2 1/2 yr. old will not poo poo on the potty

Rashmi - posted on 05/21/2010

My daughter's the same age and I had the same problem. Here's how it worked out for me:



1. I told her that we had run out of diapers and there were noeavailable in the market that were her size.

2. I told her that it was up to her where she wanted to poo-poo, on her potty or in her panty.

3. This is when she started pooping in her panty.

4. Then, once she had gone in her panty, I would wash it in front of her and tell her that I didnt like washing poo-poo panties, and only she could help me out.



And then, just like that she started pooping in the potty. I realizd that with my daughter, rewards or threats did not work. Neither did my anxiety. She was intelligent enough to understand things when she saw them. And given time, she did what she had to.





This worked for me. You can give it a try!

Alisha - posted on 05/19/2010

We went through this with our son who learned to pee in the potty fully at a little before 3 but the pooping was a struggle he would cry for a diaper on and we would try everything from rewards to singing songs but nothing worked and I noticed it was starting to make him feel bad that he couldn't poop in the potty and to me it just stopped being worth the tears and the constipation. So I took him to the doctor to seek some advice and she simply said go back to diapers completely and explain to him that when he feels he is ready to go poop in the potty to let us know. This worked in 2 days! The whole thing is it has to be their decision not ours. Once you make it not an issue they will do it when they want. It may take longer then you want but it's healthier for them. My son was 3 years and 8 months when he was finally fully potty trained. My daughter is the opposite she has been using the potty since around 20 months old.

Maserame - posted on 05/18/2010

my son is doing the same thing, and if i give him the diaper my husband says i am spoiling him.i dont know if this is a phase that will pass soon really. nothing works. sweets.toys etc

Mandy - posted on 05/17/2010

We just took cues from our daughter - she refused to wear a nappy in the day just after her second birthday - 3 months of accidents and then she seemed to just click. She always poos in her nappy at mid day sleep time most days, but sleep is just starting to drop so again we are back to having accidents - she will figure it out in her own time like everything else that she has done... relax and enjoy them seems to work in our house for most things

Carmen - posted on 05/14/2010

My 2 year old used the potty for the first time right before her 2nd b-day. She went poo poo in the potty. She was so happy. Now I cant even get her to go pee pee in the potty. She just wants a pull-up all the time. Nothing helps, not candy, toys or anything. I guess she will just do it when she is ready.

Jayme - posted on 05/01/2010

i hav the same issue what i been doin when i see shes goin i been puttin her on the potty some time i make it an some times i dont but it seems like she scared to go but yet she goes to pee all by herself now an i was told that boys do that but my son went on is own faster then my girls

Autumn - posted on 04/22/2010

if she is refusing then she isnt ready. my daughter is 2 and i never forced her to use the potty. i took her and let her pick one out and then a couple days later shebrought me her pull up and said mommy i pooped. now that was exciting. children develop at different rates and she will let you know when she is ready, rae still has her moments but it takes time. listen to you daughter and things will go a lot more smoothly

MELANIE - posted on 04/21/2010

same problem with my son :( it is hard but the last thing u want to do is add anxiety to a child at the terrible 2's stage cause they all have anxiety at this age and level of their life, i don't know how to help except to tell you to keep ur chin up and u are a great mom, doing a great job. the potty training age range is 18 months -3.5 yrs. so maybe just "remind her" how yucky poo in the panties is and that when she goes to school next year they will send her home if she goes poo poo in the panties, hope this helps a bit !!!

Tracy - posted on 04/19/2010

my sister told my nephew that they were Turtles HAHAHA (turdles is house we said ita) and that they wanted tobe in the water.... he would go... get to flush and then he'd say(while waving HAHA) BYE turtles!

Leeanne - posted on 04/09/2010

The way I got my girl to go number 2 is by letting her use the "big girl" toilet. She thinks its a special treat and I let her flush when she is done and she likes that little independence. try using the "big girl" toilet option and constant applause even if she didnt do anything at all....."good girl you tried mummy is happy" its gives them reinforcement. At least they are trying. You dont have to push the point but try. If that doesnt work try sitting the potty infront of the tv and just simply let her sit there. She doesnt have to go pee pee she just has to sit on it. She can play with blocks or playdough but so long as she sits there and eventually she will get comfortable with that and she will just go because she wants to. Let me know how you get on.

Lindsey - posted on 04/07/2010

I am going through the same thing! She says she can wet in the potty but not poo! I've dealt with the constipation too. I just let her know that everybody poos in the potty, mommy, daddy, big sister and she says she will too. I end up putting a pull up on her and hope for the best. Good luck!

Sheila - posted on 04/06/2010

I read in a book that kids use the muscles in their feet to poop, try getting a stool for her to put her feet on when sitting on the potty. This was also suggested to my aunt by her doctor. We are having the same problem here. :(

Lisa - posted on 04/06/2010

This is a complete shot in the dark, but worth a shot. When we started training, it took a while to get my son to go in the potty too, He would tell me he had to poop, but when we set him down he would not go. Then at nap time when I put a pull up on, he would go in it. We did like another poster and would dump it in the potty let him say bye bye to it explain that he needs to put his poopy there, etc,etc. Then one day, he was running around with no pants on, and I had to run upstairs for a couple minutes and left him down on the level with his potty. When I came back down, I couldn't find him right off. When I hollered for him, he hollered back that he was pooping, and he was. Lots of praise, and so we figured he was going to start figuring it out, but he went back to telling me he had to go but would just sit there if I took him in there. So, another day I was doing dishes and he went in by himself and came back bragging that he went. Finally, the third time he was successful, I figured it out...he doesnt like an audience. He will not go if you are in the room with him so now I just take his pants off of him when he says he has to go and tell him to let me know when he is done so I can clean him up. He is my 4th child and my other children did not require you to not be in the room, so this may not be the case for you, but maybe if you know she is down to go, try stepping out of the bathroom.

Patty - posted on 04/04/2010

we had the same problem although not quite so bad. I gave her a diaper and then after a week of her having no other accidents I had her dunp her diaper into the potty after she pooed and we made a big deal out of saying goodbye to it and singing it a song as we flushed it away and I would tell her when I went and talk about how fabulous it was to be such a big girl and how hearing it plop was fun and a bunch of other weird things that moms do. Right now we have had 6 days in arow of cotton panties and poop in the potty and she gets a huge sticker and celebration every time she poops in the right place. Good luck, it sucks but eventually it will be over.

Elizabeth - posted on 04/03/2010

I wouldn't try to force it. The thing about potty training is they have to decide to do it on their own, you can't make them. It can be frustrating as a parent, but making it into a battle can definitely set the whole thing back.

My son was scared to get on the toilet at first. I used a special new toy as incentive to get him to "try" without expectation that anything would happen right away. After he got used to "trying" he started peeing in the toilet, now he poos in there too, but only if I get him on there at the right time.

Kids this age want to feel like they have control over something. Try to put her in control of the decision to poo in the toilet and make it a positive, never a negative. Praise her for trying. She will get it.

Sheila - posted on 04/03/2010

We're potty training right now and Zoe went through a phase of refusing to sit on the pot and demonstrated the behaviour you just described so I just went along with it, relaxed and went back to it. She seems a lot more willing now but as you say if she wants a diaper to go poo in I would rather than cause her to hold it all back.

I'm not an expert and haven't got any advise but that's where we are at the moment. Sx