POTTY made easy TRAINING

5HOLDING ONE IN Just because your child might feel the sensation to poo, it doesn’t mean that he’s going to poo as soon he gets to the loo, as the sensation might not be as acute as it was. Once he gets there, he might then hold it in.

Cindy suggests, then, that you give your child a book to read on the potty (while you could mimic him on the loo). That should hopefully help him and his sphincter muscles to relax, and allow nature to take its course. “It takes time, and you need to be patient,” she stresses, adding that you might have to make several trips to the potty a day before your child finally poos.

The last thing you want is a child that holds in poos as this leads to constipation. While the poo sits in the bowel, it gets harder and harder, and is ultimately difficult and painful to pass. Your child will then be even more inclined to hold one in as passing a stool hurts — and so the vicious cycle starts. YB