My Child Won't Poop In The Potty

RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By k hoffman (Guest Post) (08/20/2008) My son had that problem bad. It turned out that we found him in the bathtub during bathtime and I pulled the plug out and he totally freaked out. What was really happening, tub and potty, was that he thought he was going to go down the drown or be flushed down the toilet. Once we found out and had long talks and played some potty and drain games. The problem was cured. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Shannon (Guest Post) (08/18/2008) My son is 2 1/2 and is perfect with going pee in the big potty. He has never wet the bed or pants since being put on the big boy undies, but refuses to go poop on the potty. The worst thing about it, is he will sit with poop in his undies until my husband or i smell it. It doesn't bother him in the least no matter how gross it is. We have tried stickers, candy, going to buy him new toys but othing works. HELP! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Nick (Guest Post) (07/12/2008) Is your daughter constipated? How much does she poop in her panties? Or is it like Diarreha? Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By WORRIED DAD (Guest Post) (07/05/2008) Like other people on here, my son turned 3 in March. He will pee on the potty no problem but when it comes to pooping he says "I need a tighty" (pull up) and then won't try to poop on the potty at all. He does have constipation and we do give him mirilax as needed but he still will put forth no effort or interest. I am pulling my hair out on this subject. I tried timed sittings with him but he yells and screams about it whenever anyone else is around. When he and I are home alone he goes FINE but it seems like he wants to put on a show for his mom and grandparents. Not trying to write a novel, but man, I just don't know what to do. It's almost as if he just relies on it to poop. Everyone says making him do timed sittings is forceful and in a way I agree but in a way I don't. On one hand I think, "well if I absolutely KNOW he's going to poop and he's at the point of no return I'll make him sit on the potty" but the other part of me says "I don't want to MAKE him sit because it might traumatize him about the whole deal and in turn make him regress". PLEASE some experienced parent respond to my desperate cry for help. Every doctor says something different and as a father I am at my wits end. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By michelle, sparks nv (Guest Post) (05/16/2008) I have the same problem although my son just turned five. Please share any ideas you may have gotten. Thanks Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By busy (Guest Post) (03/30/2008) I have the same problem but, my child is turning 5. He is going to kindergarten in five months. He does go pee in the toilet and wear underwear too at night and through the day. I tried everything he just won't listen he hides, runs to the bathroom for privacy so thats good as long as he runs there. His grandma gets in the way of things by telling him that food is in your tummy. That your going to have to poop it out. He doesn't want to hardly eat. He will want bitty pieces.We parents say that no matter what you eat, you're going to poop regardless. I even praise him when he does go, did stickers and everything. He is a good boy, it's just he don't want to poop on the toilet. Have any suggestions? Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Mandy (Guest Post) (03/15/2008) My daughter just turned 2 and she's been potty trained for a month. She will go pee in the toilet but not poop. She either asks for a diaper to go in or goes in her underwear. My older daughter who is now 11 was potty trained at 20 months and she did the same thing. It seemed like it took a long time for her to overcome. It is so frustrating. Nothing works for my kids because they are so stubborn. So hopefully I can figure it out sooner with the second one. Any suggestions are helpful. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By very distressed dad (Guest Post) (03/08/2008) Ok, I have a few issues at work here. I am a single dad to a 3.5 year old boy. He stays with his mom too and she does not seems to care that he is not potty trained so I (and grandma) started the whole deal. I know this inconsistency is the main problem, but there is more at work hear. She is now on board and he is in underwear all the time, but she is unconcerned aabout the constant poop cleaning and does not put much effort into getting a poop in the potty. At this point he stays dry (even over-night) most of the time, but does have his accidents. He has only pooped in potty the twice, once because I caught him half-way thru a BM and the other because he was getting out of the shower and I could tell he had to poop. When I put him on the potty he just says he cant or doesnt want to (he is stubborn) and I dont force it (but I have tried the power struggle in the past....it didnt work). If you ask him he will tell you that you are supposed to go in the potty, but he is just repeating what I have told him a million times. When he did BM in the potty we celebrated so I am using the reward system, he just will not do it again! I don't get mad at him, but to show disapproval and now I am starting to make him take his nasty underwear to the washing machine, which he thinks is nasty. So at this point my son is holding his BM and is not as regular as he once was so it is hard to catch him, but his stool has never been hard or painful for him so I am pretty sure he is not having constipation or pain as a result of holding it. I have noticed that he will not go if he is close to me (as in sitting on the same couch), but will go as soon as he is playing or aaway afrom me. I need some help and maybe a new trick.....HELP! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Karen (Guest Post) (02/11/2008) A friend suggested to me to put my 3 1/2 year old in the bathroom and have him take off his pants. Tell him the doctor wants him to poop on the potty and I will be waiting outside--call me when you are done. Then just turn and walk out--wait outside the door. Don't make a big deal out of it when he goes. It worked. This is after 1 year of trying. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Tracey in Ottawa (Guest Post) (02/05/2008) I am in the same boat! My son is 2 years and 8 months and goes pee in the potty or big toilet regularly and even stays dry most naps and nights. However, for poop, he will just run and hide and do it in his underwear! I have tried reward charts with stickers and have tried VERY hard not to be negative or make it a battle, because when it comes down to it, I know I can't force him! Hopefully it is just a matter of time, and I hope that time will be sooner rather than later. I am on maternity leave for my daughter for 6 more months so I am hoping it will come before then! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Julie (Guest Post) (02/05/2008) Our 3 1/2 Year son also refused to poop in the potty - long after he was in underwear and peeing on his own. But he was always constipated - even with high fiber. Our pediatrician reassured us that it was very common in children that have become constipated. We became diligant in our daily doses of Myralax (a must for constipated kids) and fiber (including benefiber). We stopped begging and bribing him to go and If he is getting a good dose of each he poops every other day now. At first there were frightened tears and now he just tells us he needs to go. Now that he is "regular" his personality has even improved - we realized that some of his moodiness was constipation. He is a joy to be around Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Sarah (Guest Post) (12/29/2007) My 3-1/2 year old daughter has pooping issues....For 8+ months we've fought it. We were so pleased to finally potty train her (pee-pee only) and have an an occasional...I think 3 times) pooping in the potty. She is very strong willed. No amount of praise, taking away, promising or giving or yelling at our wits end quite honestly have helped at all. We've been on Mira for months and months and months on and off. I think we are down to taking our sweet, kind, happy (while not seemingly so now after the pooping rant) to a psychologist to find out what her issue is. Good luck to you all. Thanks for letting me know I am not alone in this. It is so frustrating. Her diet is high fiber - she exercises like crazy...she just doesn't WANT to do it - so she holds it, gets constipated and won't - then can't. It is a vicious cycle and I wish, more than anything for Christmas that it would just stop. Good luck to you all and thanks for being out there! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post by theseamstress (348) | (10/27/2007) Contact There's a new dvd out with Elmo that teaches preschoolers all about potty training. Its very helpful. You can rent it or buy it at any blockbuster video even online. I'll try to find it and put it in this post. I watch my 3 1/2 year old grandson weekdays and have since birth. His other nana has him a lot of weekends. So we have had a hard time getting the potty issue because he floated around a lot from place to place. We all tried different methods of our own & tried to share what ideas worked.For along time now he has the pooping perfect. He can be doing anything and when he gets the urge he'll run to use it fast. But the peeing he just did not want to go do each time. Kids don't like to stop whatever they are doing to go do there business, they think they'll miss something. I kept reminding him that whatever it was will be there when he gets back.And you have to remind them to go pee ever so often. So after I knew he had drank liquids and could go pee with results, I kept a few markers by the toilet and would draw some shape on a piece of toilet paper lay it inside the toilet bowl and make it fun and say" lets go see if you guess what I drew while you try to pee on it" and he found that fun whiling guessing the drawing like heart airplane etc. It also helped with his aim to try to hit the target. I would ask too what color is it? he learns his colors & shapes that way to. It takes the boredom out of it too. He started preschool this year two days a week. The peeing in pants came back this first few weeks, most kids do because they feel insecure until they get a routine going and realize granny or dad is coming back for them. On the person who post they give laxatives to there 2 1/2 yr old daughter. Maybe the laxative is causing her pain. Laxatives should not be given to young children unless a doctor recommends them and even then only on occasion.Pick certain fruits she likes and give that fruit 2-3 times in a week and she will stay regular.Pineapples are a great natural laxative and will do her body good no harm like laxatives. You can put a tiny amount of prune juice in with her usual drinks and that will help with no harm to her just healthy intake. If you try to make it a fun time in some way they will get it and even take there favorite doll with them act like dolly is going to pooh first then its her turn. I did that with my grandson, he loves ernie his boy doll. But the elmo potty training video really helps. Even now we pop it in the dvd player ever so often to keep the idea fresh for him. Elmo has lots of dvd's to help kids learn. One with fire safety, bath time elmo. this is the potty time video i spoke of you can rent it or buy at blockbuster & I'm sure netflix and others has it as well. http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?r=1&ean=828768411599 Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By linda (Guest Post) (10/27/2007) I have exactly the same problem. My little girl is 3 and will tell me when she has wee's but 2 mins later will poo her pants and then say no when you ask her did she poo. She just refuses to use the toilet for poos. Help! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Traci (Guest Post) (10/22/2007) I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter doing thru the exact same thing. Potty training was going great with her, she would pee in the potty but poo in her diaper. Which was fine with us we let her go at her own pace, but we'd still tell her to poo in the potty. So the one night we have a date night she decided to poo in the potty and it turned out to be sooo scary for her, maybe cause we weren't there I don't know, ever since she holds it in when she feels the urge to go poop and she cries and holds her bum and she cries harder when she can no longer hold it in and it come out. She cries like she is in pain but her stool is soft and sometimes runny because we've been giving her juice and laxitives to keep her regular. We keep a pull up or a diaper on her so she'll be more comfortable to go but she still cries like it hurts to go. I know its just scary for her to go and I hope we can get it into her mind that its not scary. Its nice to read that its a common problem and to see all the great ideas to try!! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post by Cyinda (680) | (09/21/2007) Profile | Contact Same thing with my granddaughter... She has been trained to pee since turning 3, But, she was well past 4 when she learned to poop in the potty! It came down to no choice, my daughter had to start a new job & HAD to get her into a preschool, so she finally HAD to learn to poop in the potty before going to preschool. And believe me, this was quite an ordeal, but in the long run, my daughter pulled through. It doesn't help that my granddaughter is as stubborn as they come. We had held back one present from her birthday & promised it to her when she had finally pooped in the potty. (that didn't work!) We told her Grandma would do the "Potty dance" with her... even promised her everything from a special frozen yogurt treat she just loved to a new tricycle from her dad. None of this worked! Sooo, MY daughter finally fed her bran cereal in the morning & baked beans in the evening (because of the high fiber content) she was on this diet for about 3 or 4 days... When it looked like she had to go, (she would go & hide in the corner or the closet where no one could see she was going in her pull-ups or underware) my daughter would set her on the pot & not let her get up until she would finally poop... & Believe me, this was quite an undertaking... My daughter would have to set there with her for sometimes half an hour or more.... But with the bran cereal & beans, & knowing what time she went every morning & evening & knowing she liked to hide in the closet when she went.... All it took was not letting her get up from the pot! (of course she would have books read to her while on the potty). But, Once she finally DID go, We gave her ALL KINDS OF PRAISE.... & THAT was THAT.... No more problems! ... She was just afraid to go, but, My daughter HAD to finally lay down the law!... Either that, or she couldn't get her into a daycare or preschool! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post by KateMN (1) | (09/21/2007) Contact Wow. We also have an almost 4 year old boy who will not poop in the potty. Dry all night, pees fine. But won't poop. We have gotten to the point where when he needs to poop, he tells us, we put on a pull-up/diaper, he does is business in the bathroom, standing by the toliet. Then he lets me know when he's done. If we are able, we then dump the poop in the potty and flush it to join the poop party. But we can't get to that next step of actually going on the potty. We are trying hard not to get frustrated (third child, we are soooo done with diapers) because when we do, we don't get anywhere. When we insist on the potty, he holds it in, and that just isn't good. I'm hoping patience is the answer. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Tracy (Guest Post) (09/19/2007) I am so happy to know that I am also not alone. The whole potty training has been a long drawn out one with my daughter making the moves and us trying not to push, but sometimnes that is easier said than done. She just began pre school, is 3 1/2, will go pee on the potty but not poop. I ask her where poop is supposed to go and she tells me the potty but will not use it, however she will run and hide and poop in her underwear. I know that she gets it, and that this is something that all children have control over, just like eating and sleeping. I have read and have been told by seasoned parents to ignore, they love the attention, and leave the poop in her underwear for 15 minutes or whatever time you feel is appropriate, not to rush and clean her up.........this way she has to stand because sitting and playing will not be comfortable and to not turn on the TV to allow her to stand while watching. It is difficult not to get frustrated and I know that I am not the only one thinking" it is just poop, you pee in the potty why not poop?" I guess from here I will just wait, allow her to make the moves and not talk about pooping in the potty but share the books and the video that we have with her on occasion because this too she will eventually get. They love attention, good and bad at this age so maybe if we do not make a big deal about it, it will just happen like peeing on the potty did. Our reward system is : My daughter picked out some Ms Kitty underwear and is dying to wear them, but she knows that she can not wear them until she uses the potty for pooping. The best to everyone, Tracy Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By (Guest Post) (08/14/2007) Often boys using potty chairs will scoot back so far on the chair to pee that they are too far back to poop. When it was time to poop, I sat my son backwards on the adult potty (with the seat down but without the child insert). This way he was facing the tank and could hold onto it if he needed to bear down but more importantly his leg were spread out slightly more which allowed him to poop more easily. This is also a good way for kids to pee or poop in a public restroom when you don't have access to a potty chair or toilet insert, as they feel more secure and less like they are going to fall into the adult size toilet's bowl. By, Julie Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By (Guest Post) (08/13/2007) Rewards! I don't care what any book says. I have been doing daycare for 10 years and rewards work! Start with small things like a couple of M&M's or a Starburst, then if that doesn't work, get some cute dollar items at Dollar Tree! Rewards work! Don't stress over the mistakes and really get excited over the pooh-pooh's in the potty! Good luck! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Amber (Guest Post) (08/10/2007) I am having the same problem. My son is 3 1/2 and for awhile was going pee all the time in the potty and we were thrilled. We thought potty training was going to be quick and easy. We had thought wrong. He to this day has not and refuses to poop in the potty. It as gotten to the point now that he rarely pees in the potty. From our experience all I can say is stay very positive with your child. If you are negative or agressive to your child all it will do is cause them more fear and reservations about going to the potty. Most kids just want mommy and daddy to be proud of them, so if you stay positive with them, and always praise for the good things they will progress. That is all I can say and remember too that all kids progress at different rates. You have to be very gentle with your childs readiness and development. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Mae. (Guest Post) (07/30/2007) Hi, I also had a hard time getting my daughter (now 24) to use the potty and would wet herself something wicked. I would put a little water in a cup and when I had the chance I would put a little water in the potty making her think she used it. I'm not sure what could resemble Poop, but good luck Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post By Nancy from Florida (Guest Post) (07/30/2007) Hi, I've read the feedback above, and have very little to add except: make sure he's not constipated -- my little granddaughter had the same resistance when pooping hurt her. Once she regularly ate 'soft poopie food' like raisins, ripe bananas, and veggies, and increased her fluids, she wasn't constipated any longer and could poop without being afraid it would hurt. Good luck -- let us know how it works out! Nancy in Florida Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Child Won't Poop In The Potty Post by jess_admin (680) | (07/26/2007) Profile | Blog! | Contact I had the same problem with my 4 year old boy, Ethan. He would go pee no problem but could never go poop in the potty. I tried EVERYTHING! He was still in daycare and my provider recommended that I try a suppository to make him go. I thought this was a terrible idea, so intrusive! Well, a few months later, after buying another of a long line of "last" packages of diapers, I decided to give it a try. My husband and I inserted the suppository, sat him on the potty and hunkered down to keep him there. It took less than 5 minutes and we had success. We all danced around the house like maniacs, doing a "potty dance". He was so pleased! About an hour or so later, we see him running into the bathroom. Success again! The potty training was done! I think I still have that package of diapers hanging around, 6 months later. I believe that the reason that this works is because Ethan just really didn't have any idea what muscles to push. We would have times where we knew he needed to go. We would sit him on the potty for 15, 20, 30 minutes waiting for him to go. The minute we would let him off, he would poop in his underwear (or on the floor when we were trying to keep him bare bottomed). But once he was shown how to do it, it all just clicked. I certainly wouldn't try this until all other avenues have been exhausted but it was the only thing to work for us. Good luck. I know it is one of the hardest parts of parenting (until the teenage years!) Jess Report Spam or Abuse Request: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty Post by jess_admin (680) | (07/26/2007) Profile | Blog! | Contact My son will go pee in the potty but he won't poop in the potty and he won't poop in a diaper. He cries holding himself and eventually poops on the floor after many trips to the potty. What can I do? I tried putting a diaper on him so he could do his business in that but he just takes that off too and cries. I don't know what else to do. Please help. Nicole from Pennsylvania Answers: RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty I have 2 boys who are luckily now potty trained. The first was really hard, but my younger son was really quick and easy to train. I have heard that some children see their poop as a part of them, they get scared and don't want to lose any part of them, and they commonly try to hold it in. It's pretty normal, and frustrating i know. Have you tried a reward system? Give him something every time he sits on the potty and tell him that he will get something really nice when he poops in it. It took a trip to Chuckie cheese for us. Teach him what poop is, i explained about how when we eat food, it goes in our mouth and goes into our stomach and gets all squished, then it goes bye, bye. Help him understand it's old food and like the stuff in the back of the fridge it needs to go to it's "home" We also had him watch when we went to the bathroom to see that we were okay with it too. we said bye bye to the poop and flushed then had a treat ( tootsie rolls mostly) Show him how happy you are thats it's gone. And above all it's about patience, take it slow, educate him and his time will come, don't get stressed out. I know it's hard not too, but he can sense it and it makes things worse. If he can spend some time with older children, watching them, he may get more comfortable about it. Watch him and his expressions, when he looks like something might happen, sit him on the potty, give him some books and sit there and read a story ( i recommend Everybody Poops) and wait. I know that not everything works for everyone, but i really hope this helps you. Good luck By Designersheets RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty Don't worry and stress. My daughter is 33 years old with a Master's Degree and three kids of her own. She was the same way she would poop in her pants. She even stayed dry at night. I remember stressing about it when other moms would say my child was trained at such & such age. I knew my daughter was very smart so I could not understand. But she did get it finally and turned into a verrrry responsible person. Please don't worry. He may grow up to be the President of the United States and this will be something you laugh about when he is grown. Then you can remind him when his child does this that he is "paying for his raising" as my grandmother used to say. By mawmawto4 RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty My experience: Time it.....it is a pain for you... but will pay off. Put him on the potty every hour or every 2 hours....until he poops. Is he holding it in? give him stool softener(maybe he is constipated) either way it will make it easier to go. Once he poops on the toilet... shower him with PRAISE! Potty treats? My son got anything from candy to frozen go-gurts. My grandma once told me: potty training for boys....you aren't training him, you are training yourself. my son has been potty trained for over a year and we still have to remind him to go! good luck to you, it is a difficult time. By Starchild in VT RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty My daughter over 19 years ago did the same thing. I read in a Parents magazine to make a game out of it. I filled a brown paperbag with little objects that she liked. Back than it was New Kids on the Block Cards lol. Anyway, she was able to take a prize out of the bag everytime she went poop. Well let me tell you this child pooped all day long to get all 10 prizes out of the bag. From that day on she went herself. Worth a try if you want. Good luck!! By dadstiger RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty Have him use a little stool (or even a stack of books!) to put his feet on to raise his knees a little higher than his bottom. Sometimes if there is a solid stool it will help the elimination process. (I had to use this method with my son some 40+ years ago.) By jsham RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty If offering a reward doesn't work, talk with your son's doctor to make sure there is no physical reason for his aversion to the toilet. For example, if pooping is painful for him, he may associate it with the toilet. By Cresanna RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty We kept a "poop" book. I bought a composition book from the dollar store and a whole bunch of small stickers that my daughter liked. Every time she pooped in the potty successfully we put a sticker in the book. She was very proud of that book! By momma30 RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty everyone has lots of great tips. mine for my boy was all the following. he knew he could wear big boy undies when he got potty trained, so that spurred him on. I bribed him. I gave him one skittle candy for peepee and two skittles for poo poo!! Sounds so little but it worked. By loridawn1956 RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty This happened to my little one too. Turned out she was constipated and it hurt to let it out. So she held it in as long as possible until it came out. We put her on a stool softener, Miralax, and once the poopie was soft she was ok with letting it out. The doctor told us if constipation is allowed to continue it can stretch out their rectum and make it even more difficult to treat. They also suggested more fiber, more liquids and regular sitting times on the potty after each meal with a stool under their feet to aid in "pushing". By TC in MO RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty My daughter was actually afraid of the little potty chair. I found out that it did not seem sturdy to her. I bought a little seat that fit on the regular toilet. Also a small stool so she could get up there like big people. No more problem after that. By margeth RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty Hi just thought this might help to get my son to go in the potty I wrapped up in old Christmas paper some of the old McDonald toys and little toys that he hadn't seen for a while then I put them in a box and told him every time he when he could have a prize so he went to the toilet. Don't get upset I remember being on my hands and knees begging my son to go in the potty he couldn't have cared less but the prize got his attention. Also I put the potty on a plastic sheet where he could see the TV and then he would forget he was even sitting there and just do it without relishing it. Hope these tips help. bye Melinda, Australia. By Melinda RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty I am glad to read this feedback! I was beginning to think I was alone in this journey. My son just turned 4 and he will pee in the potty, stay dry all night long, he can write and spell, he can read and add; BUT for the life of both of us he will not pooh pooh in the POTTY!! Stickers don't help, treats don't help, so could someone please offer help!!! By Distressed mom RE: My Son Won't Poop In The Potty I went through this same thing with my first daughter, and she grew out of it by age 3. I am now dealing with the same issue with my son, but the only problem is that he is almost 4, and he only started this less than a year ago, so I don't know when he will grow out of it. The only time he was good, was around Halloween time, when I told him the only way he is getting to have a candy is if he go poop in the toilet without crying. This only worked for a while. I get extremely frustrated, because he cries like it is really paining and I do not think it really is. He has his 4 year check up in a couple weeks so I will ask the doctor for some advice on this problem. By Lee Report Spam or Abuse