Your Concerns about Soiling

You said that your child occasionally poops in his/her clothes or bed. This usually leaves a stain in his/her underwear or on his/her sheets. You said that does not happen very often. It probably only happens when your child is ill or can't get to a toilet. These types of accidents are common in children your child's age. These accidents can happen as a part of teaching your child to use the toilet. This usually starts around age 2, but can happen as late as age 4.

Warning signs that things are getting worse:

• Your child has these problems even after s/he has learned to use the toilet.
• Your child is often constipated and becomes afraid of using the toilet.
• Having a bowel movement in his/her clothes or bed starts to happen more often. It happens when s/he is not ill and has easy access to a toilet.
• Your child gets teased by other children for having these problems. This upsets your child a lot.

If you think things are getting worse talk to your child's doctor, even if you have discussed these things before.

Adapted in part from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996) .