Need Help with 2 1/2 Year Old Potty Training

My son is now seven and we too had some trouble with my son pooping in the potty. He was afraid of sitting on the potty, I believe he felt he'd fall in. We got him a Blue's Clues seat for the potty. It fit his little bottom perfectly and he wasn't scared anymore. However, he didn't fully potty train until he was just ever 3 years old. Just remember to not push them. The more you push them, the more set backs they have. They will do it when they are ready. We just have to be patient. I hope it all works out!

Try doing the reward system, it works... Every time he goes pop in the potty, give him a star sticker and have a reward system for it, like 10 stars he gets a prize, 20 stars he get to go to McDonalds, 30 stars Chuck E Cheese... Rewarding a young child for what they do is not a bad thing, and it works out great...

Oh, my ... I do remember how frustrating that is! Wow, though ... you should be happy that he is doing so well at 2.5 ... the average age for boys to be potty trained is 39 months!

Anyway, my son had that problem as well. From all I have read and all my pediatrician told us is that it is completely normal and will happen when they are ready. The poop thing usually does come later than pee. For my son he thought that sitting down to poop would hurt. So definitely make sure he has a step stool to rest his feel like another mom said. I have friends who swear by the following method. Have him sit on the potty to poop with his pull up on to get used to sitting to poop. I guess that happens for a day or two ... Then cut a hole in your pull ups so that when he sits on the potty the poop will go into the toilet instead of the pull up. Obviously once this works move towards taking pull up off all together. Sounds strange, I know and we did not end up doing this, but like I said, I have friends who swear by it and have actually read about it, too.

Another mom mentioned constipation. Do watch out for self-constipating. My son started to do that and the pediatrician recommended Miralax to get things going. We didn't have to do that either. I hate to say it but luckily he got a minor stomach bug and had no choice about letting it go in the toilet. From then on it hasn't been an issue.

Rest assured, it will happen and I know it isn't easy, but be patient. Good Luck and congratulations again on having an "early" potty trainer :)

Hi M.,

We also had the same issue with our oldest son (who is 9 yrs old now). Not sure if you are using a toddler potty chair or the toilet with a potty seat. We used the toilet with a potty seat and one mom gave me the advice of making sure there is a stepping stool under his feet. If you think about it, it is difficult to push (and sometimes strain) during a bowel movement if your legs are dangling. A lot of parents don't think about this (we didn't). The child needs both feet firmly planted in order to push down with the legs during the movement.

This worked for us, but then our son regressed around the age of 3 1/2 and started using his nighttime pull-up again. (He had been using the toilet for urine since 2 1/4). After consulting with our pediatrician, we discovered that our son was constipated, and it caused less discomfort to stand up and go in the pull-up. The doctor started him on lactulose, he went on the potty again (with ease) and never went in his pull-up again!

Hope this helps.

--N.

Hi M.,
I know O. thing that helped my son to understand the concept of poop was the book "Once Upon A Potty" (boy version). It explains where the poop comes from and I thing for boys, the pee part is easy to understand because they "see" it happening. My son even wanted to use a mirror to examine himself as compared to the book!
Also, I think it's common for kids to master the pee part first and then the poop part comes next. At some point you're probably going to have to stop using the pull ups and go with underwear thru the day (pull up at night til he's staying dry overnight).
Hopefully, he won't like the feel of poop in his underwear and will get the drill!
Good luck. Hang in there. He'll get it!

What really helped my son learn to go potty (a few weeks before his 3rd birthday) was a movie called "Potty Power". He LOVES it. It took him about 2 days and he hasn't had an accident since. He has been going on the potty for about a month and doesn't even wear a pullup to bed anymore. Going number 2 took a couple more days - the first day or two he refused to poop at all. But "Potty Power" seemed to really help. He also liked "Elmo's Potty Time"

Good Luck!

C.

We are doing the same thing with our 2 1/2 yr. old girl! We do not however use the PullUps! She does not like them. We let her run naked, and that seems to work. just recently, she had 'the poops' and I debated doing the diaper thing, just to prevent the mess in the bathroom...and I decided that messes will happen, and might as well do it now. So, she's currently doing everything in the potty. Like I said, let him go with it all hanging out, and see how he does.
Good Luck, and remember that it will happen when he's ready!
I'll check back and see how things are working for your little man! ~C.

With my daughter I made up this big story. I told her that if she poops in the potty her poop will go to a special place that takes the poop to farms. There the poop is put on fields to help corn grow so cows and people and even some cars could eat the corn. So when ever she goes poop, when we flush it she says bye-bye poo-poo! Have fun at the farm!
I also told her, that when she poops in her diaper the poop gets buried underground and doesn't help anyone. It takes up room that burrowing animals or plants could have used for a home.
P.S. We live near lots of farms with cows and manure covered fields.

When I potty trained my son, I used the reward system and a schedule. I learned that bowel movements happen at almost the same time daily. I could also telll when he was almost to that point as he would get quiet and retreat to a corner. Knowing this made it easier. I then created a story about how the toilet needs the bowel movements to live like we need food and that the flush was a thank you. In no time at all he was racing to the potty stating he needed to feed it and everytime he would say you are welcome. My son even told a lady in the mall bathroom that she needed to say your welcome to the toilet. Iof course had to explain as she thought we were crazy. Good luck. I am training my 2 year old daughter now.

My son was doing the same thing. He would pee before his nap but wait until I put the diaper on him to poop. You might think this is crazy but I started letting him run around the house naked (especially during the time of day when he usually poops). Without the diaper on, he would choose the potty over the floor. Honestly, we never had an accident. I would not have done this myself had someone not recommended it. It really works.

We are having the same type of problem with my 3 year old boy. It has been getting better lately, and I did a good bit of research about it. And all signs lead to that it will happen and he is just not ready to take that step, since it is so scary for them. My son does not say "pee" or "poop". He uses the colors, he says he has to make yellow or make black. And as weird as it sounds, when he is on the potty I encourage him to make his butt "talk" so he can feel that it comes from a different area than his "yellow". This has helped in the past few days, he has pooped 2 times on the potty, but last night again had an accident in his big boy pants. So, good luck and hang in there!

M., I had the same problem with my now 12 year old son. He would NOT poopey in the potty. I invented "The poop factory" and showed him the incinerator in Camden and explained that we get our electricity from the poop factory but they need poopey to make it. Without it, we cant watch TV etc without it. Worked!!! Then my girlfriend had the same problem with 2 of her boys and I took them to the factory also. No more problem. I have no idea why but it worked for us. It seems that it makes them feel important??!! HOpe it helps!

Good luck , A.