Potty training (LO will only pee in the potty)

I was doing potty training with my 3.5 year old. Within three days he'd cracked it, then a week later suddenly decided he doesn't want to poo in the potty! He wees just fine, hasn't had a wee accident in weeks, but will poo in his underpants right next to his potty despite knowing what to do. He seems afraid of using his potty to poo. His butt isn't sore, and we've tried bribes, and withholding favourite toys. Has anyone dealt with this?

Show your support

My son is doing the exact same 😬

Sticker charts worked for us, but if you've tried bribes, I'm not sure!

We literally offered him chocolate for every potty poop!

Have you tried using the actual toilet? My daughter used to the exact same thing even when she was at pre-school but we found asking her if she wanted to use the toilet like we do seemed to work a treat because in her words 'shes a big girl now'. Might not work for you but just an idea. 😊

@Marie-Claire we tried that in the past, but he flat out refused. But we could try again.

Do you have one of those toilet seats for toddlers that goes on the toilet, that was a massive help as she had some fear that she would fall into the toilet and just make a really big deal when he eventually does it on the toilet or potty that's all we used to do the clapping and the cheering etc

My daughter is the same age and is the same, it’s exhausting. Wees she’s mastered but poos are tricky! Has he had a bad experience? Does he say why he does it? We are slowly getting better by using a reward chart, bribes, getting a fancy new toilet for her and reading books about poos in the right place. We’ve also tried saying when we can sense she needs to go ‘shall we try the potty now or in 2 mins’ and has helped her understand she has no choice. Our HV recommended a book called poos go to Pooland which has helped but it’s weird! She also said when an accident happens to make it as boring as possible to change, try not to react and also get them to help wipe. It’s a rough ride so I feel you!

My Daughter uses the potty too but will still do the toilet in her nappy too though xxx

Hi experiencing this now. Have you had any resolution?

@Tatiana sadly, still struggling with this, but there's been some progress - he's not deliberately pooing in his underwear but trying to hold it in. We're keeping a close eye on him and trying to catch him when he's about to go (which is when he tries to sneak off to another room) and settle him on the potty.

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌