Seeking Help on Getting My Son to Go Poop in Potty

My son was the same way. He would actually have me put a diaper on him and go hide when he needed to poop! The Dr. told me that it's sometimes very scarey for a boy, because they have things already 'hanging' down there. So, when something comes out of them and goes into the potty, it scares them to death.
It went on for awhile. Maybe a few months, before he would start going to the potty for this. So, just give it some time. He'll let you know when he's ready.

I had the same problem with my daughter. I would read books and sit and sing songs with her while she set on the potty. It forced her to sit long enough and kind of took her mind off of what she was doing and made her relax. She's got it down now!
Good Luck!

We had the exact same issue. My son was just over 2 when he potty trained and everything went perfectly, except for pooping! My daughter had also had this issue. The problem was he wouldn't let us put a pull-up or diaper on him so he would poop. Finally, after 2 days of not pooping, we sat him on the toilet and wouldn't let him get off until he pooped (we were very worried about what he was doing to his body by holding it in). Hubby and I took turns sitting in the bathroom with him, we put a bowl full of M&Ms in front of him, and coached him and worked with him until he finally couldn't hold it in any longer. We had to do this a couple more times and then he finally decided that he could do it without all the drama!

I remember how frustrating it was, so I feel your pain. With my daughter we just put her in a pull-up every time she needed to poop until she was ready to do it on the potty (which was really just about a week). There is an end and he will get the hang of it!

My experience with this is that the "poop time" just takes a little longer. I have three boys that did the same thing, peed in the toilet and then pooped in a pullup or in their underwear. Just keep working on it, he won't go to Kindergarten pooping his pants. Remember to make any success a big celebration. We used to have a potty parade with the child as the leader. Looks really silly, but they loved it!

Hi K., yur son is very youngand boys are harder to train than girls. My girl is almost 18 and when she was baby i found a cute bookthat told how to train yur kids, it says im a big boy now or im big girl now, first the child is wearing diapers then get training pants the throw away king and take him to potty and show him how to pull his pants down then say yur a big boy now yu dont wear diapers anymoreandand look yu can pull yurpanties down to go pottycause yur a good boy and big boy now and big boys po po in the potty and praise him when

wow-- that's great that at 2 1/2 he's already using the potty so well! That's terrific-- it often takes little boys longer to get the hang of toileting. Everything I've read suggests (and all the moms I know who have had the most success agree) that toilet training goes the best when the parents are as low-key as possible about it. Let it come from him. Does he tell you when he needs to poop? Is he having "accidents" (that is, does he poop in his underpants or does he ask for a pull-up or diaper?) He probably just needs more time. He's still young, and control is a big thing at that age. Any pressure you put on him might make him hold it and that won't be good as he'll could become constipated. and those hard stools are very difficult and painful to pass. T.Berry Brazelton's book, Touchpoints has a good section on toilet training.
G. C.

We have a portable DVD player & when she would feel it coming, we would let her sit in there & watch some short movie! I know it sounds silly, but otherwise they get impatient & want to go play too soon & then an accident happens. The movie gets them to sit there long enough that it finally happens!

AND REWARDS! I don't care what others say, REWARDS definately work! & after a while, they will stop requesting the rewards, but at first it makes them feel extra special!

I think that it often just takes time. my 8 year old son was the same way. learned very quickly to pee, but took 6 more months to learn to poop. it is hard because in general you only get one shot per day at that age. the way it happened for us is that one night he was having stomach trouble and had to poop a few times. we got to put him on the potty a few times and after he had success and saw what it was all about, that was it. my guess is that if he was a fast learner to start with, once he starts this it won't take long either. i guess this is more to encourage than advise. also, if you haven't yet, try to watch if there is a certain time of day that he poops then put him on when he starts pushing. that is what we have done with my two girls and have had success there too.

hope it helps.

See if his father will take him in the bathroom with him. When he sees that his father can poop w/out being afraid he won't be either. This worked with my son but your husband has to be willing to do it.(if your husband reads get your son a book too)

My nephew told us (years after he had the same problem)that it scared him to see something like that come out of his body. We never thought of it from a little kid's perspective until them. If he went in his pants, he didn't have to see it. So, then whenever he would go in his pants, we would make it a big deal to go to the bathroom and flush it down the toilet - he would do the flushing. After a while he realized it was ok and started to use the potty. Try to convince him that it is normal and not scary, and the problem may fix itself.

My son has had difficulty with this also. He takes a daily laxative because of functional constipation. I thought he would never go on the potty. He was great with #1 but was afraid to #2. I really think you just have to wait. We settled into a routine of wearing big boy pants all day, but when he had to #2 he would tell me and we would put on a diaper. Finally, he just decided about two weeks ago to sit on the potty (with a little encouragement of buying a new toy. Not the first time we had offered that, but this time it worked.) He's not doing it every time, yet, but he's sitting on the potty to try everyday. He's 3 years and 5 months old. I know some people get all caught up in being trained by a certain age, but really, you can't make them go and if you push too hard it will just delay it further. None of them go to kindergarten still in diapers! They get to a stage where they are self aware and decide to just do it. It WILL happen. Just hang in there!

I work at a daycare and have been potty training for 8 years. I don't agree with everyone that he is too young we have all of the kids at daycare completely trained by 3 if not sooner. It is hard and takes time poop is always a hard one to get the hang of and comes later so don't get discuraged. be patient and sit a long time maybe sing songs or read books to get him to stay there reminding him to push out the poops.
what worked with my son but i am not sure why or how it did his teacher came up with it. it seems crazy but it was into animals so she told him there is a hungry aligator can you help me feed him? then she told him he lives under the potty and can't get out and he can only eats poop so we have to put it in the potty and flush it to him. My son had no accidents after this. we even had a picture of a aligator by our potty for some time (he is 4 now). The downside is that still he will say i have to feed the aligator. I don't know if this would work for any one else (my son is kinda quirky) and may scare him but it sure would like a charm for us. also reward him and make a big ole deal about going in the potty. we have books about poop at daycare some parents think it is gross but it helps kids understand that it is normal. one good book is called where's the poop another ones is everyone poops. best of luck and remember stick with it and be patient it will happen.

and my son thought the elmo potty dvd was dumb and well I kinda do too he loves elmo. elmo taught him other stuff early so i tried it but no. (the Elmo abc and elmo visits the firestation are great movies at 4 he still picks them sometimes)

My son was the same way, now four and a half and still does not enjoy going poopy, although he hasn't in his pants for a long time. When we first began, about 2 1/2, I would have to sit in the bathroom with him and sing songs, anything to distract.

If he like Sesame Street there is an Elmo Potty Time DVD. It's cute and HILARIOUS!! You and your husband will enjoy it as well!
My boys never had that problem and maybe it was the DVD that helped!

My son is the same age and had the same issue. I read that he probably wouldn't go because it may have hurt one time or he is scared of falling into the toilet. So he has one of those soft seats on top of the toilet now instead of the potty chair. Then I read to "Practice" sitting on the potty. You can even leave the pants on if it really is a scary thing. I had to give him a candy to get him to sit and practice. After two practices he pooped and is no longer scared. I had him practice sitting and while he sat I asked him to sing me a song and tell me stories. Now I had to sit and listen to a long story and tell many myself - but the practice worked and he now poops in the potty. My new problem - getting him to ask for the potty to poop before it is too late. If I do not anticipate the poop - well you know how it goes!!! Good luck. A. - mom of 2 little boys!

I used bribery and it worked within a few days! M&M's were the key! But, if you're more health consciense, try to keep the fluid intake coming and make it a race. My little one would go with me and we would see who could go potty first. I know it's weird, but she liked the competition and she always would win!

I tried at first giving him a sucker when he went poopy. Then I thought instead of ruining his teeth I would make a poopy and pee pee chart on the fridge in his reach, and everytime he went pee he would get a star sticker and when he went poopy I gave him a spongebob sticker. Then my husband came up with this brillent idea we told our son everytime he went poopy the water would turn blue like magic. Which was liquid food coloring and when he would go, before wiping him I would put a couple of drops of the food coloring in the potty and then he would look and the water would be blue. Make sure you hide the food coloring so he can be surprised. I hope I helped and good luck.

Hi K., I don't know if your still having the pooping problem with your son but, did you know their is an actual toddler book in the book stores you can get and it is to be read to him. He can look at the pictures and the two of you can read it daily! My girlfriend bought me one and it did help. Then, another good idea that really worked for me was,I purchased a cheapy gum ball machine filled it with sugarless gum and put it in the bathroom, everytime he went to the potty he would put in the penny and get a piece of gum. good luck

I have 2 children, now 17 yrs and 9 yrs old. I am a firm believer of waiting till your child is 3. Neither one of my children ever had accidents and were very easy to train at 3. My friends that started earlier seemed to always be changing wet and dirty pants. No need to hurry things. Public restrooms aren't so fun. Keep the diapers and save yourself some stress. Your child won't go to Kindergarten in diapers, I promise!

I had the same exact problem with my daughter, who just turned 3. She's been going pee in the potty for at least 6 months, but REFUSED to poop in the potty. We tried everything we could think of to get her to poop, but she never would. Finally about 3 weeks ago, she just decided to do it on her own. I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard her yelling from downstairs "I need someone to wipe me!!" So my advice would be to not do anything and he'll eventually do it on his own. I truly was beginning to think that she would never catch on, but she has only pooped her pants once since she went in the potty. Believe me I know it is incredibly frustrating, not to mention messy, but sooner or later he'll get it!

My sons are all men now, but I bought them Superman "under-roos" and told them that Superman would be really mad if they pooped on them... worked with all three of them..

Well K., potty training is my specialty, and I would say that I'm a veteran after 6 kids. I have all these beautiful children, plus I homeschool 1 of them and I worked 3rd shift for like 8 years. You know....I learned to appreciate the smallest improvements that the kids would make. Rewards are your best bet in everything. What you say to them is "Barney uses the potty, mommy and daddy use the potty, sissy uses the potty" get it? Yeah, just keep the positive rolling. Stickers are a good reward system. Keep the salty snacks handy, and lots of drinks to get the juices flowing, if you know what I mean. When you're out and about, keep asking him if he needs to go potty. Keep in mind that, if he perceives that you're having fun with it, he will too!!
God bless.

M. G