Almost 3YO Pees in Toilet Just Fine but WON'T POOP!

I haven't read all the responses, but I found with my daughter to just let them go at their own pace. She was potty trained right after her third birthday, but the pooping in the potty didn't happen for a few more months. I tried not to make any deal out of the fact that she went in her panties and then came to show me, I would just dump the poo in the toilet and tell her this is where she does it. Before I knew it, she went on her own one day and was so proud of it that we never had another issue. If it helps, just remember, he won't be going to kindergarten in a diaper :)

As long as you give him a diaper to poop in he will continue to do this and not learn. He's old enough to go cold turkey. Just prepare yourself for lots of accidents and when he asks for the diaper take him to the potty. Is he afraid of the big potty? Use a little training one.

My 2 year old refers to pooping as "squeezing". It helped to give it a name so I could encourage her to do it, rather then just sit on the potty waiting for it to happen on its own. She wants me to sit next to her before nap and bed so she can go poop. She can do it alone, but its some quiet together time that we don't usually get during the day. If she gets distracted I can remind her, are you squeezing? Then she refocuses and either says she's done or tries again. She's so excited about being able to accomplish this. Yes she still has a few accidents, but its nearly a thing of the past. I wish I'd learned something like this for my oldest, it took her a really long time to learn and she was the type that pooped every 4 days already. Peeing is so much easier, you don't have to work, lol. Its important for them to learn to sit still and do it.

Be sure he's getting lots of fiber in his diet! White rice/pasta/bread will constipate anyone, and makes pooping more of a chore. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and limit the processed carbs, and he should have more opportunities and it will be easier to accomplish.

Best wishes! I know this is tough, but get rid of those diapers - its unlikely he'll suddenly start pooping in the toilet. :) You can do it Mama!

Try giving him a toy or book to look at while he is on the toilet. My daughter had trouble with this for the longest time. She would only poop in a diaper then started in her underpants. I don't know why she would not go on the toilet, I think our situation was a control issue. I had talked to her doc and she had no medical reason to be pooping in her pants. Keep working with him and please don't show him frustration or anger that makes it worse.
When he asks for a diaper ask him to sit on the potty first and try.

We're in a similar situation, except that my son is four. And my son will poop in his underpants just as readily as a pull-up or overnight diaper :(

Our pediatrician recommendend this: take him to the toy store and have him pick out a toy within your budget (say, $10). Take it home and wrap it, and put it on the table, counter, whatever so that the wrapped gift is within plain sight. Tell him he can have it after he poops in the potty 3 times. (Or one time? - your choice) Then walk away. Don't mention it again. That gift-in-plain-sight will be his constant reminder (rather than your "nagging" - no offense but that's what I'm guilty of) that it's his job to take care of.

I'll add that we haven't tried this, b/c kiddo's sensory issues are really elevated right now and we can't go into a brightly light loud place for him to choose a toy, and I also fear that the only currency he has is TV. If we can't resolve this within the next month, we're going cold-turkey on TV/videos. Boys who poop in the potty get to watch a video... it will be rough. God help us.

Good luck to you! I think you're close - esp since he doesn't like the feeling of poop in his backside. Oh - when he's willing to try, I'd suggest floating a layer of toilet paper in the toilet to prevent a "backsplash" that could set him back again.

Have you thought about your husband speaking with him? How about giving him a book when he goes to the bathroom?

If he is distracted by being on the toilet, this may help. Also, a man relating to a little boy would probably be helpful.

My son wouldn't go poop on the toilet either. I had to put a diaper on him and he was about your son's age. What happened is the stool got so hard, I had to take him to the doctor and the doctor had to physically remove. It was the MOST unpleasant situation for my son.

Is he having a hard time pooping? I changed my son's diet, changed the vitamin he was on and he had an easier time going poop.

My son was in daycare at the time as well, so I understand.

Hope this helps.

is he scared to poop in the toilet? Have you or your husband pooped in front of him so he can see it's ok? I know it sounds gross, but that's the only thing that worked to get my dd to poop at my Grandma's house (we were there for 5 days and for some reason she was scared to poop in Grandma's potty).

Our DD would poop about the same time every day, around 5, so we'd put her on the potty that time every day and wait for her to poop until she got the hang of it. But she never held it like your son does.

One of my friends had a son who wouldn't poop in the potty, so she bought something he really wanted (a light up light saber) and put it on a shelf above the door in the bathroom. He couldn't have it until he'd been diaper free all week. (during the day). His dad would take it out and play with it in front of him, and he really wanted that toy, so eventually he did it.

I'm not sure if either of those will work for you, but it's what I've seen work in the past. Good luck, mama!

I think it's a little different for boys. With pee, they see exactly what's "going on" and where it "comes from", etc.
The poop might seem more mysterious. Great time to educate him about the poo-related anatomical terms, etc.
"Once Upon a Potty" (boy version, book) is great for this.
Then he can even "check out the landscape himself...lol
Change it up! Let him sit backwards on the toilet (ride a horse, dragon, etc).
Tell him that poo is the WASTE from food after his body has eliminated all useful vitamins, nutrients, etc. and has to come out to keep him healthy.

Its okay, be patient. He will get there. Ask day care to help you with him. And there is a book about pooping in the potty. Ask the libarian for it.

I tried all of the suggestions below, and the only thing that worked was time. I just had to back off and be patient. My son didn't poop in the potty until he was almost four, and he was peeing in the potty with no accidents before his third birthday.
I had to factor in that we moved, he started preschool, and he had a baby sister all while he was three years old... so those added stresses didn't help. You can try each of the previous suggestions, but if they don't work, they don't work. My son even held it for three days one time because everyone kept telling me just not to give him the diaper! Obviously that was NOT good, and I knew at that point that listening to everyone else was not going to work for us.
Do what works for YOU, and follow your son's lead, he will do it when he is ready, and I promise it will happen before kindergarten :)

It is just a waiting game really. They have to get the peeing in the potty first and then the pooping part will come. It sounds like he is well on his way to doing this. You just have to let it happen when he is ready. My son will turn 4 on December 2. He didn't show any interest in the potty for about 6 weeks AFTER his 3rd birthday! Then it seemed like he would only go on the potty when we were out in public places. It wasn't until this Fall that he started going on the potty consistently without reminders and just the week before Thanksgiving did he start going poop on the potty without reminders. It sounds like your son is way ahead of the game in that respect, so give it a few more months and one day it will just click for him. Good luck!
A.