Mastered the wees but the poos are a no go

[Brendatheblender]

DS is 3 next month and we’ve been potty training for 2 weeks now.

He’s weed on the potty with every time he needs to go for the last week and is dry at nights too so he’s done brilliantly.

He’s done two poos in the potty/toilet but doesn’t like it and will hold it in if he can and sneak off to do it in his pants.

Any idea how long this will last before we crack it or is it a case of how long is a piece of string?

Also if anyone has any tips for potty poos that would be great

It will take as long as it takes - sorry - I know what's not what you want to hear. I would use bribes, if I were you. A lolly or a treat size packet of buttons or some strawberries or whatever will seriously motivate him to poo in the right place. I'm a big believer in rewards for stuff like this.

I managed to luckily catch it in the potty once and then the cycle was broken and the fear was gone. Because that's what it was - fear.

In DS's case, this stage took another 3 years! We coaxed him into it gradually. He only wanted to poo into a nappy, so we let him tell us when he wanted to poo, and let him wear a nappy for it, but did that poos had to be done in the bathroom. Once he was comfortable with that, the next stage was getting him to poo in the nappy while on the potty or toilet. Once he was ok with that, we started cutting a hole in the nappy so that he was really using the loo properly, but with the comfort of the nappy. Then we gradually increased the hike, until the nappy was really just the waistband and he decided he didn't need it any more.

It sounds more work than it really was. He used a nappy rather than a potty, but was actually fully independent sooner than his big sister who was toilet trained in a week but needed help wiping for ages. And he was able to wear pants to nursery etc without any difficulty - he would just save his poos for when he was at home.

Hike = hole.

DD used to wee in the loo but would save her poos till the evening (when she came home from creche) and immediately ask for a nappy to poo in. It lasted a few months but she got there eventually. Don't stress about it!

Thank you for everyone’s replies.

juneau We are using the bribery technique but with no success but will keep at it.

broomstick jeez, 3 years! The very thought of it makes me wince (for my liver mainly as wine has helped ALOT these past two weeks)

You need Poo Goes to Pooland! 😁 Hang on, I will find...

Just found out it's been turned into an app by the NHS! Available on Google play... My DD had problems also and when I played this for her on the loo she had no problem!

Good luck...

frustrated I have downloaded the app and DS loved it! He’s on day two of no poo and is clearly desperate but is sat on the potty now trying to send his poo to pooland!

Thanks for the recommendation

It worked! Thank you!

Yay! Glad you managed to help him with something relatively simple. We used 'Poo goes to Pooland' when DS1 had issues with witholding (which is a whole other, horrible poo problem!). It's a genius little story that seems to resonate with DC.

Hooray! You're welcome! 😊

Am stuck with our 3 year old! Similar situation of saving poos until the evening. She's done a few poos in the potty (some last summer and a few this spring) but still has a fear of it so these have been rare. She had rectal prolapse on the potty a few times last year, none since but I think it added to the fear factor. Tried Poo Goes to Pooland, small toy rewards, charts, nappy on potty etc. When I cut a hole in the nappy the crystals all leaked out. Feel like her waiting until bedtime isn't helping as she's tired then so has less patience/willingness to try. Any ideas?

Haven't tried saying it can only be done in the bathroom though, think I'll try that next.