That dreaded 'P' word!

My 2 1/2 year old is toilet training and is totally dry day and night. I have only been been training him for about 4 weeks (sorry, I can't explain how I managed this, my oldest was over 3 before I could even get him close to weeing in a pot or toilet). The only problem I have is poos! At first I would get surprise packages in the jocks followed by hysterics from him for having done this. The last 3 days I have managed to get him on the pot or toilet for his poos but he is still hysterical every time, despite our constant reassurances and rewards for his efforts. As he has only been training for such a short time I appreciate that it is a foreign experience to him and will come in time but I do not want to traumatise him and I don't want him to become constipated. I would appreciate any advice from others who have experienced similar problems.

Hello, I to am having the same problem. I have a 2 1/2 yr girl who is fine with her wee's but refuses to do poo in anything other than a nappy or pants. I feel as though I have tried everything. If you get any useful suggestions please let us know.

Thanks

Hi Tiffany, things aren't as bad as they were. We just persevered, managing to identify all the signs when we knew he REALLY needed to go then literally made him sit there. It meant being quite strict and it may seem harsh but hey it worked! As soon as he did his poo, he got rewarded with the treat of his choice, even if it meant a bowl of icecream just before dinner. He still doesn't ask to go for a poo but I spot the tell tale signs and just take him. He still gets a little scared when it first starts to happen but I praise him and we encourage him to greet it and farewell it (bit embarrasing in public loos I might add). I wish you all the luck in the world with your little girl!!

Leanne, thanks for the encouragement. Just thought I would let you know that there has been a break through. My method in the end was oh well shes done poo in her pants or nappy again. What I started doing was once she was finished taking her to the toilet and flipping the poo into the toilet than sitting her on it and wiping her there, like I would if she had done it in there any way. A few days ago she told me she needed to do wee than took herself off to the bathroom and come back to delightfully tell me she had done poo. I went up to investigate where she had done it and low and behold it was sitting there in the potty. I was hesterically happy and couldn't praise her enough. She hasn't done it since but its a start. Thanks again. Tiffany

Congratulations to your little girl!! It is a positive step in the right direction and eventually she will get to where you would like her to be. Each week that passes sees Brady a little better at doing his poos, I don't even stress about him anymore. He even went in a public toilet the other day. It may be hard work now but the challenges will be nothing compared to when they are teenagers, strangely enough we should cherish these times. If the worse we have to put up with is an accident in the underpants then we are VERY lucky.

I have a 3yr old boy and 3month old boy. My 3 yr old started taking himself to the toilet for wees on his 3rd birthday. However he will not do a poo on the toilet. We have tried everything. He seems to be terrified at the idea. He just wants to put pants on or just do it in his pants. I don't know where to go from here. Any tips?

Hi everyone,
My twins were nearly 2 when they were trained and I thought it was going to be so hard but it was really easy. With odd little mess but when it came to no 2"s that didnt happen very often and if it did I use to let walk around with it still in there pants till I got so fed up with the odor.
Warning for this one as some may be affended.
A male friends took his son out side as he was fed up with him doing no2's in his pants so when he did he was taken out side and stripped from waist down the hose went on on his little bottom got washed down with the cold garden hose, well after that he never did it in his again.

Di SA

It is almost the same story as mine for my eldest. He wasn't going to the toilet until he was 3 but instead of pooing in his pants he would wait until his nappy was on at night. Every night without fail, 5 minutes after he was put to bed, he would come out with a nappy full. I ended up doing 2 things, the first was to tell him off as he was old enough to understand, which after some effort got him to at least use the potty. I then had the problem that he would only use the potty for a poo so I drew up a grid with about 5 or 6 squares and filled the page with Rugrats pictures. Every time he did a poo on the toilet he got a stamp in a square, when all the squares were finished I took him to see the Rugrats movie at the cinema. It took alot of effort and persuasion but he got there eventually.

Did your son understand the concept of the stickers? I have tried stamps on hands and stickers of hands and even tried to bribe with lolly pops or McDonalds etc but with no luck.. I will try the grid and see what happens. He thinks that Nemo is fantastic at the monent as we had aour first trip to the movies and he thought that was great. I'll keep you posted and I will give it a go. He tells me every time he does a poo in his pants that "Babies do poos in pants. Hey Mummy?" As he has a 3months old brother who poos in his pants and but he then contintues to tell me he is now a baby and not a big boy.

Oh my lord..... We have had a break through. My 3yr old has not done a poo in his pants for 4 days. He has decided to take himself to the toilet and get rather excited when he does a poo. He yells out "I got it Mummy". Quite funny really. Thank god we have finally got somewhere. Now I have to look forard to doing it all again with my 4month old. Heres hoping that they would stay babies for eva.

Hi,
My 22mth old loved weeing but screamed every time i put her on the toilet to do poos. She refused to sit there and as soon as i took her off the toilet, she'd poo in her pants or on the floor. Someone told me to put a chair under their feet whilst on the toilet because they find it difficult to push (imagine trying to do a poo with your feet in the air!). Anyhow, it worked instantly! I have never looked back and have had not one single poo accident since... (she is now 2yo) and can no go without the chair. It is definately worth a try.