How can I get my 4 year old to stop playing long enough to poop in the potty?

Randi - posted on 02/04/2012

when my husband and his kids moved in we took his four year old out of diapers and he never had an accident, but he stole diapers when he had to poop. Then we took a trip to my sisters house and he pooped in his pants there...never happened again...now his three year old brother doesn't want to poop in the toilet and he's not embarassed at all about it..we finally just left him alone about it and one day it stopped...was very strange, but I'm grateful

Nicki - posted on 02/04/2012

Well on a note to make you feel better and smile alittle that you are no alone.... I am a mom of a almost 5 1/2 year old that does this. He also does not care that he 1) smells 2) poops in his pants etc... We also have talked to his Dr. who assures us that he will grow out of it. He is in preschool now and he waits til he gets home to go poop in his pants. I think he is well aware of what he does and chooses to not go sit on the toilet because he also does not want to miss out. I believe it is a battle of a strong willed child. We have tried EVRYTHING. Our son has to brand new hotwheels tracks and cars sitting out on his dresser waiting for him to go faithfully to the potty and it doesn't intise him one bit. I would just say truly try to be patient. I am holding to the fact that no child pooped in his pants going into school.. so eventually he will grow out of it. When we do have spare time at home we do sit his there right after eating to show that after we eat sometimes we need to go potty. This has worked on some days, so try that. Hold tight, stay patient and this too shall pass!!! :) If something works for us I will repost to you... Good luck...

Nancy - posted on 01/28/2012

bribe will get you no where and at times when u think its a one time thing it can turn out to be more then one time, i feel its wrong to bribe a child to get what they want. i also a mom haveing the same thing going on, and i've tried it all stickers, taken things away , giving things 4 doing a good job, nothing seems to work, he seems to be going back to step one and he also dont want to miss out on play time, i feel if they dont know what they are missing how can they learn, but im open to any advice any one can give me and i really hope to get to the other side, it would be greatly appreicated, thanks...

Lydia - posted on 01/14/2012

make a deal, he is old enough to understand. if there is a big toy or something he really wants promise that he'll get it if he has no more poo in his pants. if he went on time a few weeks or a month without accidents get him the prize! remind him of it! it's a one time bribe that i think is worth it...

Brittney - posted on 01/11/2012

coax him into the bathroom before he has to go and while hes on the potty give him a couple books to read or a toy to play with. I've found that it worked on my 1 year old.