Before going the behavioral route, please consider having all medical issues ruled out. We had this issue as well with one of our children. We were told by the pediatrician that it was behavioral and suggested rewards charts, various programs, and one point encouraged us to get the help of a therapist. Turns out, she had food allergies. The fact that she hit 17 pounds and pretty much plateaued in her growth for 2 years did not raise any red flags ("Probably because you family trends on the smaller side.") I finally got sick of it and went to a gastroenterologist. Turns out she was not retaining fat and later found out that she had food allergies. Once on a treatment plan, she gained 15 lbs. in 3 months. Yes, I fired that pediatrician.
For anyone who comes across this issue, I got this comment from a reader that I thought was a valuable contribution, including the price point of a training consultant:
"I feel compelled to respond that potty training consultants exist and are AMAZING and ours totally changed our life. My son would only poop in a diaper, but would also withhold, and it was a nightmare. And the ped just says keep giving Miralax and the internet says "he'll do it when he's ready." He was over 3 and I had this feeling that he needed extra help. We hired someone named Jen L'Italien (found her via the Oh Crap website) and had a phone and email consult, followed her plan and a week later he was pooping on the potty and never looked back. Best $120 I have ever spent. So I could go on and on but I am basically an evangelist for these consultants now and wanted to share in case it could help this person!"
Before going the behavioral route, please consider having all medical issues ruled out. We had this issue as well with one of our children. We were told by the pediatrician that it was behavioral and suggested rewards charts, various programs, and one point encouraged us to get the help of a therapist. Turns out, she had food allergies. The fact that she hit 17 pounds and pretty much plateaued in her growth for 2 years did not raise any red flags ("Probably because you family trends on the smaller side.") I finally got sick of it and went to a gastroenterologist. Turns out she was not retaining fat and later found out that she had food allergies. Once on a treatment plan, she gained 15 lbs. in 3 months. Yes, I fired that pediatrician.
Thanks for this. Attempt #2 on child #2 (after child #1 was textbook, mostly easy, and a full year younger than #2 is now) begins in 9 days. 😬
For anyone who comes across this issue, I got this comment from a reader that I thought was a valuable contribution, including the price point of a training consultant:
"I feel compelled to respond that potty training consultants exist and are AMAZING and ours totally changed our life. My son would only poop in a diaper, but would also withhold, and it was a nightmare. And the ped just says keep giving Miralax and the internet says "he'll do it when he's ready." He was over 3 and I had this feeling that he needed extra help. We hired someone named Jen L'Italien (found her via the Oh Crap website) and had a phone and email consult, followed her plan and a week later he was pooping on the potty and never looked back. Best $120 I have ever spent. So I could go on and on but I am basically an evangelist for these consultants now and wanted to share in case it could help this person!"