Potty Training - FPO, AP

I have four children. Our 3 year old is the 3rd and so far the easiest to toilet train. I TRULY believe this is because he has had better examples! You have to lose all the pride and embarrassment and confront those icky bodily functions straight on. SHOW HIM that everybody does it. It is normal. AND NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF. My three year old was also hesitant to "put his poops in the potty chair" instead of his diaper or big boys. I think he was afraid of "it". We talked about it, read all of our kid friendly toilet training books. Watched Bear in the Big Blue House (a special dvd on toilet training). And we made sure he witnessed that we all have this "function" every day. Finally, one day he asked for privacy .... and we praised him with high fives, "that is awesome", "I am soooo proud of you" .....but no loud jumping or screaming so as not to take the risk of frightening him in ANY way.
Patience and only positive comments. It will happen.
Also ... The Love and Logic series of parenting books have great ideas for encouraging the use of the toilet. Worth a look for many other reasons as well.

Hi M.,
I had the same problem with my son. Sometimes he still holds it for quite a while, but I found that if I make him sit on the toilet or the potty for long periods of time, he usually gets tired of sitting and eventually goes. He normally isn't sitting for more than 10mins before he gives in. It may sound a little barbaric, but it works for us, so maybe you should give it try. Hope this helps. Have a beautiful, blessed day.

A.

I have a four year old little boy. We kinda just had to wait until he was ready. But his loves M&M's so that was his treat if he went to poo-poo in the potty. He had it down in about a month. Good Luck.

Hello,

I went through the same thing with my first child. Maybe there is too much pressure on him to poo on the potty. Does he wear diapers or pull-ups during the day? My son used to hide behind the couch. But he also would get his own pull-ups and put them on right before. I finally just hid the pull-ups. When he knew we no longer had any pull-ups, he knew that he had to use the potty. He couldn't stand having poo in his pants. It wasn't easy but you have to just let him learn on his own. Don't pressure him, but at the same time try to encourage without it seeming like you are encouraging him. It worked for me. Once he did start pooing on the potty, he never pooed in a pull-ups or his pants again. It was just the initial poo "On his Own". That we had to get pass.

Yes, boys sometimes take a bit longer and are a bit more stubborn with toilet training. But he will get it. Just keep at it. He is probably just nervous about it. My son did the same thing for awhile. Just give him time, love, and support. If you push him or force him, he will just go backwards. Like the other post said, let him know that everyone does it. Books and movies of his favorite characters doing it may help him feel more comfortable. But try to keep it low key. If he sees it is a big deal then he may not do it because it is his way of controlling the situation. Maybe show him the videos and the books but do it like you would show any new videos or books. When he does have accidents, don't make a huge deal about it or he may like the attention too much, even negative attention. Just clean it up and move on. He'll get it. They all do eventually. I know it seems tough but this shall pass. Good luck.

Oh, the joys of motherhood! I did not have this problem with my 3 boys but do have a suggestion. I am guessing that catching him before he makes a mess can cause a negative energy between the two of you instead of the positive one you are trying for. My thought is more along the lines of first setting the stage. Tell your child the wonderful event that will happen when he poops in the toilet. Be excited with smiles and the absolute belief and knowledge that he will indeed be getting the wonderful "prize" for his job well done. Then feed him some prunes or prune juice. Now watch, encourage, be cheerful, and excited about him getting the reward. If he sits but nothing happens keep the smiles and excitement alive. He WILL have success (because you are assuring that yourself). He gets the event or reward with lots of cheers, pats on the back, high fives, etc. Then do it all again tomorrow. Keep it up until you don't feel you need the prunes any more but keep all the rewards and excitment going. Then after a while when you truely belive the process is firmly part of his life you can stop the reward because he is a "big' boy and doesn't need it any more. Don't worry, there will be another issue before long when you will plan another attack to get the results you desire, complete with more rewards given to your little man.