Ok my 2 yr old son was doing really great with telling us that he "pooh poohed" in his diaper. We thought this waas GREAT and he was ready to start potty training. But then he stopped and tells us "No Pooh Pooh" when we can smell him across the room! He does good sitting on the potty with a book and loves to just SIT on the potty but won't do anything. He will wait until he gets a diaper back on! Are we pushing too hard? Is he ready? How can I get him more interested? I work full time during the week.....should I try sitting him on the potty every TWO hours (someone suggested) and see if that gets him going? He could careless if he diaper is saggin to the floor with pee or poop!
I have twin girls and the only way i got them to potty train was those character undies. They love dora and didn't want to get her wet. so, i said don't pee or poop on dora and make her stink. if he likes blues clues or bob the builder you might want to try that.
T., hang in there. It's sooo important to keep in mind the bigger potty-training picture: your son has used his diaper as his toilet (as we do in our culture!) for the last 2 years. Now you're teaching him that, in fact, pee & poop go in the potty. This is a transition, a *process*, much like going from crawling to walking or bottle to self-feeding solids w/ utensils. It's going to take time, and that is good, normal, expected and NOT a sign of your "pushing too hard" and NOT a sign of "his not being ready." As parents, we're fed a ridiculous line of, "If you wait long enough, they'll train themselves." Ha - very untrue for the vast majority of kids (yes, some will, but these are the exception and not the rule). It is extremely common for kids who have been diapered conventionally to prefer pooping in their diapers - it's what they know, it's familiar, it's habit (remember, 2+ yrs usually!). So you're doing GREAT, and so is your son - do not be discouraged by his seeming not to care... remember, we encouraged them to use their diaper for so long, and now it's up to us to encourage them to transition to the potty. Lovingly, gently, in a relaxed, matter-of-fact, and consistent way over months, maybe weeks (but expect a few months for the entire transition).
The key is to make pottying a team effort, to really help him recognize what his bodily signals are telling him ("when you're dancing around like that, it's your body telling you to go to the toilet and let the pee/poop come out into the potty so that you're more comfortable - let's go do that, grab a book for us to read while there, ok?"). You guys can absolutely do this even given your full-time work schedule. You have also said some great ideas already (sitting him on the potty frequently, like every 2 hours, and at ideal times like right after waking up from night or nap sleep, within 20-60 minutes of eating a snack or a meal, etc.). Another suggestion is to get him OUT of diapers and into big boy underwear EVEN THOUGH it means possible accidents -- but remember that accidents are NOT bad (inconvenient, yes, but not bad) - rather, they are *learning opportunities* for him. And together, as a team, you guys can clean up any messes in a matter-of-fact way (no anger). These accidents will absolutely accelerate his being able to connect the sensation of "having to go" with the resulting wet/dirty so that he's better able to predict it and get himself to the potty in time.
Also, about his sitting on the potty and not doing anything but then asking for a diaper so he can poop - go gradually - perhaps tell him that you'll give him the diaper to put ON the potty (does he have a little portable plastic potty? if not, they're *great* for potty training - allows for effective pushing position, his independence, and increases the probability of successfully going in the potty since it can be taken with you into whichever room you may be using). Let him go in the diaper which is ON the potty but not necessarily fastened onto him.
Happy pottying - you guys can absolutely do this together, gently, lovingly, no pressure, and over time. Just keep in mind that he's learning a new skill much like crawling to walking, and that accidents are an important part of the learning process. Best of luck!
Hi T.,
I've babysat 2 little boys and I have a nephew and several friends with boys. All of them would say 2 is too young. None of the boys I know of have EVER been potty trained before 3. Now my girls were both done by 2, but girls are faster and easier to train for some reason. It took my sister about six months to train my nephew and he's over three and still not 100% trained. Maybe give him a little time.
Good Luck
K.
I know there was something in the news a few years ago about a child choking to death on a balloon, but when I was potty training my daughter, she had trouble with pooping just because she didn't want to sit on the toilet long enough. Your son likes to sit on the toilet but maybe if you tried giving him a balloon to blow up, that actually helps use the muscles that would force a bowel movement. So, in theory, if you pay attention to when he normally goes, if there is a "normal" time, and put him on the toilet, try to get him to blow up a balloon, and when he does poop, then praise and stickers or whatever rewards work, he'll become more familiar with the sensation of having a bowel movement on the toilet.
If he waits until you put the diaper back on to go potty, then don't put the diaper back on! Go buy some underwear and see if sitting in poopy underwear changes his mind. In my experience, kids will go in a diaper or pull-ups just because its more convenient. They always have sat in poopy diapers, so why stop now....but sittting in wet or poopy underwear is entirely different. You may have to clean a few stains, and cleaning dirty underwear is REALLY disgusting, lol, but hey, were parents, isn't that what were here for? lol Good luck
