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Pretend that I have a 10 year old son. He doesn't drink much water at school. So he usually has difficulties at poo.

I care about his health, so when I get home from work I often ask him

"Did you poo today?"

or

"Have you done a poo today?"

Which one should I use to care about his health rather than worrying he poo in bedroom?

I suppose the simple past is the one. Is it idiomatic? Does that sound natural?

WXJ96163
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    Your question is a bit off-beat. But, that aside, both of your suggestions in the last paragraph are idiomatic and appropriate. So is Did you do a poo today? – Ronald Sole Mar 05 '20 at 00:20
  • @RonaldSole Thank you. Does "off-beat" mean "off-topic"? – WXJ96163 Mar 05 '20 at 00:21
  • From Wikipedia: Offbeat, originally a music term meaning "not following the standard beat", which has also become a general synonym for "unconventional" or "unusual". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offbeat – Ronald Sole Mar 05 '20 at 19:44
  • @RonaldSole Thanks for your comments. I've learned a lot. Does "my question unusual" mean what I said is not idiomatic/natural? – WXJ96163 Mar 06 '20 at 00:27
  • No, your question was quite legitimate. It's just that the great majority of questions are about grammar and very few address idioms for children's potty habits. – Ronald Sole Mar 06 '20 at 00:35
  • @RonaldSole I guess that's because most of learners study English just for work or college study, they don't use English much in every day life. – WXJ96163 Mar 06 '20 at 00:56
  • @RonaldSole Thanks for your kindness. So, it is idiomatic to say "Did you poo today", and it does sound natural, right? – WXJ96163 Mar 06 '20 at 00:59
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    Just a note that while these are idiomatic when talking to small children (maybe up to 5 years old), most English speakers don't use the term "poo" very much once the child is old enough to be out interacting with other people, so particularly for a 10-year-old using this term sounds a bit strange. For older children (and adults), English speakers usually use other euphemisms for these sorts of body functions, such as "going to the bathroom", or if it's important to distinguish the type, something like "doing number 2", or "taking a dump" (casual), etc. – Foogod Mar 06 '20 at 17:13

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