HELP! 3 Year Old Won't Do #2 on the Potty :(

My son was doing that recently. He would just go pee in the toilet but never poo. I thought he would never go. Finally I had my last straw and just stop caring if he went in his pants or in the toilet. I would just clean up his mess. Then one day he decide that he wanted to go poo in the toilet and has been going ever since. For him he had to make the decision that he wanted to go in the potty and not that he was doing it because mommy wanted him to. Good luck in getting him to go again.

He's trying to get attention and this works for him. I would promise yourself not to mention it at all for a good couple of weeks. When he goes in his pants he can go change himself. Tell him where extra underwear are and where to put soiled ones..then bite your tongue. Once he realizes it's up to him and he gets no extra attention (like you pleading with him to use the potty) he will probably give it up. 3 year olds are stubborn, manipulative creatures! Good Luck.

What about a reward chart for earning something he REALLY wants? Oh--you've done that--sorry.

Have you tried letting him sit backwards? Kids like that.

Can you try putting him on the toilet at certain, set times, when he is less "energetic" to try? maybe upon awakening or right before bed?

Do you think he is constipated? Encopresis?

I just went through this exact same thing with my daughter who was 3 in June and also has a baby sister.

We've tried everything for the past 4 months to get her to poop on the potty. I even tried making her clean it up herself, which was a disaster and made me even madder because I had to clean up the entire bathroom and then give her a bath! I even grounded her from going to the park with her Nana. Nothing much worked.

Finally I just gave up and tried to be calm. I told her that her body knows how to do it and asked her why she thinks she can't do it? Turns out that she was scared and didn't really understand what to do. She thought that when she pushed so hard, she would throw up. We finally gave her a stool to put her legs up on in front of the potty and one day when she was in the middle of going in her underwear again, I put her on the potty and talked her through it. It turned out that she needed to learn to push and then BREATHE and then push again. Now she is SO proud of herself she has done it every night by herself for the past week. Try not to worry, your son will get it eventually. Just try to stay calm and if one thing doesn't work, try another. :)

We didn't deal with the #2 problem with my daughter however we did go through a phase where she would pee in her pants just a tiny bit at bedtime (trying to get out of going to sleep). She would do it just enough to get her underpants and PJs wet but not the bed. And this was AFTER she JUST went potty. It was a total control issue. Finally, I just relented and said, "Well, I guess we can just go back to pull-ups/diapers at night since you're having a little trouble. I know you can do it but you seem to be struggling and we don't want to ruin your cool bed". After struggling with this for a few weeks, she IMMEDIATELY stopped as soon as I said this. I didn't say it as a punishment, I just kind of used an "oh what a bummer" tone of voice and acted like it was no big deal. Do you have the option of moving him back to diapers/pull-ups to resolve the issue so that you can just let it go?
3 year olds are a tough bunch :) "Terrible Twos" is a misnomer - Three was MUCH harder for me than 2!

It may be he is regressing. Get an appointment with his pediatrician and find out what may really be going on. They know a lot more than I do about this.

Let's see...my son was the same exact way...could have cared less that he was sitting in that mess.
I made him start cleaning it up himself! (of course he didn't do a good enough job and I had to fix it afterwards, but I was trying to make a point)
I think it helped a little.

You're right, this is a behavioral issue and he's speaking loud and clear. Regression happens after potty training, but not like this. I'd try to figure out what the root issue is. Did this start after he began preschool? Is the baby sitter new? New brother or sister? Is he used to being at home all day? This could easily be a reaction to a change in his life. I don't care what other parents say, a 3 year old is really young to be in preschool and with baby sitters all day. You might not have a choice financially, but don't expect this not to affect him. Be sure that his needs are being met in the time you do have with him.

Best wishes!