Potty Training issues with pooping

Jessica - posted on 08/09/2010

Apparently I had a fear of pooping when I was a toddler, so my Mom told me what finally worked is if you bring your toddler in the bathroom when YOU need to do it, then show them what you did in the toilet and make it a big deal "Because Mommy is a big girl, see now Mommy gets a treat for going poo poo in the potty! Potty Power!!!" It may sound gross, but apparently a light bulb went off and it was all good after that. I started off potty training that way and my son has never had an issue doing either one. Knowing boys could be harder I started at 18 months old taking him to the bathroom with me and having him sit on the potty with clothes on while I did my thing, giving him a toy, talking/singing, playing and reading with him. He also has special toys that he only gets when he's on the potty, like his "dinasaur bones", a computerized book along with a few regular ones, a special coloring book, stickers and I got a crock pot from a thrift store that I let him play in soapy warm water with his toys, which helped him learn how to pretty much pee on demand. He'll have an accident every now and again and I still have him in pull ups at nap time and night time, but a lot of the time with naps he'll come away dry and I've forgotten to put a pull up on a few times, thankfully with no incidents.

When he does have an accident I do the whole "yucky nasty" bit but I don't get loud or mean. If I'm right there and catch him I may give a quick "hey!" to startle him and he stops, then I rush him to the potty. I clean it up to my satisfaction, but then I make him scrub the floor hard until I'm sure he's not having fun doing it. If he doesn't want to I take his hands in my hands and scrub the floor hard with him, which he doesn't like even more, so he's resigned himself to clean up his messes and avoids making them. He does get one candy for pee, and two for poop plus a sticker if he tells us or does it one his own.

As for the diaper I had the same issues with my two year old. I told him big boys in the daycare wear underwear and offered him a cookie every time we put on underwear, and another cookie every time he went potty in the potty instead of his underwear (as in he was wearing his underwear, but pulled them down and went. If he doesn't have his underwear on he either gets verbal praise or a very small pea size candy. Cookies are saved for underwear). This seems to work pretty well because he doesn't get cookies any other time or way. Bribery seems to work really well overall, whether it's daycare, play time, toys, candies, prizes or whatever you can come up with.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Heather - posted on 08/09/2010

My son was potty trained at 2 1/2 and he was the same. As far as he would go and hide and poo on the carpet, I even got a "ta da" when he'd done it. It was a nightmare, I'd never let him out of my sight so he'd hold it in until after he was in bed, take his nappy off and poo in his bedroom. I tried to persuade him to do it onto newspaper and I'd leave the room but he still wouldn't. In the end while he was on the toilet he couldn't stop himself having a poo. He then said "Its not scary" and we haven't looked back since.
Have you tried a trainer seat on the toilet? My son only used the potty on his first day of potty training then he wanted to use the toilet. That's what worked for us, but, every child is different.

Lisa - posted on 08/08/2010

I had this same problem with my son, it became a struggle that lasted for years. He finally stopped messing his underwear when i made him clean them out himself.
but with my other children, we did stickers as motivators. They LOVE getting stickers, and sometimes we used applesauce and we are so happy and excited when it happens and we clap and say "yay! SOMEBODY pooped in the toilet!" and say, "bye bye poop". we also read big sister or big brother books about how the baby used diapers and the big kids used underwear.

Brenda - posted on 08/08/2010

Rebecca, at the start of the summer my 3 year old also had problems with pooping and would not tell me when he had to go, I tried everything and then got a portable seat that sits on the toielt like Elmo and then just this two weeks he started going, after wanting to see a video on baby center that talks about pregnancy and shows how the baby devlops in the womb. After he knew he had to poop in the toielt to see the video, he got the idea and now goes in the toielt but only at home, so on outings where I know there will not be a toielt I put a pull up on. So find something that he likes to do and try to movivate with this.

Theresa - posted on 08/08/2010

my son is 2 1/2 i put him in underwear. He will pee in the potty all day long but when it comes to pooping forget it! he will even poop in his underwear and say i "sowwy mommy" i have tried bribe after bribe and having no success! Very frustrated so i understand your pain. i have sat him on potty for 15 or 20 minutes at most and nothing maybe i will try the stay there til you go policy.

Carisa - posted on 08/05/2010

This is very common. My daughter was the same way. Finally, I just refused to put a diaper on her. She held her poop in for four days (I know that sounds horrible, but I was sure eventually her body would just go) On the fourth day, during her nap, she pooped in her underpants. She was very upset by that and from then on she has always gone on the potty. If you are putting him in preschool soon, you can also tell him he cannot go to school until he can poop on the potty. Sometimes that is enough encouragement. Good luck.

Bailey - posted on 08/04/2010

I had the same issue with poop. I had my son pee potty trained but couldn't get the other. I only did diapers at night till we had days worked out. My daycare suggested putting my son on the toilet facing the back. He feels secure and once he saw himself poop in the toilet he was amazed...LOL Never had a problem since.

Amanda - posted on 08/04/2010

Ok this is going to sound mean but stay wiht me trust me it works. I had this same issue with my oldest child. She would do the very same thing as you, I got rid of her diapers so she would use her brothers diapers. So when I heard her putting a diaper on, I grabbed her and put her on the toilet. I sat infront of her, and we stayed there for 2 or more hours. There was a lot of crying, screaming, begging, and whatever else you can think of. But she did go, and as soon as she went, she got a big smile on her face, then yelled I DID IT! Shes been completely potty trained since! Sometimes we have to be "mean" for our childrens benfits.