Potty training again...

[snowboarder]

...after aborting at christmas time due to poo in potty reluctance/phobia. On day 5 now and exactly the same - not bad at wees but only 2 poos in 5 days.

What to do?!? I have a miserable uncomfortable hopping about 3 yr old with me this afternoon. Don't dare go out. No manner of bribes or 'poo goes to pooland' stories are working. Seems a shame to give up again when the wees are going ok, and he's being relatively cooperative in terms of actually wearing pants (sometimes has refused). Did try putting a nappy on 'just for a poo' but he forgot and settled down to play and no poo.

Am hating potty training. Worse than weaning. And all little friends happily trained some time ago....

[nikki73]

Sorry no advice to offer but can commiserate.potty training eldest and weaning youngest at the moment.hmmm think I am starting to miss work!

[snowboarder]

Ugh yes crawling baby flinging contents of potty around is an added lovely dimension I hadn't quite bargained on...

[nikki73]

Oooh nooo. I'd better crack the potty training before crawling starts.seriously though I think if your son wees in the potty that's already great.we are nowhere close to that. There's a book called everybody poos - lovely - which might help.

[snowboarder]

Yup got everybody poos. And pirate pete's potty. A whole library of books about poo. But nothing yet today but lots of crying.

[susyp]

took my daughter 6 months after being wee toilet trained to be poo toilet trained! always insisted on wearing a nappy and squatting behind the curtain. Then eventually she did deign to poo in the toilet. Never did it in the potty! It was only once she was happy on the toilet really that the transition was made. Don't sweat the poo but continue with weeing!!!

Susypx

[alieh]

Hate to say it, but similar to Susy it was months before the poos caught up with the wees. Sadly he wasn't even open to the concept of pooing in a nappy - it was full on poo accidents in the pants for quite a while. Sometimes it worked if I left his night nappy on a big longer in the morning that we could "catch" the poo in there before getting him dressed.

I just bought loads of really cheap pants and binned them where necessary!

But we didn't really have the witholding problem, just the accident problem.

I'm sure you've tried it, but regular post meal sitting on the potty maybe with TV on as incentive to get him to sit there for a bit?

Ugh - not sure there is any solution other than time. But I think it is important for them to stay regular however you can, so nappy on at strategic points in the day, lots of orange juice or whatever works!

[Bumpkin]

Have you tried bribing with chocolate buttons? Worked for us and surprisingly he forgot about the chocolate very quickly after getting the hang of it so it wasn't an ongoing request... Friend recommended it and was the only real incentive he bought into.

[Fuschia]

I think if he is doing ok with the wees you should stick at it if you can.

X

[Parsley]

My little boy also had a bit of a problem with poos and the potty. I took the bribery route and combined it with a reward chart...basically I gave him a star (or a poo point) for every poo on the potty/toilet. And said if he got 5, he could go into the toy shop and choose something. It seemed to be the incentive he needed...Luckily he chose a toy tractor not a Playmobil castle (or something equally expensive!) After that, he had no issue at all. Good luck!

[little h]

hi snowboarder

having similar issues, infact worse as we haven't even managed one wee in the toilet in months. And B has ongoing constipation...now on day 4 and wondering whether to go back to the doctors. Bizarrely we have done 3 perfect poos in the toilet totally unprompted but now have no interest and loves saving everything up for me ' is this really horrible mummy, good, haa haaaaaa' as I changed one recent horrible pair of pullups.

I'm glad to know it's not just us struggling. everyone seems to have this sorted except us :-(

H

[kemurf]

Hi

My daughter was weeing on the loo from 2.5 yrs, took to the toilet no probs except for poos. She only began pooing on the toilet a year later. We went though something similar to you, from only ever pooing in a nappy, and only ever at home (never at nursery), to withholding poos, becoming horribly constipated and miserable etc and it affected us all. she was prescribed Lactulose I think first time. A few months later it was Movicol, and she knew why she was having it, and over time it kind of worked, she became less anxious, we calmed down, she got confident, lots of praise from us and grandparents. No amount of poo goes to Pooland or other books on pooing actually helped, it was telling her something she already knew and reinforcing the problem I think. I don't really know what made it work in the end, but over Christmas, just the family (and the Movicol,) together, she made progress and now 4 or 5 months later she is using the toilet for wees and poos no problem, fingers crossed it lasts.

Pm me if you would like to talk or email to discuss.

Kate

[kemurf]

Oh and I have that Everybody Poos book and maybe some others if you want to borrow them!

[snowboarder]

Well managed a poo eventually half in pants half on potty - after much crying and hopping about! I wouldn't mind too much if he popped a nappy on and did it but that doesn't seem to work. Hoping time will help - have really only been doing this less than a week in earnest. Pooey potties are worse than pooey nappies, no?!? No wee accidents at all today (hurrah!) but nursery tomorrow morning....argh!

Did have one of those odd moments when I just though WHAT has life come to when I realised I was saying 'mr poo just wants to go to pooland, poppet, that's all, he's tickling your bottom isn't he'. Jeez.

[jollymummy]

Is it that he likes privacy when pooping? My son wee trained onto the potty within a few days but pooing was a whole different story. We went straight to pants rather than pull-ups and we got a pair of pooey pants every day for about 4/5 weeks, so much more gross than a dirty nappy.

We did a star/reward chart and I also put his potty behind a chair so noone could see him do the business. He's 3.5 yrs now and still won't let anyone look at him while pooing although now we can close the bathroom door so not an issue. Our problem now is that he takes himself to the toilet for a poo but gets off with no wiping which I normally only discover when I find a non-flushed turd.