Bowel Health - Toilet trained toddlers who ask for a diaper to poop.

Toilet training for pee is often achieved before poop. Some toddlers make the transition for pee but are reluctant to sit on the potty to poop.

If a child is no longer wearing a diaper during the day and is reluctant to sit on the potty to poop, the child will start holding the poop in. Parents might note stool withholding postures (clenching the bum cheeks, squeezing the thighs together, walking on tip-toes).  

Some of these children will wait until a diaper is put on to sleep (night or nap), or as a precaution when the family is going out. Shortly after the parent puts on the diaper, the poop often comes out. 

Some parents learn from this behaviour and start to offer the child a diaper to poop. Some toddlers are articulate enough to ask for diaper. 

When a child is reluctant to poop on the potty and chooses the diaper route, this is usually a clue that the poop is difficult to pass. These children know that their poop is a problem to pass in the diaper. When the parent suggests that they should poop on the potty, the child considers this a bad idea. When they already have problems letting the poop out in a diaper, the potty does not look like a better alternative. 

If a parent notes this behaviour they should routinely offer the diaper as a transition phase. This is far better than allowing the stool withholding behaviour to persist. Stool withholding behaviour will make the bowel health much worse. The pattern will become more random, the child will start to miss days, and the poop will become harder and more and more difficult to pass. 

During the transition phase when the child is in underwear by day but still pooping in a diaper, the parent should soften the stool by encouraging the child to drink a lot more water and to eat foods with more fibre. Once the stool is soft enough, the transition from diaper to potty will be straightforward. If the child is not keen on fibre, a stool softener can make a big difference.