Almost 3Yo Pooping in the Potty

Updated on September 30, 2008
A.S. asks from McKinney, TX
28 answers

Hello Mamma's,
I need some advice on getting my almost 3 year old boy to poop in the potty. I am about at my witts ends on cleaning poopy underwear. He just has no desire to use the potty for #2. HELP!!

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C.J.

answers from Dallas on

I had the same problem with my daughter. I had her fully pee potty trained in 3 days, but poop for some reason was really hard. It took about 2 months to finally get her to go in the toliet. I tried rewards, sticker, toys, taking away previlages, having her clean up her own mess (which is nasty) and nothing worked. She loves Go Deigo Go so I went out bought a bunch of boy's underwear came home and told her that Deigo and baby Jaguar would be very upset if she poops on them. It worked she started pooping in the toliet and we never had anymore problems. It is worth a try. Best of luck I know how fustrating this can be, but he will get it.

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A.M.

answers from Dallas on

M&Ms worked for one of my sons, and any candy for my other son! They would get a few M&Ms/candy every time they pooped in the toilet. After he poops, my 2 1/2-yr-old says "I get a piece of candy!"
Don't stress out too much. It's a tough stage, but he will learn eventually!

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B.S.

answers from Dallas on

I read a book, "To Train Up A Child" that suggested you not clean, coddle the normal, comfy way, but instead spray them down outside with a hose! (preferably in the back yard I would think) Sounds a little harsh, but I bet he wouldn't want it done too often. I think the presumption was to make it more uncomfortable than the alternative and that he would decide it was much better to use the potty. I never did this myself, but thought it was interesting.

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J.P.

answers from Dallas on

Yeah...we turned off the water in the toilet, dried the toilet and painted a "bulls eye" in red nail polish on the bottom of the toilet. Boys are fascinated with aiming, so the poop hits the target everytime! It has also helped with the "standing up and peeing" problem...good luck!

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E.C.

answers from Dallas on

Fortuneately I didn't have that problem, but my great-neice and grandson are doing the same thing. I have heard from many others that it's becoming a normal thing. Give it time. Put them in a pull-up instead of a panty....and if they want panties tell them they can't wear big kid panties until they poop in the potty. Maybe this will help. Good luck.

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S.M.

answers from Dallas on

I went through this with my boy. He was almost 4! It's so frustrating, and you feel like you've done something wrong. But you haven't!!

A friend gave me some advice that worked for her. Schedule time for #2! It sounded odd to me, but worked like a charm. 7:30 every night we grabbed a book and he sat on the potty while I read. After sitting there for 3/4 of the book, he went. We had a BIG ol' celebration. Made a huge deal of it and how big he was, how proud I could see he was of himself.

7:30 the next night we read another book. He chose a short one, so I slowed it down a little to make sure he had time. You could also just read another book.

I made sure his dad was following the same routine and time at his place as we were at home.

He still had an accident or two in the beginning, but if he went in the evening, he never had an accident the next day.

That was nearly a year ago. He goes on his own now when he realizes he has to, but he still likes showing me the surprise he has for me. Might sound like t.m.i., but at least I know he is still on schedule. ; )

I hope this works as well for you as it did for us. Hang in there.

S.

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R.

answers from Dallas on

I am a fan of bribery when it comes to poopy undies! yuck! So we had special "poopy treats" that he only got when he went stinkie in the potty and he would be so proud of himself and so would the rest of the family-we all made a big deal out of it. My son just turned three 9/4 and this is what has worked best for us. He/We finally just weened him off the poopy treats and now he just goes...HTH

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S.K.

answers from Dallas on

I would put him back in pull ups and tell him he can't wear big boy underwear until he is pooping in the potty. Then I would get some small toys and tell him that when he goes poopy in the potty he will get a surprise. When you notice that he needs to go, put him on the potty and give him something to do like legos on a TV tray or some books. I would wait until he has done it several times before I put him back in underwear. I did this with my son (waited until he was doing both jobs in the potty) and he never pooped in his underwear and only wet himself once.
I'm doing the same with my girls right now. The past two days both girls sat on the potty for about 30 minutes before they went. For one, books helped her relax. I gave the other one those big beads that pop together. One is going tee tee in the potty consistently but she won't get those panties until she is doing the other, too. They will be 3 in Nov.

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P.H.

answers from Dallas on

I feel your pain. I have a 3 year old in this same situation. After discussing this issue with my pediatrician and doing a little research myself, we have completely backed off. I give him a pull up when I estimate he will go, b/c he won't even tell me most of the time. He pees in the potty like a champ-go figure. My doctor said to act as if it's no big deal at all and he will go when he makes up his mind. Needless to say, this advice doesn't really make me feel that much better about the situation. But ultimately, there is only so much you can do. Don't make yourself crazy though. I think, from everything I have heard, this is all very natural, especially for boys. I heard a funny line, "It's not like they'll be in diapers in college." ha!

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C.H.

answers from Dallas on

I used a stamp system with my son. Every time he went to bathroom #1 or #2 he got to put a stamp on the paper chart I had made. This helped I think, at the end of week he got small prizes but at the end of month he got to go to Chuk E Cheese. I trained him in a month to potty in toilet.

hope this helps.

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A.K.

answers from Dallas on

My son will be 3 next week and he finally started pooping on the potty two weeks ago. After three weeks of cleaning poop out of his underwear (I thought I was going to be sick some days), I let him run around the house without any pants on and watched him like a hawk. As soon as he started showing any signs needing to poop - leaning over, grunting - I sat him down on the potty. Several times he would hold it in, but we finally had a few successes. Once he had pooped on the potty 3 or 4 times, he started going there on his own.

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T.K.

answers from Lubbock on

Hi A.. My son was almost three when he became potty trained. I tried everything. First he wanted to know everything about the potty; how it worked, where the poop & peee went after you flushed etc...We also read books on the subject. Then I went to a doller store and filled a bag with cheap toys and sugar free candy. When he peed he got one toy & when he pooped he got two toys. That worked for a little while. What finally did work was a sticker chart. One sticker for pee, two for poop. I let him put the stickers on himself. He liked seeing his progress. It took a litle while for him to poop in the potty but eventually he wanted to put two stickers on his chart. And we have never looked back. Funny thing is he never really has likd stickers. So I did not think it would work, but at was at my witts end. He will be 4 in December and I'm happy to say he now does the whole process all by himself. Hang in there and be patient. Good Luck.

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D.S.

answers from Dallas on

Believe it or not- sometimes boys have this ordeal of something leaving their body while they are sitting- when they stand- they see it all happen- but sitting makes them feel likes it part of them- my friends son used to hide and so it= I would go back to pull ups give him until the pull ups get used up and tell him that hell have to go back to a diaper once the box of pull ups is gone- or... brand new spider man undies-

When he is on the potty- pop a little box next to the pot with books, hand held video game- anything that will keep him on there- they just dont want to miss out on any fun and tend to rush it- then they become 40 and you can get them OUT of there- ! ha
but just try to figure his schedule of when he poops and pop him on the potty until it happens.
hang in there!

D.

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J.H.

answers from Dallas on

It just took the light going on in my sons head... And wasnt easy. Keep your chin up and remind him where he has to do his business.
Good luck

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J.D.

answers from Dallas on

OH my gosh I am going through the same thing right now. My son will be 3 next month and he likes to pee pee in the potty of course he stands. But the poo poo part he just doesn't want to sit on the potty and always goes in his undies. He went one time on the potty and I thought was a turning point and it wasn't :(. I bribe him with candy if he goes, I have a sticker chart you name it I have tried it but he is so stubborn. And he runs and hides to poop. So I just try to remind him and he even tells me that we pee pee and poo poo in the potty. I have been told to just have patience, don't put him in pull ups they know the difference put the big boy undies on and don't look back. My friend's son did the same thing and it took 9 months before he went on the potty, he just did it all by himself and after that never looked back. If you get any good advice or suggestions please pass along to me I am at my witts end too cleaning up poopy undies.

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D.N.

answers from Dallas on

I waited until after my son had turned 3 and told him he could get m&m's for pooping in the potty. We don't get any type of candy on a regular basis so that was an incentive and now he can squeeze out the tiniest bit of poop for 3 m&m's:) Just wait until he is ready; sometimes forcing something upon a 3 yo is worse on you than it is on him. I was OK waiting until our son was 4 if that's when he was ready. Let others be judgemental if they desire; you do what's best for you and your family; God will take care of you:)

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H.C.

answers from Dallas on

I did the "eyes on the prize" method. I went to the store and bought a bunch of various prizes from candy bars to $20 toys. I literally hung the prizes on the bathroom wall in front of the toliet so that when you were sitting there you could see it. But high enough that only DH and I could get it down. The $20 toy prizes were only for the beginning to show him how the system worked. Every time he pooped he would immeditaly get the prize and another would go in it's place. It worked, but it was expensive.

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A.J.

answers from Dallas on

Hi, I have 3 boys ages 5.5, 3.75 and 2 and my oldest was not able to poop until the age of 4.5 in the potty. my 3.75 year old just got poop trained and I have not event started trying to train my 2 year old yet. the average boys are not potty trained until 4 years old completely so I would buy some pull ups and just wait until he is ready :o) 2 is just too young and they are not mature enough to potty train in the average child. :0)

Good luck!, HTH
A. J

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S.T.

answers from Dallas on

Our grandsons (whom we were raising) finally made the decision themselves at that age and it was sudden. One didn't want to do potty in his pants because he was in diaper age pre-school and his girlfriend moved into the non-diaper pre-K and he found out it was because she wore panties and didn't go poop or pee in a pull up, so that night he said for me to put regular underwear on him and he never pottied in his pants again. Very cute story and it worked. Good Luck!

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D.O.

answers from Dallas on

I have almost 5 year old twin boys and a 3 1/2 year old boy. One of my twins JUST started consistently pooping in the potty within the last month & a half. His 3 year old brother on the other hand, has been pooping in the potty for almost a year. My advice: Be consistent. We weren't consistent with the twins and I think that is the major reason why it took so long for them to potty train. Also realize that it takes boys generally longer to potty train. Good luck!

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K.B.

answers from Dallas on

Welcome to the life a boys:) You didn't say if he knows when he needs to go. If so and he just doesn't want to go in the potty, I'd suggest getting him used to asking for a diaper or pull up to poop (pooping in underwear is gross). Have him start sitting on the pot, and pooping in the diaper. Once he's use to sitting to poop, start cutting a hole in the diaper or pull up. You'll work your way to no diaper. Remember, it's a control issue and don't stress out. He's not going to go off to college pooping his pants:) Eating and using the bathroom are two of the only things that they can totally control in their lives. Talk to your pediatrician. He/She will also have some ideas.

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C.C.

answers from Dallas on

My eldest daughter was the exact same way at that age. What I ultimately learned was not to stress or show my stress, which only served to stress her out. What worked for us is, in the weeks leading up to her third birthday, we would occasionally (to reinforce, not to make her stressed) mention that 3 year olds are big girls and don't poop in their undies. When she turned 3 we made a reward chart. Stickers would be placed on the days she pooped in the potty; after earning X amount of stikcer, she was given a small reward (usually something from the dollar store). Within 3 weeks after her birthday she had it down. And after using the potty for poop a whole month, she earned a larger reward.

Good luck! It will happen . . .

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J.

answers from Dallas on

Poop in the potty was the very last thing to come for my son. He peed for many many months before he would poo. I think it was easier for him to control the urge to pee. One day...he just climbed up on the toilet and went poo. Don't worry. It will come. Just keep reminding him, over and over. Don't get angry at him though. If he could do it.....he would.

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K.S.

answers from Dallas on

This will sound harsh but it worked for us. Everytime my son had a poopy accident we took a car away. He loves his cars, and we would tell him that when he went in the potty he would get them back. We also went to walmart and got a bunch of new cars, evertime he went in the potty he got to open a new car. We had it sitting in the bathroom waiting for him. Once we saw he was going pretty consistantly, we bought the bigger pack that had 5 or 6, this was for if he went a whole week with no accidents. It took a week for him to realize he was loosing cars, especially when he stood right in front of the potty and had an accident (we took 5 that time), then he went on the potty and we celebrated. He saw the benefit of going on the potty, and has not had an accident since the beginning of August. Good luck with whatever you try.

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W.B.

answers from Dallas on

I'd suggest buying his favorite charcacter's underwear and tell him the character will be sad if he poops on the character. My son loves Spiderman and he did not want to make Spiderman sad....The other thing is to get him a bunch of whatever toy he likes (for me it was Hot Wheels and books which I got from the dollar store) and let him pick his own toy from a special place in the house after making a HUGE deal of him going to the potty. Hope it works for you!!

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C.T.

answers from Dallas on

I went through the same thing and my son was 4. You really can't make him do it. You have to be patient, but have him help clean himself up and have a regular routine of sitting on the potty at certain times of the day, if he is willing. Good luck. It will happen!!

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K.S.

answers from Dallas on

I went through the same thing...if I had it to do over again, I would put him in diapers, and wait...

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K.T.

answers from Dallas on

I don't know if you have tried something like this, but we bought about 20 matchbox cars (will cost you about $20), put them in a bag at the top of our closet. We showed our son the bag very quickly, so he knew that it was full of cars. We told him that each time he went poopy in the potty he could pick one out of the bag. These cars were his favorite thing, so this worked very quickly and easily. After about the 15th car he stopped thinking about them....but he was still consistently going poopy in the potty.
I know this doesn't work for all kids, but it was a very easy way for us to potty train our son.
For tt we used m&ms....

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