Why has my 2 year old suddenly started pooing her knickers

Question

my 2 year old..nearly 3 has been potty trained for 9 months, she caught on quick...barely any accidents and also clean at night...everything fine until last month and she suddenly keeps pooing her knickers..she is fully capable and she has done it perfect for so long..nothing has changed..house..routine, nothing.,..i have tried shouting...being calm and understanding...removing her favorite toy..everything and she just doesnt seem bothered. im stumped and its now getting to the point where i dont want to take her anywhere..she starts nursary soon and i need to tackle it now.please please help

Answer 1

Wish I could help, it's somewhat of a phenomenon.  All I can tell you is that it will pass.

Both of my little ones (now 4 and 6) had that issue for a brief spell when they were 2 already potty trained.  They would go and hide (like in a corner or behind the bed) and quietly poo in their pants instead of going to the potty like usual.  I could never understand it, and just like you I tried everything to discourage it.  Finally (and it didn't take long) they just stopped doing it.  So, be patient.......THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

Answer 2

Yes, I agree with the other answers...it will pass. For some reason, almost every child regresses when it comes to potty training at some point. Often, it has to do with a change in their life. You mentioned nothing changing at the moment...does she know she is starting nursery school soon? Has she overheard that she has to be potty trained to be there? It could be her way of experimenting with "what happens if I poo in my pants instead of the potty?"  "Will mom just clean it up for me and thats it? Will she get really mad and then I get lots of attention?" You never know, it could be a variety of things. If you believe this is misbehavior and not something else like a sickness/virus or something...then the best way to handle it would be to ignore it. When she has an accident, quietly grab her hand and walk her to the bathroom. Walk her through the steps of undressing herself, "take off your pants please, now your underwear please." Then have her either dispose of the messy clothes in the bathtub, garbage, laundry basket...whatever works best for you. Then, instruct her to wipe herself clean, maybe even rinse off quick in the shower. You don't want this to be fun for her;however, you don't want it to be torture either...don't make a traumatic experience/memory for her! Once you have a moment of her full attention, maybe ask her, "Do you like having to clean up after yourself like this?" Listen to what she has to say, you might find out what is going on. Ask something like, "you could have ran to the potty and gone poo there, why did you go in your pants instead?" You never know...Just don't make it a big deal or she might continue to do it. If you let it go and just try to move on as quickly as possible, she will realize there is no fun in this and hopefully move on as well. Let her know that the next time she poops on the potty, you will give her a sticker or something. Thats it...no other rewards, and certainly not if it turns out to be a big struggle.

Answer 3

Just leave her in the knickers so she could feel the poo, it's pretty uncomfortable. Leave her in them for 5 minutes, then get her to clean it with a wash cloth. Then after she's done it, tell her that she won't have to do it again if she goes in the toilet. If she likes cleaning her cloths, then tell her that she can help you with the laundry if she goes in the toilet.

Answer 4

Pooing.. her knickers?

Answer 5

My 5 year old son did this a couple of weeks ago.  I took his tv out of his room and took away his favorite toy until he stopped.  This took about 2 weeks but he finally got the point that he wouldn't be getting this back until he stopped

Answer 6

My son also went through this when he was 3!  It is really frustrating!  I tried making him clean it up by himself, but it backfired!  He enjoyed playing in the water (didn't care that it was cold) and for the next several days I caught him in the bathroom "washing" all his clothes (shirt, pants, socks, underwear).  I didn't help the pooing at all and it was really a pain to teach him that it wasn't okay to take off all his clothes and wash them (sometimes several times a day).  For the pooing, It just took patience and reminding myself that he won't go to college still pooing his pants.  I brought back reward charts and if he stayed clean and dry all day, he got a sticker and enough stickers got a reward.  Good Luck!