Toilet Training and Constipation

Children who ignore the urge to have a bowel movement may eventually stop feeling the need to have one, which can lead to constipation. Typically children delay going to the bathroom because of stressful potty training or because they do not want to interrupt their play. Also, if a child is already constipated with hard and painful stools, he may ignore the urge to potty because of the pain, thus worsening the constipation.

There are a few tips you can use to help making toilet training a less stressful experience.

• Encourage your child not to wait until the last minute, but to go to the bathroom as soon as they feel the urge.



• Have your child go to the bathroom after each meal, even if he says he doesn’t have to “go”. Often children use the bathroom immediately or within a few minutes. The point is not to make your child potty when they have no urge, but to get them into the habit going to the bathroom regularly and without waiting until the last minute.
• When your child has a bowel movement, make sure he has time to completely empty his bowel. Remaining stool left inside the colon can harden and become difficult to pass.
• Make going to potty a pleasant experience by giving your child a book while he is sitting on the toilet.