How to get my son to poop in the potty?

Heather - posted on 01/28/2010

I work at a daycare and we get this alot. Patience is the most important and also not making it a bad experience. Jessica ideas are all what i would recomend and as for using pullups I would stop. They are the worst thing possible for potty training, in my experiences, all they do is hold the kids back. I recomend rubber pants over the undies if u want to keep the mess to a min. I used them with my daughter and it helped alot. They can be messy too but we would take them off in the tub and then clean her off. Goodluck

Jessica - posted on 01/27/2010

my son did the same thing...we got him to pee in the potty no problem, but pooping was a different story...we eventually found that he always hid in the same spot when he felt he needed to poo(he would hide under our kitchen table). so anytime we caught him going there, we'd quickly rush him to the bathroom, take the pants down, and sit him on the toilet and let him poop there. we also bought him a potty seat with his favourite character on it, which was diego, and told him diego himself gave it to him cause he thought he was ready to be a big boy, and big boys go potty on the toilet. we'd also reward him with his favourite candy when he succeeded. and we'd emphasize that if he wanted to be a big boy, we needed to learn how to use the potty so we didnt have to buy diapers anymore, that diapers were for babies and i didnt think he was a baby anymore. i think kids thrive on independence and praise, so to be shown how to take that next step and be a big kid rather than a cute little baby, AND get treats for it, thats 3 year old heaven i'd think :D good luck with the p.t :)

Molly - posted on 01/27/2010

honestly I have had the same problem for months, the solution I found? Candy. I put 10 skittles in little baggies and tied them up, he gets a bag each time he goes in the potty "poo poo candy". My son is 3 1/2 and it has finally started working. Other than that I just didn't pressure him, or punish him, though we would talk about being a big boy and only babies use diapers. I also bought him a Dollar Tree baby doll so he could teach it to go poo poo in the potty too.

Yarin - posted on 01/25/2010

Oh and I stopped using pull ups pretty quickly for a few reasons and instead used regular diapers. 1. because I noticed he was wet himself more when wearing a pull up instead of a regular diaper or nothing under his shorts or pants. 2. They were more work when changing him and we were out because i would have to take his pants and shoes off in order to put a new pull up on. 3. Regular diapers were slightly cheaper and brought more diapers in a pack than pull ups.

Yarin - posted on 01/25/2010

My son has been potty trained since he was a year and a half. My son wasn't consistent with it until, he decided to use his potty chair as a step stool to use the regular toilet! I always had a problem with him pooping sitting down though. When they wear diapers they go standing up and my son had a dance he did when he would poop! This made him very uncomfortable to go on the toilet. I had spoken to many people about it, even his doctor. Everyone said that I had a great advantage: I know when my son has to go. His doctor told me to hold him down on the toilet until he got use to it. With a lot of struggle my son eventually started pooping in the toilet. The truth is though, my son turned 3 in late September and I've realized that he doesn't like to poop at all. The act of pushing something out of him scares him, it doesn't feel right to him. Good thing he's not a girl right!

Catherine - posted on 01/25/2010

This seems to be normal for boys at this age when I talk to other moms of boys.. I am dealing with the same.

Monica - posted on 01/25/2010

hi! i had the same thing with my son, when he was 2 1/2 he would tell me to get out and stay out of a room so he could do his business in his pull ups! i think it was just that he was scared of doing on the toilet for whatever reason. kids always do things in their own time... my son goes to preschool and there are lots of kids there still in their diapers!

Melissa - posted on 01/24/2010

Thank you both for the advice i appreciate it. I would take him out of pull-ups completely and have tried a few times. I don't mind the poopy undies but with the meds it a runny kind so very messy. If it weren't for that I would let it take it's course in his big boys undies. Again thank you for the advice.

Donna - posted on 01/23/2010

I agree with Rachel about the patience, one thing to remember is that pull ups will always prolong the process, I know it can be annoying cleaning it up, pull-ups just remind them of a diaper so they think it's o.k. when my son was potty training I only put pull-ups on him at bed-time. Does he know any words for bowel movements? when my son was training I would sit him on the pot for a few minutes and remind him that's where we go, I also was a stay-at-home mom and I let him run around without anything on and it did help.

Rachel - posted on 01/23/2010

PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE. That is my best advice. You don't want to make going to the potty a dreadful thing for your son. He will go when he is ready. I started potty training my son at 2 yrs and 4 months, he got the peeing in the potty down really well (within 1-2months) but it took him almost another 6 months for him to get comfortable pooping. At first he did the hiding thing too. I never put him in pull ups during the daytime (excluding nap time) because I felt that it would make him more uncomfortable to be in his undies (and I have thrown away several soiled undies). Often he would wait to poop till he had a diaper on, but over time he started getting confident and going poop all by himself in the potty. It has almost been a year since we started potty training and he occasionally poops in his diaper but regularly goes by himself in the potty. So I repeat PATIENCE, he will get it eventually and he will be proud to do it himself. My son still says "Mommy I pooped in the potty!!" and expects a big "Good Job Buddy" from us. Good luck, I know it can be very trying!!