Potty Training - Sheppard AFB, TX

I have 2 kids and my older did this and one day after seeing his 2 best friends go poop on the potty at school, he wanted underwear and never went back. It was on his 3rd birthday.
My other is 4 and she still wets at night and just now has been interested in wearing big girl pants.
It happened for us when I stopped trying to make it happen.
Hang in there. I feel like earning a college degree was easier than potty training!

Best of luck!!!!!

I am having that problem too, so you are not alone. My son is 4 1/2 and he refuses to go #2 as well. It's been a battle for over almost a year now. The pediatrician says it's normal and they will work through it. I, personally, think it is a control issue with him since that is pretty much the only thing he can control. Also, it seems like he just doesn't care. He can tell you where the poop should go and that he will poop on the potty, but when it comes time, he refuses again and again. I also think it's an attention getter type of thing so we decided to lay low about instead of getting upset. I don't think it's working yet, but it is causing a lot less stress than when we were trying to make him go.

We probably have 15 pacifiers (or more) literally around our house so we gathered them all up in a large ziplock bag. It was easter time, so we went to visit the Easter Bunny. We gave her our bag of pacies and she gave us a really cool Easter basket. Now I realize we are nowhere near Easter time, but you could try something similar. It was a little tough the first few times my daughter laid down for her nap, but I kept reminding her that the EB had the pacies and we couldn't just go get them back. She bought it!
Good Luck!
B.
PS - She is now 5 and 3 days ago she found a pacie stashed away in a drawer. It was kind of funny! We literally had them everywhere!

We had been going through the same thing with my son who will be four in two weeks. I thought he would never ever poop in the potty! We had tried everything, and I got a lot of great suggestions on this site which I tried but ultimately it came down to him making up his mind to do it. So far, and it has only been a week, he has started pooping in the potty. He would do it at Mother's Day Out, but not here. I was absolutely losing my mind with it! What eventually worked for me was a combination of the "no-no" corner and making him give me one of his toys everytime he pooped in his pants. I also made a huge deal out of how nasty and stinky it was. One day I was so upset with him for pooping in his pants after we had sat on the potty for over an hour I actually made him smell it to see how yucky it was. I don't really know what the "click" was but it finally clicked! Good luck, hang in there, and she will do it when she is ready. Not much reassurance there, but believe me, this too will pass! God Bless! T.

I know the frustration you are feeling, I have a four year old who is in the same boat. We were getting no where with it, then we started a reward system for when he can go so many days without messing his pants. We started with a small amount of days and then went for more as he got better with it. we also set a time, after observing when he goes and we put him on the potty and sit with him and read till he goes, this seems to be the most effective so far, punishing and all the talking did nothing. good luck, I hope this helps.

I just did this with my 3 year old who had the same problem. It took a couple of weeks for him to go for the first time, but once he did, that was it, he's done.

I went to Target and bought a bunch of "poopy prizes" Most of what I got was from their dollar bin (summer and pool toys), but I also got two larger toys, one being a toy he has been asking for (a bug vacuum). I showed him the toys and told him that they were "poopy prizes" and that he would get one when he poopied in the potty. Every time he would go in his underwear I would remind him of the prizes and tell him I wished I could give him one. Finally, one day he told me he had to poopy and he went in the potty. Of course, we all celebrated and he got the first big prize. After that I would let him pick from the bag of the smaller prizes every time he poopied in the potty. He was waaay into that. Once the small prizes where gone he got the "grand" prize, the bug vaccuum and we have been in underwear every since (he even asked to go potty at the pool and went). I have been giving him suckers for pooping since then (it just happened recently), just so he doesn't go from prizes to nothing, but we will phase those out too.

Also, a friend told us to put him on the potty backwards to go poopy. They feel a little more secure that way. The first time he went he tried the regular way and wanted to get off. I suggested we try it backwards and it worked great. I think this really helped too.

I know it's frustrating, we've been dealing with this since last fall also. That's why I gave this a try. It took 2 weeks, but worked!! Good Luck!!

It really does come with time, mom; but I understand your frustration. I see this with lots of children. I think you have a good system.

The only thing I could suggest is a wonderful DVD called "Potty Power"! I haven't run across a child yet who doesn't love it! You might see if it will ease her anxiety about going poop. (Or it might just create enough of a distraction from what could be a power struggle.) We've learned all of the songs and sing them throughout the day. Even my tiniest toddlers raise their fists in the air and yell, "Potty Power!!!"

Good luck..

http://www.missbrenda.com

My daughter turned 3 5/11 and I am having the same problem, I believe like you it is a control issue, so I will interested in the advice you get.

Hi, A.. Great news with the update. Hopefully, the pooping in the potty will continue. My daughter was the same way... she was "pee-pee trained" but would refuse to go poop on the potty. I asked her pediatrician about it, and he said it was completely normal and not to worry. My daughter would never poop in her panties. She would simply ask us for a diaper because she had to go poop. We tried the motivation charts, the rewards with little gifts, etc., but nothing would motivate her to poop anywhere but in her diaper. We allowed her to poop in the diaper, so she wouldn't hold her poop and get "backed up". :) I will tell you that she was "pee-pee trained" about 6 months before she went poop on the potty, but once she did and got over whatever it was in her mind that was keeping her from doing it, she's been doing it ever since. She was so proud of herself. We never forced her to sit on the potty until she pooped nor did we ever deny her a diaper when she asked for one. Allowing her to do it when she was ready and using the diapers until she was ready worked for us, and it kept it from being a negative experience for her. Good luck!

My son had the same problem too. I refused to put a diaper on him one day and he finally had to go so bad he couldn't hold it. He went in the floor and that freaked him out so much he started using the toilet from that day forward. Your probably right, they like to feel like they are in control.

Please let me know if you receive any advice that helps!! This is the same situation for us, same amount of time and everything. I have not made her clean herself yet, that may be our next step. do you check her afterwards??

Our daughter Jordan is the same way, she really doesn't like to go in the potty. Many times she'll poop at night because she is still in a diaper at bedtime. A few things that have helped us...
1. We reward her with a piece of candy when she poops in the potty. No candy if she goes in her pants or diaper.
2. We give her a book to look at while she sits on her potty.
3. We give her a bit of encouragement ("push hard, you can do it!") and then leave her alone. Even when she was completely in diapers, she still didn't like to poop when anyone was watching.
Good luck, I hope this helps some, and it will come in time!

I can totally relate to this. My now 5 year old was exceptionally difficult to #2 potty train.

We did all the poop prizes, etc. And even had to resort to using baby fleet to make her go because she'd get constipated from not pooping. It was awful.

What cured her was when I appealed to her sense of logic. She had princess panties and I told her that her princesses did not like her pooping on them. She immediately stopped doing it. And once I threw a pair of them away and she was not happy.

It really is hit and miss with some kids. My oldest was a dream to Potty Train (also a boy) and then my oldest daughter just decided on April 11, almost a month before her 3rd birthday. She was done. I even remember the date because she battled me for months over the potty and I finally just gave up. LOL

Now my last one actually peed in the potty once last week--a fluke I think, but she's been curious about the potty for months. I hope she is easy to train. We shall see. :)

A.,
Been there... done that! We just completed this same challenge 2 weeks ago. My 3 yr old (June 16) twin girls had the same issue for almost a year. I was very frustrated too and I don't know what happened or changed for sure, but we were using pull-ups. So 2 weeks ago Monday I decided NO MORE PULL-UPS (except at bedtime) and one of them has not had a single accident and the other only 1 or 2. We would (and still do)have to call Grandma after they pooped and tell her so she could encourage them as well. I never celebrated so much poopin' in my life!! It has really worked for us, but I don't know if they were just ready or the pull-ups were an easy way out. Could be both? I never used pull-ups with my 2 older boys and they were much easier to potty train. Hope this helps and best of luck. She WILL get it soon!
Blessings,
L. D.

Boy, do I know your frustration! My son was four before we got him trained and it took basically a year to do it. From experience, just give her time, let your daughter have control, after all it is her body, and above all do not show your frustration at all. Just glue on a smile and help her clean herself up without a negetive word. It will happen!!!

We are beginning potty training with our son. However, with our little girl we began the "potty dance." It really doesn't matter what it looks like, just that it's LOTS of fun and includes parent participation. In our household it was a daddy thing, but I understand that you're possibly trying to do all of this without him right now.

Once she got used to being rewarded with the "potty dance" and was going often and wearing daddy out. Then it became the "Poopy dance." She only received her entertainment when she had completed the big job.

And as I;m sure others have said ... be patient - it will happen.