my 7 year old still poops his pants
 

I am a stepmother of five children and am having serious trouble with our seven-year-old. He still poops himself. He is well aware that he does it and always seems to feel bad afterwards but we can't seem to get him to stop doing it. He does this up to three or four times a day! I can't keep up with the laundry! When we go out i wind up sometimes washing his clothes in the sink( gross i know but he can't go around with poop in his pants. some times he lies and says he just didn't wipe good. we ran out of a whole box of wipes in a week. we've tried taking video games away, sending him to his room, anything we could. but none of it seems to work. I talked to my aunt who said it may be a psychological thing. maybe some thing happened to him and he's letting it out(pardon the pun) this way. My husband and i can't seem to figure it out. His mother makes excuses for him, which i dont think is right. she says he's just stressed. I think it's more than mere stress. and beyond that telling a seven year old that he's just stressed only tells him that it's ok to poop his pants. he has been through a lot at his young age. I dont know if it's all of that or maybe something specific. I dont think it's for attention because he tries to hide it from us. my next effort will be to spend some time with him each night and try to talk to him and figure out what's wrong. any advice or related experience on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

my 7 year old still poops his pants
 

Hi --

Discuss this with his pediatrician. It's possible that he can't,
actually, control his bowels. Try having him sit on the toilet at
regular times every day, especially shortly after waking up, right
before meals ... The ped. will be able to tell you more.

Do NOT punish for soiling himself, but do praise for staying
clean. Shower him with affection and reassurance that you love him
despite this little problem.

--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

my 7 year old still poops his pants
 

"ngaudlap" wrote in message
...

I am a stepmother of five children and am having serious trouble with
our seven-year-old. He still poops himself. He is well aware that he
does it and always seems to feel bad afterwards but we can't seem to
get him to stop doing it. He does this up to three or four times a day!

I doubt he can control this, so punishment won't help. Get him to a ped.

thanks for the advice guys. we will have his mother make him an appointment right away. until then, should i avoid giving him dairy products?

my 7 year old still poops his pants
 

No need to avoid dairy products; that's just my standard signature.

--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

my 7 year old still poops his pants
 

One of my kids had this problem. Its called encoporesis. What happens
is that at some point, for whatever reason, a kid starts holding it in.
Could be any reason - painful constipation, fear of using the toilet
away from home (lots of kids don't want to use school bathrooms),
desire to keep playing instead of use the bathroom, whatever.

Then what happens is a pernicious spiral. Kid resists going, and
ultimately the kid's colon gets stretched out, and they lose normal
sensation and function. In other words, they can be packed with stool,
but they can't tell, they don't get normal sensation, and they never
properly empty their bowel.

A frequent hallmark is frequent small poops in their pants - because
what is happening is that their bowel is so full, as more stool comes
down the pipe, it has nowhere to go, and it starts pushing small
amounts out involuntarily.

When my son was first examined by the doc, it was clear this kid was
majorly backed up.
What we had to do is try out various doses of laxitives - we started
with mineral oil, which wasn't enough - we had to go to Ducolax. The
doctor's instructions were to play with the dose until we had him
having two good movements a day (i.e. big ones). The point was to get
his colon empty, and keep it as empty as possible, so it could shrink
back and normal sensation and function would return. This took several
months, at which point, we gradually stopped the laxatives, but kept a
close eye on his regularity to make sure he wasn't sliding back into
the pattern.

Its way more common than you think, particularly in boys for some
reason. Its been several years since this happened, and its never
recurred. I wish I'd known about it from the get-go, since like you, I
was hugely frustrated, and just couldn't understand why an intelligent
kid kept pooping in his underwear! The answer....he really couldn't
help it.

Mary G.

Thank you so much!!!! tho i looked online a bit and found some laxative alternatives. Yesterday I started by making him eat a small cup of apple sauce before dinner and try to "poop". He tried once and said it wouldnt come out. He tried again. By the third time the poor boy felt like he was going to explode but he had a good movement. After Dinner he ate more apple sauce. He had another movement. Today he has not gone in his pants even once. He eats three very small pieces of black licorace(licorace acts as a mild laxative) after each meal then sits on the toilet. Funny thing, the aforementioned mother of the year informed me that she already knew what the problem was and what to do about it after i had already shared the information with her. She was the one that told me to give him twizzlers. But after researching further i found out only black twizzlers contain any actual licorace. and they have been working like a charm to get his system working properly. Thanks for all the help guys. I hope my stepson keeps up the good work. Wish me Luck!