3 Yo Will Not #2 in potty-HELP!

It is sad how many of us moms are tortured by our kids not pooping! =) Anyway, had the same issue but bought a potty chair that makes music and he wanted to here it sing so he went that day. We then had a couple of days where he still pooped in underwear so we let him run naked and he never has pooped anywhere but in the potty since! We're going on two weeks and now he poops in the potty naked or not. Hope I haven't jinxed us! Good luck! =)

This is really very common - in my opinion - don't push it - my son turned 3 in May and he now does it - but he was in big boy pants since about 2 1/2 and would come and ask for a diaper to go #2 in....it's had for them and sometimes scarey to sit there. Just give her time. forcing the issue does more harm than good - speaking from experience - I have a 19 year old, 17 year old, 3 year old and an almost 2 year old...

I would try telling her that she can have a diaper or pullup to do #2 in but that she has to tell you first...and she needs to wear big girl pants the rest of the time..eventually she'll get tired or it.

I had the same problem so what I did was give my little boy a book or his favorite toy and he would sit there and go. Now he goes by himself and takes a book or toy with him.

Mine also ran around the house with no diaper, no underwear, just naked and I would set him on the potty every 45 minutes or so for about 4 or 5 minutes. Basically, he would just hold out...like for 3 days. It worked because usually he would finally go in the potty. BUT in the course of a week, there were times I had to dress him like to go someplace. Then the one and only minute of the 3 days that I didnt have my eye on him (like upon arriving home, unloading 1 bag of frozen groceries & before I had a chance to take off his pants and underwear and set him on the potty) he would disappear around the corner and do it in his pants. I'm sorry, but I just got fed up because his business was sooo intentional, i.e., he obviously had the bowel control, sooo big and sooo stinky after 3 days that I actually barfed a time or two. I even started wearing a gas mask! I'm not kidding. Soon after, I wondered why I had to be the one to suffer like this for so long when I knew he could use the potty! So I went on strike: next time he did it in his pants or night diaper, I took him outside, along with the Dawn, a small towel, and if it was a diaper, a plastic grocery bag. I told HIM to take it off and put it in the plastic bag but smell it first. I also told him to take off the rest of his clothes then I hosed him (and his clothes) off with the garden hose. I squirted his lower 1/2 w/dawn antibacterial soap, told him to spread the soap around and down his legs and on his hands, then I rinsed him with the hose again. He didnt like it at all because I fussed at him and because he was now having to do the stinky work himself (other than hold the hose, I was 100% hands off). I even handed him a towel and told him to do the drying off before we went back in the house (funny how he never was very good at drying himself off until this happened). Under better circumstances he does enjoy the water hose outside on a hot day. Anyway, after a little while I gave him a bath (much better than barfing) but not to link the poop incident with bathtime. We have done the outside hose thing twice and it seemed to do the trick. We've been good now for at least a month. I just hope he doesnt try testing me out on that one again when its too cold out 'cuz I don't think I'll have the heart. If you do this and you have a squirt handle on your hose, be sure not to set the sprayer on anything that hurts or stings the privates. I found the sudden, unexpected, drastic change in the normal routine, along with my making it very clear I didnt want anything to do with that poop anymore -was what made him realize the praise/rewards he got after using the potty was a much better idea. Best wishes!

I'll repost old advice that I've shared before:

Take away her pants. No underwear, no pants, nada til she gets the idea. My sister's 4 1/2 year old was still pulling this stunt this summer (always hiding to poop in his underwear). I told her the same thing... take away the kid's drawers! There's nothing to catch it! After once or twice of learning that warm comforting turd is not going to be in their pants to hold onto, they'll figure out it's a whole lot easier to put it in the toilet than let it hit their foot or have to come tell you that they pooped on the floor.

Good luck!
B. / mom of 2 who are (THANKFULLY) past that stage... now if the older one would just wipe thoroughly...

I went through this exact same thing with my 3 year old daughter.... and I couldn't figure out what to do. Finally, I just decided that I would keep her in panties no matter what! Also, when we were on vacation she got very constipated and had to be given glycerin suppositories. She was in pain so it was a last resort, but it worked perfectly. When I inserted it, I took her immediately to the restroom & she went in the potty. She continued going poop in the potty the entire week we were on vacation. But when we got home she would wait until I'd put on a pull-up at night and poop immediately in it. So, I just kept her in panties all the time.... and yes she continually pooped in them. Then one day she decided she wasn't going to do it at all, and thus got constipated again. When I realized she was holding it I went so far as to put at diaper on her so she would go, but she couldn't. I had to use a suppository again just so she could get relief. Ever since then she has had no problem going into the potty.

I wouldn't recommend the suppository as a way to potty train them, for obvious reasons. I did find several websites where mothers said that was the only way they were able to potty train their children; still I wouldn't do it. I'm just saying that my daughter did eventually get tired of pooping in her panties. Since your daughter has gone poop in the potty before, if she gets tired of having the poop in her panties she will know where to go. Diapers are made to make them feel clean & dry, so putting her in it does not give her an uncomfortable feeling so she'll keep doing it.

I know it is so frustrating to know she can do it and won't - I think you must have yourself a strong-willed child like I do (2 of them actually). My doctor kept telling me that kids will do it when they are ready and we shouldn't push them because that will only postpone their success. Still - it is maddening so just hang in there and put panties on her & keep them on. That is what every mother I knew kept telling me, and it worked (sort of) for my kids too! Good luck and watch out for the constipation.... I've heard it happens a lot when training.

I'm in the same situation as you are, my 3 year old son will pee pee, but refuses to poop in the potty. His pediatrician said it was normal for boys to do that until age 4!!! So I have no advice, but hopefully someone else has the magic answer???

Update: I just read Becky's advice and I'd like to know the best cleaner you use to get out poop from carpet. My son's hiding spot to poop is behind the couch which is on carpet.....I'm grossed out thinking about poopy carpet.

I had similar situations with my twin 3 yr olds. Here's what finally worked for me. I took them to Target and let them pick out a special toy - they each picked a care bear. I called them the "poopie bears." I explained very nicely that when they pooped in the potty they got to play with their bears; when they pooped in pants the bear had to go stay in the closet. They lost their bears a few times but worked hard to get the bear back. I tried hard not to use it as discipline; it was just the nature of the bear; when you poop in the potty the bear gets to play, when you poop in pants the bear has to stay in the closet. I gave lots of praise and positive reinforcement when they got the bear. When the bear was in the closet and they were upset, I would just say matter of factly, Oh well, I know you can go poopy in the potty so I'm sure you will get him back soon. Eventually the bear got to stay out of the closet most all the time. Don't know if it will work for you but that's what worked for me.

There's a spray I get at Petco called "Nature's Wonder" that helps to take up urine and poop; it has enzymes that eats it. It has been wonderful.

And for the moms with constipated children, ask your pediatrician about Miralax; it's now available without a prescription and has really helped my daughter.