potty train 3 year old boy

Michelle - posted on 10/24/2009

I'm in the same situation. My son turned 3 in June. He does great with peeing in the potty for the most part but he goes to his room to hide & poops in his pull up! My daughter went from diapers to panties & did just fine....I can't do that with my son. I've bought him Spiderman (his fav) underwear & dangle them over his head that he'll get to wear them WHEN he stops pooping in his pull up. I've tried stickers & cookies as rewards. He FINALLY started to show some progress when he saw I was talking to his preschool/daycare teacher about him pooping in his pull up. It's like the attention of hearing me talk about him kind of motivated him. He pooped in the potty at daycare/preschool for the first time last week! His teacher called me & let him tell me, she gave him a sticker & when he got home I gave him a cookie. Now he did finish pooping in his pull up afterwards but it is finally one step forward.....then he started pooping in his pull up again, now while eating dinner so nobody spots him doing it. He describes having to go that his butt hurts....maybe try that. My son knows that he has to go when his butt hurts but I think he wants the mommie time of the changing so I'm going to try to do more with him so he gets it elsewhere. Try telling him that when his butt hurts it's time to sit on the potty & read a book....or sing songs.

Angela - posted on 10/21/2009

He sounds like my oldest daughter when I was potty training her. I would put her in panties cause she would pee in the potty all day with no accidents but she still pooped in her pants. If she had panties on she wouldn't poop in them, she would BEG for pull-ups so she could go in them. Maybe if you make him go with out anything on, it might get him to poop in the potty.

Shannon - posted on 10/21/2009

Angela--he uses both the big potty and he has a little one which i have in the front room so he can watch tv and go. if i see him try to go in his pants i scoop him up and go to his little potty and sit with him til he goes. sometimes he does after about 20 mins and sometimes he doesnt. when i put his pants back on after he is on the potty and doesnt go it takes about 10 to 15 mins later and then he poops his pants.

Angela - posted on 10/20/2009

Does he use a potty seat or use the big potty? When I was potty training my son he would poop in his pants every day. When we moved he had to use the potty in the new house and we had forgot to bring his potty so I put him on the big potty. He pooped in it and that was all it took. I don't know if it was just the fact that he felt like a big boy ( he was also 3) or if he was just ready. Whatever you do, don't stress over it, just act like it doesn't bother you and eventually he will get it.

Jeanni - posted on 10/20/2009

I'm in the exact same situation. Just this past wkend,I sent big sis to grammy. He and I had house to ourselves all day Sat. I put him in big boy undies, sat him on a towel, and filled him up with juice. Every hour the timer on the microwave went off and I told him that the timer said it was time to potty. We would sit, sing songs, talk for about 5-10 min. If he went, he got several gummy bears. He had lots of accidents but is showing a little better understanding of the whole process. We're still in pullups, but I'm hoping some continued tries will reinforce it. Don't give up. I'm frustrated too.

Teresa - posted on 10/18/2009

Potty training is a process that happens in stages. Sometimes a step forward then a few back. We have days all dry, then the next all wet. Just keep it up and don't quit! (and keep Lysol wipes close at hand!!)

Lori - posted on 10/18/2009

My son will be 3 next month and we haven't even started! Aside from buying the potty seat/chair. I have left it in the bathroom for months, and frequently ask him if he'd like to try the big boy potty, and usually he says "no thank-you". He has sat on it several times but that is as far as it goes. I know he won't poop in his pants forever so I am not concerned. My daughter was potty trained by this age, but she was a girl, and as the other reader stated; they are all different! I don't want to stress us both out over it: )

Jackie - posted on 10/18/2009

WHEN IT IS HIS TIME IT WILL HAPPEN , JUST BE PATIENT, AND KEEP TRYING. MY DAUGHTER IS IS TWO AND SHE STILL HAS A PROBLEM WITH THE POTTY BUT YOU CANT GIVE UP... BE STRONG, DONT LET THEM SEE YOU SWEAT.. AND HE WILL SEE THAT YOUR NOT GIVING UP AND HE WILL EVENTUALY GIVE IN.AND JUST REMEMBER EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT I HAVE FOUR AND I KNOW