go, as well as their ability fully relieve themselves when they do go.

I don't think this is going to improve until you address the constipation.

[Anonymous]

Constipation, stool withholding, and corresponding poop accidents are very common for three and four year olds. It’s not one obsessed poster. It’s multiple people who have experience with this.