I am at my wits' end. AJ has been toilet trained for over a year, and in the past 3 weeks, he has soiled his pants at least 10 times. It's always just a little bit, never a whoel lot. I just don't understand what the heck is going on or how to deal with this. DH is completely unhappy about it.
he's also be very whiney and throwing a lot of tantrums, veyr low frustration level and generally seems "off" and out of sorts.

So, help me figure out what's going on and how to help him stop this behavoir, please!

You will find a great deal of information on the web if you google "encopresis". There are a couple of moms here with lots of information. Hope they can help.

but maybe he's so involved in an activity (playing with cars, watching a movie, reading a book, etc) that he doesn't want to *miss* anything? This was the case for a boy I nanny'd in Germany.....only he was 6 years old.

Perhaps just reminders to go potty about 1/2 an hour after eating/drinking anything might help?

((HUGS))

VERY frustrating for you, I'm sure!

No advice mama, but if this makes you feel better about your ds, mine is nearly 4 and has NO interest in toilet learning. :eek:

I'd look at what changes may be going on in his life.

Hugs,

Michelle

Has he been sick? With the whineynes and everything else you mentioned it sounds like maybe he just isn't feeling well.
Mindi

Definitely check out the encopresis. The best thing to do is not make a big fuss, and show that you are upset. It makes it much, much worse.

Yup, sounds like encopresis, especially since he's at the age that starts to happen. I would do a google search like the other poster said. That's where I got information from. My ds has been dealing with it for quite a while. He would have accidents sometimes 8 times a day with small leakages. Ds just gets too wrapped up in what he is doing and doesn't want to go.
We started mineral oil nightly for over a week until he was regularily going potty daily and after a while we stopped the mineral oil. We also increased his fluids and his fiber, and decreased stuff that constipates like dairy and bananas. We put a calendar on the bathroom wall with sheets of stickers next to it, and each day he has to go and sit on the potty for 15 minutes (less if he goes) and he gets a sticker on the calendar. For every 30 stickers (about a month's worth of daily going) we get ds a small coveted toy in the $10 price range. Getting him to stop and sit each day so he can get a sticker has gotten ds going more regularily so he isn't having accidents or leakages. That's whats working for us.

http://www.babyzone.com/drnathan/medref/encopresis.asp

OMG - I think this is what my younger brother suffered from for years. Docs never diagnosed him, just told my mom he was lazy. :( :( :(

I just want to cry!

My eldest has encopresis. He has a duo pack of either cinnamon spice or apple spice metamucil cookies with his breakfast every morning and it keeps it under control.

It takes a little while to work and you have to keep going for a year or two but is better for you than mineral oil or laxatives and he likes them way more than mineral oil.

A bowl of beans a day works too.

And had the tantrums and such along with it. I found that the bigger deal I made out of it, the more often it occured. I would just have him go get a new pair of underpants, clean him up and send him away, like it didn't bother me at all. After 2 days of that, he stopped doing it. I think for him it had been a way of getting attention, and once he realized it wasn't bothering me, he just stopped.

Hope you figure out what is going on with him!

Thank you all so much for the words of advice and envcouragement. I'm looking into what ya'll suggested, and meanwhile have had to clean three slightly poopy underoos today :(

One more thing to watch for is pin worms. An irl friend's 5 yo went through this and it turned out to be pin worms.

He saw them in one of his stools, freaked out, didn't tell anyone and was afraid to go, so ended up soiling his pants.