My mum has recently developed a fear to do no2 in the toilet. She’s scared of making the toilet messy! I keep telling her that is what toilets are for and some people go a few times a day. She keeps making reference to how the toilet is so white, flash and clean and she doesn’t want to make a mess. I keep telling her, it’s ok, it goes away with the water! She will announce she needs to go. She will sit down and then struggle to do her poo. It’s Iike she experiences phobia the same as some do for using public toilets but this is at home. She grew up on a farm as a kid and they didn’t have flushable toilets. They had the wooden dunny/hole in the ground. Is her memory going back there and thinking a white flushable toilet is somehow weird?!? This came to mind because she has started to scrunch/soften toilet paper in her hands as if it were hard paper/newspaper when it’s already super soft toilet tissue. She has also started placing the toilet tissue in the bin rather than the loo. How do I make her going to the toilet more comfortable. I don’t want this to lead to where she starts seeking other places to do her no2 because the toilet is “too clean or flash and therefore not appropriate for poo”. Note: it’s not flash just a normal white toilet ;)
I had an ivy set for a house we used to live in. If you could find one (Amazon maybe?) you could tell her you needed her to “fertilize the daisies”?
I wonder if you could use some kind of waterproof ( i.e. Marine paint) to paint the inside of the toilet. And try dimming the lights; those dunnys were dark!
im wondering if adding colour to the surroundings would make a difference. I’ve kept the toilet clear of any rugs etc for ease of cleaning.
Dry it.
Place decals on the basin. It could be "poop emoji, or just whatever strikes your fancy,. A Sharpie marker will work as well just make marks on the bowl. I used to draw a big "X" to give my Husband a place to aim.
The decals can come off when no longer needed as will Sharpie markers.