4 year old
Question:My 4 year old grandson still does his bowel movement in his underwear. My son is at wits end and nothing he tries works. What do you suggest? He is a normal, very good child in all other aspects... thank you loving grandmother

Answer:This type of developmental slowness is certainly unusual. Assuming that their is no structural problem with the child's colon or anus several things can be tried. Like most behavior bowel training responds to positive training. Focused positive strokes and ignoring the "accidents" completely can commonly produce amazing results. This was shown very conclusively in bowel training regimens in mentally retarted institutions. There is a book called "Toilet Training in Less than a Day" which summarized the behavorial techniques needed to toilet train young children.
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