5 Tips for Healthy Pooping – Squatty Potty Review

Squatty Potty Review

We talk a lot about peeing and pooping here on EC Peesy. We're normally talking about babies and toddlers using the toilet, but what about you? Do you know how to poop properly? Today I am going to share 5 tips for healthy pooping. These tips apply not only to your child but also to yourself!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Thank you to Squatty Potty for providing a Bamboo Flip Squatty Potty for this review and one to give away!

Healthy Pooping Tip #1 PRIVACY

Put yourself in the shoes of your potty training toddler for a minute, would you prefer to poop all alone or with someone watching?

You may have noticed that your toddler hides in a corner to poop in her diaper. Pooping is a very private thing. This goes back to primal instincts. We need to feel safe in order to relax our sphincter muscles and poop.

If you want to help your toddler transition to pooping in the potty, you may need to give her some privacy. When you think she needs to poop, get her ready on the potty and then try closing the bathroom door for a minute or two before peaking in to check.

Healthy Pooping Tip #2 HYDRATION

It's important to stay well hydrated in order to maintain regular bowel movements. I became all too familiar with constipation due to dehydration during pregnancy. Drinking water was so nauseating during the first trimester that I wasn't drinking enough, which was leading to painful constipation.

Don't do that to yourself! Drink water. Plenty of it.

To make sure your child is getting enough water, allow her to drink from an open top cup or a straw bottle rather than a sippy cup. Some sippy cups are so difficult to drink from that they contribute to constipation.


This is totally how I felt after pooping while pregnant. Biggest accomplishment of the day.

Healthy Pooping Tip #3 NATURAL FATS

Eating more natural fats can help your poop slide right out. Natural fats include unrefined coconut oil, raw extra virgin olive oil, butter from grass-fed cows, and the fat found in avocados. Basically, fats that have not been refined, hydrogenated, or otherwise altered. (I do NOT recommend eating vegetable oil.)

We sing a little jingle in our house, "just a spoonful of coconut oil makes the poopoo come out". A spoonful of coconut oil really would do wonders for my toddler. If your child isn't as keen on eating coconut oil straight up, you can make Constipation Candy.

Healthy Pooping Tip #4 PROBIOTIC FOODS

Eating probiotic rich foods can boost your gut microbiome. Did you know that your intestines are filled with bacteria that help digest your food? Eating fermented foods with live cultures such as yogurt, kimchi, kefir, and kombucha can aid in digestion.

Introducing fermented foods to your children at a young age can help them establish a life long habit of eating these nutritional powerhouses.

Healthy Popping Tip #5 SQUAT TO POOP

And last, but definitely not least, a deep squatting position is ideal for pooping. This is easier done with the traditional squat toilets that are still found throughout Asia. We've had the pleasure of using squat toilets in Thailand, Japan, China, and India. It was actually a bit difficult to balance in a deep squat and not pee on my feet. It made me realize that we would all be better off if we grew up squatting to eliminate. We'd have stronger leg muscles, better balance, and an easier time giving birth.

Squatting to poop is more of a challenge with a Western throne. But, luckily, Squatty Potty has come to the rescue! A Squatty Potty is a step stool for resting your feet on while sitting on the toilet. By raising your knees above your hips, it creates a squatting position and opens the colon, allowing for better elimination. To fully understand the magic of using a Squatty Potty, you can watch the video that started the Squatty Potty craze:

I've been testing out the Bamboo Flip Squatty Potty for the past few months, and it certainly does make pooping faster! And it's easier than doing a free-standing squat. I wish I had this when I was pregnant!

For potty training toddlers, Squatty Potty offers a Kids Potty Pet Kit, which consists of a toilet seat reducer and a dual height step stool. And don't forget Dookie the Pooping Unicorn!

If your baby isn't big enough yet for a seat reducer and step stool, be sure to choose a small floor potty that allows for a deep squat position.

Potty Pooper in Training Next to a Squatty Potty

We gave away a Squatty Potty yesterday at our local Elimination Communication Oahu "Potty Learning Q&A". Thank you to Squatty Potty for providing the stools for this review and giveaway! If you are local to Oahu, please join our EC and potty training support group.

Squatty Potty Winner

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About Heidi Avelino

Heidi is passionate about spreading awareness of elimination communication and natural cloth diapering. She is an environmentalist and strives to live a minimalist and zero-waste lifestyle. Heidi practiced EC with each of her three children. Her eldest son and her daughter have reached potty independence. She is currently practicing EC with and cloth diapering her youngest son.