Potty Training - Hyattsville,MD

Statistically you will do better using a positive reward system rather than a negative punishment program. Reward him for telling you he went in or out of the toilet or even better if he feels the need to go. Also Sesame street has a great Elmo video dealing with potty issues.

My son did the EXACT same thing. I finally just had to go cold turkey and stop giving him the option of pull-ups. When we had used them up, I didn't buy any more and I told him we were out and he had to wear underwear. He held it for several days and had one nasty accident. After that he has always gone in the potty.

I have discovered with this and many other things that often the only way for a child to learn something is the hard way. We try so hard to shield our children from anything unpleasant, but that will not help them grow. Somteimtes they have to face and experience the hard things in life in order to learn.

I wouldn't try cold showers or anything else punitive. Potty training should always be positive for the child - it has to be done on the child's own time. I know it is frustrating, but I wouldn't do anything to make it a negative experience. Potty training is something your son is in control of, not something parents get to control. The last thing you want is to make this a difficult experience for him as that can cause children to hold stools and other bathroom issues.

As long as you stay encouraging and positive he will go #2 when he is ready. You could try a rewards system for when he does go #2 on the potty. Positive reinforcement is always better than negative. And/or you could have some special books that he gets to read when he is going #2 on the potty.

When he does go #2 in his pants do you clean him up? We had a tough time getting our DD #3 to go in the toilet and she would have a ton of accidents. What worked for us was making her clean up the #2 mess herself. We would supervise, but she would have to do the work herself. Your son is old enough to be able to clean up his mess. Possible a couple of times of having to clean it up will help him learn that it is easier to get it in the toilet than having to clean up a big mess. We would also give our DD cold showers, if the mess was really bad. After a couple of those, she was more diligent in getting to the toilet. Good luck.

I had this same problem with my son! He is 4 1/2 and I just recently got him to poop on the potty. I also tried the toys thing but he didn't care enough if he would get a new toy he just didn't want to go! What I did was gave him lots to drink, fiber bars, and laxatives. He would have the urge to go and would still hold it!! Its truly amazing how he can hold it... anyways, eventually he would sit on the potty (after a lot of coaxing and positive reinforcement) and I sat with him and read him books until he went. Just keep reasuring him and try not to yell or get mad at him because they are really afraid of this new thing. Try the kid laxative thing.... they have tons of different flavors and forms. Good luck!!

We go through this every now and then with my 3 yo. He gets so constipated that it hurts to go and so he waits until bed time and goes in his pull up. We can't take the pull up away yet because he still wakes up soaked. What I found was to make him have to go with lots of fiber. I gave him plum with extra fiber juice at least 2 to 3 times a day and he was very regular and would go during the day without it hurting. I also started rewarding him again and making a big deal out of him being a big boy. He also liked it if we made a big deal of an accident, so if you can, don't. I think you would have to find out why he won't go and then go back to potty training basics.

Just wanted to let you know that I had the same problem with my oldest. It can be very frustrating. Having my son clean up the mess after himself worked more or less. Although he is 6 now and will still wait until the last minute to go, which can cause issues if we are not near a bathroom. Hope it gets better for you soon!