I could cry !! It is never ever going to happen...

[recall]

My son has just turned 3, he seems to have a mental block regarding potty training. He is aware of when he goes, and I have been talking about it, getting him used to the idea for a year, and he has watched his big sister learn. But if we suggest he sits on the potty, he gets really upset, and runs away screaming. How can we move forward from this ? It is almost like a phobia. I have tried bribing him with treats, but he is not interested.

All I can think of is once he pooed in the bath, and his sisters leapt out screaming, there was a commotion , and he would not go in the bath for about 12 weeks after that, it upset him. He is back in the bath now.

I just can't ever see him getting past this , I don't know what to do.

This is going to sound bizarre, but have you (when changing a poo nappy) shown him the poo and let him watch you tip it into the potty? Then you can say in a pleased voice that his poo is happy to be in the potty because that it where it needs to be. You can say that nothing bad will happen, and everyone will be pleased if next time he needs a poo he could sit on the potty to put it there. It might help if the older DD also shows her approval kindly, in case he is worried that she thinks he's dirty after the bath incident.

Or you could do the sitting on potty in nappy, then gradually to sitting on nappy lining potty, then cut hole in nappy for poo to fall through. You could do this on the childs seat on the loo if you and he want.

Sometimes they just need proof that the world won't end because a poo has come out, they aren't dying, and they haven't lost an important part of their body. You could explain very simply that poo is only bits of leftover food that we've eaten, and has to come out. And the best place for it to come out is in his potty!

Thank you, I will try that, and he has sat in potty with nappy on, so need to go back to there, thanks for advice .