A FEEL BETTER BOOK FOR LITTLE POOPERS

Help for kids whose No. 1 fear is going No. 2.

While shelves may groan with potty-training books, this bibliotherapeutic title is for kids who are already out of diapers but are afraid to poop on the toilet. A backmatter note to adults explains: “There is a common, but vicious cycle that happens when a child is scared to use the bathroom—they hold their poop in, subsequently become constipated, it hurts when it finally does come out, the pain creates fear so they hold it again, and the cycle is repeated over and over.” The rhymed verse of the main text offers a similar explanation directed at child readers: “You don’t want to go / in the potty like you should— / you’re worried and scared / that it won’t feel good.” The text goes on to offer validation of children’s fears, tips for relaxing, and the reassurance that everyone poops (to borrow Taro Gomi’s title line from his popular 1977 picture book). Both parts of the text (backmatter and the book proper) acknowledge the physical discomfort this cycle can cause as well as the social disruptions that can occur in a child’s life as a result. Ng-Benitez’s accompanying illustrations do not follow a sole child who overcomes a fear of pooping. Instead, pictures show diverse children at different stages of holding, then confronting and overcoming their fear.

Sure to help kids with this bummer of a problem, and their caregivers, too.