Poop

[Thirteen]

I'm about to lose it. We try pants off, we try underwear only -- nothing is working.

DS poops on the floor, or in his underwear, and doesn't even blink.
He's not afraid of the toilet. He sits on it all day long. I follow him around and am taking him every 15 minutes to sit and read a book/play with toys.
I tried rewards, but he's just losing things instead: privileges, TV time, etc.

I should also point out that this isn't a "contained" situation. When he poops, I am cleaning carpets, bedding, the toilet, floors, him, the bathtub, and usually clothing or towels.

I spent a total of 2 hours this morning, taking him, sitting with him, etc. He will take himself to urinate all day long. He's got that down. He even asks in public to use the toilet.

The poop... I just can't. It's so bad, I want to put him back in diapers. I nearly lost it today, trying to shower him off. I don't know what else to do. Help!

[scrub-jay]

Poop

Can you take a break for a few days? In my (super limited) experience, it's better to let him call the shots on the poop training. And honestly, a break might be helpful for your sanity.

[Pollyanna]

Take it from someone that has been there, put him back in diapers. Trust me, he is not ready for that part of toilet training. You have now created a power struggle and he WILL win. Put him back in diapers or a pull up. Tell him you realize he isn't ready to poop in the potty but still want him to pee on the potty. When he is ready to poop in the potty tell him to let you know and you will help. You can still ask him periodically if he needs to poop but be very matter of fact. I would wager in a month or two he will be fully trained.

[ladymoreta]

We also went to pull-ups for a few weeks when DD refused to poop on the potty. It's just not worth the hassle. I stopped giving rewards for peeling in the potty, although I'd tell her I was proud of her. I told her rewards would be for pooping only. She took about 2-3 weeks, and she had it down. Good luck!

[Sheherezade]

Ditto what Pollyanna said. It's a pretty standard problem, particularly with little boys. Do Pull ups and stick with pee rewards and lay off the pooping until he's a little older.


Angie

[Thirteen]

After a particularly traumatic event reminiscent of something you should only encounter outside, around livestock, I discussed it with DH and we are stopping for now.

The stress and added tension are immediately gone for all of us.

[alison]

Good for you! There is no shame in putting him back in diapers. Give yourself a break. He'll do it when he's ready (that is, he will likely take off his diaper and poop in the toilet).

[ladymoreta]

Before I started potty training DS, my pediatrician said most kids took 2-3 attempts before they got it. Don't mistake this for a failure - Bean learned a lot during this session, and it will have laid some good groundwork for the next time you try.

[PrincessFiona]

After a particularly traumatic event reminiscent of something you should only encounter outside, around livestock, I discussed it with DH and we are stopping for now.

The stress and added tension are immediately gone for all of us.

Im glad you took that monkey off your back for now. It's also been my experience that the whole poop thing can take longer and can be a real struggle if they aren't quite ready yet. It sounds like he has the beginnings of potty readiness. Hang in there. He'll be potty-trained before long.

Kris