Potty Training - Mobile,AL

I don't know what is is about the poop that scares them. Shortly before my sond's 3rd bday, I started trying to get him to poop in the potty. He told me he would do it when he was 3. He would pee if I put him on but would not always tell me when he had to go. Shortly after his 3rd bday his preschool went on fall break. I decided that we would stay home for the week and potty train. I threw alway the pull-ups completely and put him in underwear with vinyl training pants over them. He had accidents Sat-Monday(both poop and pee). On Tuesday, no poop at all. On Wednesday we had to return library books that were due. I was terrified he would have an accident but he didn't. When we got home, he pooped in the potty for the first time. After that, we didn't have any problems. He was completely trained within a week.

A few things to note:
1. When he had an accident, he had to clean it up (even the poop). He had to help dump the poop in the potty so he could see how yucky it was
2. When he went poop he got a lollipop (a special treat for him) and a sticker on a chart. When he got the sticker chart filled (10 stickers) he got to pick out any toy he wanted at the toy store.
3. Be prepared to stay home all week. Have some new toys/games/videos on hand to keep the kids entertained.
4. With both my kids (i have a dgt too) the key was getting rid of the pull-ups.

Good luck!

Hi S., I have a question? Is he using a potty chair or the big potty? No one ever says which one they use but all my children used the big potty and I had to just learn when they needed to go and put them on the potty! Now with 2 of my kids I had to put them on the potty backwards because they were afraid but that worked!! Once you get rid of the pullups then don't buy anymore because if you do then they know that they really don't have to go potty like a big kid because you will put them back in pull ups!!! This is the God's truth!! all of my children were potty trained at one year except for one of them....and it really is the fact that you are the one that gets potty trained and then the kids just get use to it and keep right on doing it themselves after that!!! My oldest son, would always wait until he went out to play to go poop in his pants so I would put him on the big pot when he wanted to go out and play and he couldn't go outside until he pooped and believe me it didn't take but a few times of not getting to go out and play when he wanted for him to start using the potty!! good luck D.

HI Shari, boy do I know what you are going through. My son is 4 1/2 now and we are just now getting to the point where he will go in the potty. My son was terrified to go to the potty as well, so I sat him down to figure out what was going on and he finally told me that it hurt when he went. So I changed his diet to were he was getting a whole lot more fiber and just like that he started going to the potty. I would also suggest the book The Everything Guide to Potty Training, it was the only book that I could find that answered the questions that I had.

Hi, S.! I agree w/your sister ... leave him alone. He WILL potty train when he's ready & not a moment before.
My older two children were both potty trained by age 2 years.
My youngest son was 3 1/2! He simply would *not* train. We tried putting him in "big boy underwear" that HE picked (ie: Spongebob, etc). He'd go in the underwear & then take them off, put them in the bathroom floor by the toilet & go put on a clean pair! We tried giving him a penny to put into a gumball machine we kept in the bathroom. We tried peeing on Cheerios, adding food color to the toilet water, adding bubbles to the toilet water, giving him a sticker for a HUGE sticker chart we hung in the bathroom ... NOTHING. We finally gave up. We showed him his "big boy underwear" drawer & told him, "You know where your underwear is. When YOU are ready to put them on & go in the potty, you know where they are." S., he was in the underwear w/in DAYS & totally potty trained w/in the WEEK! It was a power struggle.
Just watch your son's diet - to make sure it's not physical/he's not constipated - then, let it go.
Offer praise when he uses the potty, but don't go overboard; don't make potty training the focus.
He WILL train. You are NOT a 'bad mother.' All children are unique, so why should potty training be any different?
BEST WISHES!

My two sons trained at 2.5 yrs and 3. Boys feel that pooh is a part of them, and they are possessive of it.

I would not pressure him, but I would set up a routine where he sits on the pot after any diaper change. I would take his pooh, and drop it in the toilet and let him flush it. This will make him feel he has some control.

Good Luck!

I don't really have any specific advice about the actual potty training. Sorry. I just wanted to address one issue. Don't feel like a failure! I know that feeling and it's not a good one. Try not to let others make you question your mothering. You know your son and you just have to work with him to figure out why he's scared. My son has a hard time going sometimes because he lets it build up and then it hurts. I've had to give him stool softeners (from the dr.) to help him. That could be a possibility. Or it could be something that only a child could dream up, like there's a monster in the potty or something. I don't know, but just keep talking to him and working with him and he'll get it.

I am having the exact same problem. People make me feel like I am not a good mother and I have failed my son. My son sometimes acts very afraid of the potty and he is very stubborn. I listened to everyone as well when they said he would get it, then he did not get it. I had to go to out dr and be sent on the a specialist and we are still battling this.