Stool Withholding Help

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Stool Withholding Help

🌟 Dr Kate McGarry 🧠 Developmental Psychologist 📖 Check out my book for support and guidance ⬇️

17/02/2026

✨ Struggling with potty time? Meet your new superhero helper! ✨

Squiggy the Poo: On a Mission turns toilet troubles into confidence, giggles, and glittery success 🚽✨

Created by a developmental psychologist, this interactive story helps children overcome poo anxiety, build healthy toileting habits, and feel proud of their progress. Parents and professionals love it — and kids can’t wait to make their “magic poo dust” moment!

💛 Perfect for children who withhold poo
💛 Supports routines with practical psychological & pelvic floor strategies
💛 Trusted by families, loved by little learners

13/02/2026

🚽 Toilet Training Reward Ideas: Try a Mystery Box for Motivation 🎁

If sticker charts have stopped working and your child is bored of the same rewards, a mystery box incentive can be a powerful reset — especially for toileting routines.

Incentives don’t last forever (and they’re not meant to), but they are incredibly helpful for establishing a predictable, consistent routine. Once the routine is in place, the behaviour can continue without the reward.

✨ Why a mystery box works
• Feels fresh and exciting when other rewards have lost their appeal
• Keeps engagement longer — children don’t know what they’ll get
• Builds motivation for consistent toileting attempts
• Supports routine-building through positive reinforcement

🛠️ How to set one up
1️⃣ Grab a box and decorate it with question marks ❓
2️⃣ Fill it with small surprises:
– Fidget toys
– Glitter tattoos
– Snap bands
– Squishy toys
– Mini figures or novelty erasers
3️⃣ Swap items regularly to keep it novel

Remember: incentives only need to last long enough to help create a predictable toileting routine. The routine is the goal — the reward is just the bridge.

💬 Want ideas for what to put in your mystery box?
Comment “yes” below and I’ll DM you some examples.

10/02/2026

📌 Why Is My Child Withholding Poo? (And How Long Does It Last?)
Behavioural change takes time — and that’s true even for adults.
If we struggle to stick to simple habits like drinking more water or going to bed earlier, imagine how much harder it is for a child who doesn’t fully understand their body yet.
If your child is withholding, look for the small shifts first.
A few more seconds on the toilet.
A little less resistance.
More openness to talking about their body.
These tiny signs matter — they show your child is feeling safer, and safety is always the first step toward real change.
You’re not doing anything wrong. Your child isn’t being stubborn.
Their nervous system just needs time, patience and consistency.
You’re on the right track — keep going. 💛

04/02/2026

✨ Instagram Live Announcement ✨

I’m really excited to be going live with Dr Hannah Kloosterman, a Paediatric Physical Therapist and expert in paediatric pelvic health, specialising in childhood constipation and stool withholding.

Together, we’ll be exploring both the physical and psychological sides of stool withholding, how the body and brain interact, why withholding persists, and what actually helps children move forward safely and confidently.

🧠💩 This won’t be surface-level advice. We’ll be combining:

• pelvic health & physical therapy insight
• emotional and behavioural understanding

We’ll also be answering your questions live, so please send them over via DM or drop them in the comments below.

🗓 Friday 27th February
⏰ 2pm GMT | 9am EST

If stool withholding, constipation, accidents, or toilet anxiety are part of your family’s world — this Live is for you 💛

03/02/2026

💩 “My child is holding in their poo – what do I do?”

If you’ve typed that into Google at 2am, you’re not alone.

Poo withholding usually starts after a painful poo, constipation, or a big change like potty training. Your child isn’t being stubborn — they’re protecting themselves from discomfort.

👉 Holding it in can seem to help at first
👉 But poo sits longer in the bowel
👉 It becomes harder, bigger, and more painful
👉 Fear increases… and the cycle continues

The good news? This cycle can be broken.

With the right medical support (like stool softeners), predictable toilet routines, body-based strategies, and gentle language, children can relearn that pooing is safe again — without pressure or shame.

✨ You don’t have to figure this out alone.

Comment “BOOK” for the link to my parent’s guide on stool withholding and how to support your child through it.

💛

02/02/2026

✨ Who Can Squiggy Help? ✨

If your little one is scared to poo in the toilet, holding it in, or stuck in a stressful cycle, Squiggy the Poo is here to help!

Created by a Developmental Psychologist, Squiggy gently guides children through fear, anxiety, and stool withholding using calm, effective, evidence‑based strategies that actually work.

💛 Helps children who are anxious or refuse to poo in the toilet
💛 Supports kids who are withholding or facing long‑term poo challenges
💛 Gives parents & professionals a trusted, psychologist‑created tool

And it’s not just families who love Squiggy…

✨ Endorsed by ERIC, the UK’s leading children’s bowel & bladder charity
✨ Regularly receives 5‑star reviews from parents and practitioners
✨ Consistently ranks in Amazon’s Top 10 potty‑training books

Squiggy turns toilet battles into calm, confident progress — with a little humour, a lot of heart, and science behind every page.

💩✨ Your child can absolutely do this… and Squiggy is ready to help.

Comment “Squiggy” for a DM with a link to Squiggy the Poo!

28/01/2026

Stool withholding in children is often mistaken for constipation alone — but it’s much more complex than that. Withholding is a mix of fear, control, uncertainty, sensory challenges, and difficulty recognising body signals. That’s why laxatives alone don’t always solve the problem. Real progress happens when we support the physical, sensory and psychological sides together, so the body and brain can work as a team again.

If you’re supporting a child who is holding in poo and nothing seems to be helping, you’re not alone — and there is a clearer way forward.

💬 Comment GUIDE for a link to my practical guide for parents for more support.

27/01/2026

Toilet Training Help for Children Struggling With Poo 💩

I’m so incredibly grateful to receive reviews like this. Supporting a child who is scared, constipated or avoiding poo can feel exhausting, isolating and overwhelming for families — and being told to “just wait” rarely helps.

Hearing that Squiggy the Poo has helped a little boy build a positive relationship with poo, feel confident on the toilet, and turn something frightening into something manageable truly means the world to me. This is exactly why I created Squiggy — to give children language, familiarity and emotional safety around something that so many quietly struggle with.

Thank you to this family for trusting Squiggy into your home and sharing your journey 🤍

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