UGH! My little guy turned 3 in June and was peeing in the potty about a month before his bday. Got him to poop in the potty twice in one week and took him to Chuck E. Cheese as promised. He hasn't pooped in the potty since. I keep pull ups for night time, so he wants to use those for pooping, or if by chance, I hide the pull ups and tell him we have no more, he get his sisters diapers out. I have offered rewards, set stop dates, explained, and begged....what worked for you? His poops are getting to be too much and too smelly for a diaper/pull up. If he has to poop, he will tell me he needs to "poop in a diaper." He gets a pull up and I make him go to the bathroom, when he is done, we clean him up and go back to undies.
Any advice is appreciated.
sounds like my son. only advice i have... take a break. The more you push it the more he will fight it.
We had a potty chart worked fine for pee, the he took it down. Proclaimed he was "done with this"
Few weeks later... when we made him wear only undies he took them off and pooped in my hubands briefcase
After that we backed off... he eventually did it on his time
A less than funny story. My older son was basically potty trained at two and a half, except he would not poop in the potty, he would drop trow in the dining room. A week before we were to go to Florida and stay with my grandparents he just started going in the toilet like he had been doing it his whole life. Can't explain it.
He will get there and just be glad he isn't going in your dining room.
Some children don't respond to rewards, treats, etc., for them the biggest incentive IS being potty trained. My guy (28 months) responded well to stickers for a few days for peeing, then Dum Dum pops for pooping, now it's just the "high-fives" and praise for both. Chuck E Cheese possibly came too soon and too easily for your son, I've seen it recommended you use a chart and when they do it 10 times, then they get the big reward. An incentive has to be meaningful to that particular child, something he or she really wants on their own, or it won't work long-term. Something like pre-school, a new toy, something he or she is begging for and will work for. But at this point you need to change your method as rewards haven't worked.
I read something about a month ago that may help. We're using cloth trainers, not pull-ups, so I can't personally vouch for it's success but it seems many do. It also seems it would work since it's his body that he is controlling and he would still be doing that with this method.
Give your son a pull-up and allow him to poop in it, BUT he has to sit on the potty or on the toilet to do it. Handle it matter of factly, no rewards or praise at this point when he goes, just "Oh, you pooped, good. Here's some toilet paper to clean yourself, I can help if you need me." He puts the poop in the toilet, he flushes it, throws his own pull-up away and washes his hands, you're putting the responsibility on him. Of course you can follow-up to make sure he's clean.
Once he's doing this regularly and easily, I think the article mentioned a week or so but you could decide this, you (without his knowledge) cut a hole in some of the pull-ups so that when he pulls it up and sits on the toilet his poop will go fall into it. When he's done you tell him, "Hey, you pooped in the toilet." No fanfare still, just matter-of-fact, because he's still pooping in a pull-up. Of course, he continues to wipe himself, flush, toss the pull-up and wash his hands, so he's learning the going potty process..
Then, once this is second nature to him, one day you don't have any more pull-ups (you don't buy anymore and you have hidden his sister's diapers where he absolutely cannot find them) and he has to poop without one. When he does this willingly you then praise him abundantly and tell him "You pooped in the toilet, great job! I'm so proud of you!" THEN if you wish to treat him to something special you do it, but you may want to wait a week or so to make sure.
I would recommend once he's going on his own with no problems you continue to hide sister's diapers, he sounds smart and there's no reason to tempt him to outsmart you again.
And for moms whose little ones are using diapers to poop in this would work as well, just cut a hole in the diapers.
Hope this helps! : )
Don't worry! There isn't really much you can do to make that happen. He'll do it when he's ready. We get too caught up in the whole potty training thing. Take the pressure off...he'll be fine. My little one turned 3 in April, and just last month did she finally even start peeing in the toilet. Relax. :)
Toddlers may avoid pooping in the toilet for three reasons:
1. They are used to the feeling of the poop being smooshed against their butt. The feeling of the poop dropping away is new and disturbing.
2. They need to squat while pooping.
3. They perceive the poop as something of themselves. Seeing it flush away is scary.
Try opening a few diapers up and laying them on the floor. Tell him he is allowed to poop on a diaper, but he's not allowed to wear one.
Good luck.
Hi, I had the same problem with my son. He was very constipated so he was always afraid to poop. He peed just fine on the potty but when it came to pooping he would refuse to sit on the pot. He also would wait until night time and once his pull up was on he would go in it. So what I did to fix that was to let him fall asleep and then put on the pull up. He would wake up in the morning and need to go. I then would get him to go on the potty. It took awhile but once he started to go we had a "poop party" for him. He loved Thomas the Tank Engine and he wanted a Thomas cake. He got his cake and party when he started pooping on the potty.
Might sound weird but it worked for us.
When he says he needs to go poopy, why do you let him have a diaper or pull up? I would take him to the restroom, put him on the potty, and wait until he goes. I'm not saying be harsh, just matter of fact. Big boys go poopy on the potty. Praise big time after he goes. There shouldn't be a big reward until HE says he is going to go poopy on the potty instead of asking for a diaper. THAT'S when the big reward is due. :) He will get there quicker than you might think if you are consistent and say no to "poop in a diaper."
My son is very matter of fact but he was also a late potty trainer b/c of developmental delays. So he didn't potty train until about 4, so he could understand me. I told him in a way he could understand why we poop (to get our waste out, etc) and it helped him understand why it was important. With that we also did a sticker chart and once he filled it he got to go somewhere fun. Of course not all kiddos respond to this. I haven't read any of the other posts, but I'm sure you've gotten some great advice.
Good luck potty training is the worst!! :-)
Oh honey, I am right there with you! My daughter has been pee potty trained for gosh, almost a year now (she will be three in Sept) but I still can't get the little booger to poop in the potty. I swear I will sit her on the potty for five whole minutes before nap time...nothing. Not five minutes after I put on her pull up she will come out and say,"Need changed." . UGHHHHH. I will be watching this post carefully. :)
