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Stool Withholding Help, Birmingham (2026)

31/03/2026

I’ve written THREE different Squiggy the Poo books… and apparently that’s still not enough for my kids 🙃💩

Because now they’re fully convinced what I really need to do is create a Squiggy the Poo Joke Book…

Every day I’m being hit with:
“Mummy, listen to this one…”
…and I have to admit, some of their jokes are actually pretty good 😂

I’d love to hear your favourite (or most groan-worthy!) poo jokes—share them in the comments below 👇

30/03/2026

🧠✨ Understanding sensations is step one.

When children struggle with toileting or withholding, the challenge often starts deep inside the body — with interoception. Helping them label sensations (like “tight tummy,” “squeezing feeling,” or “pressure low down”) builds the body awareness needed to recognise bladder and bowel cues before discomfort or accidents happen.

🔎 In this carousel

I’ve included simple, child‑friendly sensation labels across different sensory systems to make body signals easier to notice and describe. These words act like bridges between what the body feels and what the brain understands.

🚽💡 Why it matters for toileting

Children who struggle to notice internal sensations are more likely to experience withholding, constipation, or difficulty responding to urges in time. Strengthening interoception is a gentle, supportive way to help them connect with what their body is telling them — especially for school‑aged kids who find toilet cues confusing or overwhelming.

📘✨ Want targeted support?
For interoception + toilet learning in school‑aged children, comment “science” and I’ll DM you a link to my book:
Body Science: The Toilet Time Experiments.

26/03/2026

✨ Helping Your Child Think Past the Poo
One of my favourite ways to support children who feel stuck, worried, or fearful about poo is to use playful, motivating tools like glitter poos and rice paper characters. These aren’t just cute add‑ons — they’re powerful psychological supports.
🧠 Why this works
When a child has a fear or worry, their brain becomes fully focused on the scary moment.
But when we give them something fun, exciting, and motivating to think about after the poo, we help shift their attention away from the fear and towards something positive.
This shift helps guide them through moments that feel overwhelming, keeping their mind anchored to something safe and rewarding.
🌈 The goal
Not distraction…
But supporting their nervous system with something they genuinely look forward to — helping them move through the process with more confidence and less fear.
💬 Want the how‑to?
Comment glitter and I’ll send you a DM with my posts on:
• How to create a glitter poo pouch
• How to use rice paper characters confidently and effectively

25/03/2026

📘✨ Wondering what’s actually inside my Practical Guide for Parents?

Here’s a closer look at what you’ll find — so you can see exactly how this book supports you through every stage of stool withholding with clarity, structure, and confidence.

This guide is designed to help you understand the condition, know what to expect, and take practical, evidence‑informed steps to support your child.

🧩 A sneak peek inside:

🔹 1. Understanding Stool Withholding
A clear breakdown of:
– What stool withholding really is
– How to recognise it
– What it can look like day‑to‑day
– The common causes
– The three‑stage method for tackling it

🔹 2. The Physical Stage
Parents often tell me this section brings huge relief.
Inside you’ll find:
– The role of laxatives
– Osmotic vs stimulant options
– Disimpaction guidance & what to expect
– Maintenance dosing
– Moving forward safely
– Dietary considerations & Macrogol tips

🔹 3. The Psychological Stage

Support for reducing fear, building trust, and approaching toileting calmly.
Includes:
– How to talk to your child about withholding
– Ways to reduce toilet anxiety
– Approaches to encourage confidence and comfort

🔹 4. The Sensory Stage

A deep dive into how sensory processing can influence withholding, including:
– Tactile, visual, auditory, vestibular & olfactory factors
– Proprioception and interoception
– The counting method
– Practical strategies for each sensory area 🔹 5. Reinforcement & Emotional Support

Tools to help you strengthen progress:
– Empowering your child
– Emotion regulation strategies
– Positive reinforcement techniques

🔹 6. Resources & Further Support

– Medical guidance
– Book and social media recommendations
– References for those who want the research behind the methods

💛 Why this guide exists

This book brings together my developmental psychology background, current research, and lived experience navigating stool withholding in my own family. It’s written to offer clarity, reassurance, and practical steps you can start using immediately.

📩 Want the link?
Comment “guide” below and I’ll send you the direct link in a DM.

20/03/2026

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Real feedback like this is exactly why I created Squiggy the Poo 💛

Toilet training and stool withholding can feel overwhelming—for both children and parents. This gentle, interactive story helps children understand what’s happening in their bodies in a way that feels safe, fun, and empowering.

Hearing that it’s made a real difference to families means everything. You’re not alone in this journey—and support can make all the difference.

17/03/2026

💩 Why does soiling happen in children who withhold poo?

Soiling (often called overflow soiling or encopresis) can be confusing and frustrating—but it’s actually a very common medical response to chronic stool withholding.

When a child regularly holds in their poo, stool begins to build up in the lower bowel (re**um). Over time, this stool becomes large, hard, and impacted because the body reabsorbs water from it.

Here’s what happens next:

➡️ The re**um stretches to accommodate the built-up stool
➡️ This stretching reduces sensation, so your child may stop feeling the urge to go
➡️ Softer or liquid stool from higher up in the bowel leaks around the blockage
➡️ This leakage can appear in underwear—often without your child even realising

This is why children can soil even if they’ve already been to the toilet. The bowel isn’t empty—it’s overfull.

🚫 It’s not laziness
🚫 It’s not poor behaviour
✔️ It’s a physiological response to long-term withholding

Understanding this is key, because punishment or pressure can make withholding worse, increasing anxiety and reinforcing the cycle.

✨ The good news? With the right approach the bowel can recover, and soiling can stop.

👉 If your child is experiencing this, make sure you follow me and check out my page for support on how to tackle this!

13/03/2026

🚨 Stool withholding in children is real yet so many families are still told it “isn’t a thing.”

I’m really pleased to share that I’ve written an article for the British Psychological Society about stool withholding in children.

One of the biggest challenges families tell me about isn’t just the withholding itself. It’s the constant feeling that they have to explain or justify it.

“It’s just constipation.”
“They’ll grow out of it.”
“Just make them sit on the toilet.”

Constipation is a significant part of the picture, but it’s only one piece of a much bigger puzzle. Emotional, behavioural and sensory factors can all play an important role in why children start and continue withholding.

A core part of the work I do is supporting families through this. But just as important is raising awareness, so parents don’t have to keep carrying the cognitive load of explaining to others that this is a very real challenge.

If we can start to change the narrative, moving away from dismissal and towards “this is what’s happening and this is how we tackle it”, support for families becomes so much easier.

The more we talk about stool withholding, the more those “this isn’t a real thing” conversations start to disappear and the more families feel understood rather than dismissed.

👉 If this resonates with you, please share this post to help raise awareness.

👉 If you’d like to read the article, comment “ARTICLE” and I’ll pop you a DM with the link.

11/03/2026

🧠 INTEROCEPTION MATTERS

Interoception is the body’s internal “sensing system.” It helps children notice important signals like hunger, thirst, tiredness, and toileting cues. Strengthening this system builds independence and confidence.

💬 WHY LABEL SENSATIONS?

Giving kids words for what they feel helps them:
• Understand their body
• Communicate needs
• Regulate emotions
• Respond to early signals (before it becomes urgent!)

🟡 EXAMPLES FROM THE CAROUSEL:
✨ Wee cues: wee wiggles, tingly, full, pressing
✨ Poo cues: tummy squeezes, rumbles, tightness
✨ Hunger cues: rumbly tummy, echo‑y tummy, pulling
✨ Thirst cues: dry mouth, scratchy throat, “lips want a sip”
✨ Tiredness cues: heavy eyes, floppy body, slow breathing

🎯 WHY PRACTICE THIS?

Some children struggle to:
• Notice early signals
• Interpret what those signals mean
• Match body sensations with actions
Building interoception = building internal awareness and everyday independence.

🧩 ACTIVITIES TO TRY:

1️⃣ Body Check‑Ins
Ask simple questions like “What does your tummy feel like right now?”
2️⃣ Movement Breaks
Jumping, animal walks, yoga — then reflect on body sensations.
3️⃣ Label Sensations
Name hunger, thirst, tiredness, wee cues, and poo cues throughout the day.

📘 WANT MORE STRUCTURED ACTIVITIES?

If you’re looking for engaging, evidence‑informed ways to strengthen interoception and toileting awareness in school‑aged children, check out Body Science: The Toilet Time Experiments.

👉 Comment science for a DM with the link!

10/03/2026

🧠 Stool withholding and constipation are often grouped together, but they are not the same thing.
Constipation is usually about the stool itself — it may be hard, dry, or slow to move through the gut. Treatment typically focuses on softening the stool and helping it pass more comfortably.

🚫 Withholding is different.
A child is actively holding poo in, often because of fear, anxiety, a previous painful experience, or a need to feel in control. This is not stubbornness — it’s usually a protective response.

🔁 Over time, withholding can become a learnt pattern.
What begins as a conscious effort to hold can gradually become an automatic response. Children may stop recognising the signals that they need to poo, and the muscles used for passing stool can become less coordinated.

⚠️ This means the problem becomes both physical and behavioural.
When we only treat constipation, we’re addressing the stool — but not the holding pattern that has developed.

👶 Supporting children with withholding means looking at the whole child.
Alongside stool management, children often need support with confidence, body awareness, routines, and reducing the fear or anxiety around pooing.

If your child is struggling with stool withholding, I’ve created a practical guide with strategies you can start using at home to help break the cycle.

💬 Comment GUIDE and I’ll send it to you.

Stool Withholding Help

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