Potty Training - Miamisburg,OH

Updated on April 26, 2008
M.B. asks from Miamisburg, OH
4 answers

My almost 3 year old son (2 weeks shy of 3) has been doing really well on the potty for about 6 months, but he keeps going through periods of about a week where he will poop in his pants. He will do this for a while and then go back to pooping on the potty. I feel like I've tried everything, and I'm about to pull out my hair. Do you have ANY suggestions? Please, don't tell me he's not ready b/c he does fine for long stints, and then regresses. There hasn't been any big upheavals or changes in our house or our routine, so I'm just at a loss.

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M.S.

answers from Bloomington on

do you have cool underwear with thomas the train or some other character on them? some kids are afraid to get Thomas dirty.... you might try that...

how does he feel about diapers? if they are a "baby" thing to him, maybe it would be motivation to put him in a diaper after he has an accident, and tell him he has to wear it until next time he goes in the potty. if he doesn't care that probably won't help......... but it's an idea......

my daughter has a hard time pushing it out on the toilet-- she prefers standing up when she poops... maybe a different toilet seat, or having him put his feet up on the toilet so he's squatting?

good luck! don't worry, he won't be doing this when he's in high school!

J.D.

answers from Columbus on

Okay, this is what my mom did with me, and it made such a lasting impression that I did it with my own son many years later. Make him clean out his own underwear! When he poops in his pants, calmly take him to the bathroom and have him dump the poop into the toilet, flush and then rinse (swish) the underwear in the bowl, then take them immediately (if possible) to the washing machine and drop them in. It seems to work well, because who really wants to wash poopy underwear? It's a pretty good bet that HE doesn't want to do it any more than YOU do! My mom said it only took once with me, it only took once with my son, but a friend of mine tried it with her son, and she had to go three rounds before the lesson sunk in.

I think that sometimes kids just get too busy to go to bathroom, BUT that really is no excuse for soiling oneself.
-good luck!

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L.Y.

answers from Cleveland on

Don't stress about it! I know you get sick of cleaning it and very frustrated as well but it will get better.
My daughter had this problem for about 9 months after potty training and then it just stopped. I never MADE her clean out her underwear, she is still little and shouldn't be punished for having an accident. She had seen me dump it in the toilet and knows where it suppose to go. She has even done it herself at times but it was her choice to do so (she is very independent). Part of our biggest problem is that she isn't very regular and has had problems with constipation. I think she would get confused and think it was gas and realized when it was too late. I have tried to keep her as regular as possible with her diet which may have stopped the accidents but it also has to do with body maturity. If he is regular, go read a book on the potty around his normal time.
Hang in there and keep with it. Don't regress or put him in diapers as that would confuse him. I doubt he is doing it on purpose so he shouldn't be punished for it. Just know that the end is near and be proud he's potty trained by 3; many children (espescially boys) are being potty trained later and later.
Good Luck!

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K.B.

answers from Cincinnati on

My son would have, and still does occassionally, accidents when he gets too busy. Like he peed his pants the other day when the weather first got nice. He just gets so busy thinking about all he wants to do and is doing that he forgets to stop and use the potty. He pooped his pants after being potty trained for 6 months when he started preschool, and again later when there was a teacher change at preschool. One teacher left and there was only one left there to teach--that was enough of a change to cause him to have poop accidents. It was a rather suttle change, they didn't hire anyone new, just one teacher that he had known for 5 weeks left and the other teacher who had also been there the whole time stayed.
Sometimes he has accidents just because his own worries or thoughts get away from him. He will have an accident and then break down and cry and by the end we have talked about earth quakes or tornadoes or something he had overheard while his grandfather was watching the news. The thoughts had him so worried he forgets to use the potty.
Be stern, yet patient. Express that accidents make you unhappy, but ask him how you can help him to not have them. Make it his responsibility to go, and yet offer him assistance if he feels he needs it. They do get fewer and far between as time goes on...and I hear they even stop! :) Best of luck!

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