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Potty training

Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

Pooing on the potty...

7 replies

Turbulentslide · 06/05/2025 18:36

We are 2 and a half weeks into potty training with my just turned 28mo. I don't want to count my chickens as I'm very aware things can change and I'll probably be totally humbled but I feel we've made good progress, especially me as I was so nervous and stressed for the first couple of weeks but I've really relaxed which had made a huge difference. He's doing really great with wee and for the last few days we've had barely any accidents. We're still mostly taking him to go but in the last couple of days he's told me he needs a wee a few times which is brilliant so feel like it's going in the right direction. However poo is not going as well. We have had some poos in the potty and he has told us he needs to go a few times but the problem is he will do a little bit, then get up and run off and the rest will end up in his pants. He seems a bit freaked out by the idea of poo being in the potty and refuses to sit back down if there's a little bit in there. We've been talking about how everyone poos, it's not scary, poo loves being in the potty and the toilet etc but so far we can't get him to just sit down and stay down to finish the job. Knowing my kid, I feel like bribing with chocolate will backfire massively and he is not bothered by stickers so have not been going down the reward route. He's motivated by praise and is trying...
My questions are:

  1. If your kid was resistant to poo in the potty, how long did it take for them to start doing it?
  2. Did they do it on their own or did you do something to help them start to poo on the potty? Particularly interested if not bribery related!
  3. Do you know any good books about pooing in pottys? He's really into books so feel like this might help..

No need to comment to say "if they're ready it only takes a day, my child got it immediately and we never looked back" thanks v much! 🙏

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VintedoreBay · 06/05/2025 22:57

Have you watched 'Poo goes to pooland' with him? It's actually an app but here are videos of it on YouTube. Helped my little one. And take a trip to the library - our local library has a whole section dedicated to potty training and other milestones.

We had a withholding situation where little one either wouldn't go or waited until bedtime and their night nappy. We ending up giving lactulose on pharmacy advice, then there was no stopping it to run off once pooing started, too.

Also maybe skip the potty and get a toddler toilet seat to use directly on the toilet. My little one was similar with any amount of poo in the potty - was scared their bum was going to touch the poo. So we switched to use the loo then no chance of contact and it helped.

It's a tricky learning curve, we're about to embark on potty training kid2. Good luck!

spiderlight · 06/05/2025 23:18

Definitely 'Poo goes home to Pooland'. It was a little book originally and you can download it as a free pdf to read wth him. It's honestly like magic - it sorted out my very stubborn, anxious DS's poo woes literally overnight.

Turbulentslide · 07/05/2025 07:08

@VintedoreBay @spiderlight thanks so much for your replies, I will check out Poo goes to pooland!

We actually managed a successful potty poo about half an hour after I posted this, except that he stood over the potty rather than sat down. He did ask for his pants back on just before it came but I said let's wait a minute and he wasn't upset or distressed. So seems to be sitting that's the issue maybe.

I do need to get a toilet seat reducer and step but we have these stupid square toilets with massive seats so haven't been able to find anything very stable to fit!

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chocomoccalocca · 07/05/2025 07:45

Some kids are scared of the feeling of pooing and some don’t like being too close to the poo. My youngest got wees fine but poo definitely took longer. Just keep trying. We got him to sit on the toilet and he was allowed to watch something on an iPad to distract him so he seemed to relax and go better.

Turbulentslide · 07/05/2025 08:55

@chocomoccalocca thank you, its reassuring to read this is normal and it passes! We have tried reading a book on the loo and it did help him sit down a bit longer, unfortunately he is not that distracted by videos!

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TotemPolly · 07/05/2025 09:02

Have you tried putting water in the potty ? If he knows there is water in a toilet that poo goes into . Then he is a big boy to poo in the water in the potty .
It worked for one of mine.

Turbulentslide · 07/05/2025 10:25

@TotemPolly thanks this is an interesting idea - though when there has been a bit of water in the potty after I've washed it he hasn't wanted to sit on it till I've cleaned it up "there's a wee wee in there!" He's OK weeing in the toilet and the potty though

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