Three weeks into it and all is well, except for the number twos. As I mentioned in my previous post, Annie is doing great with pee and even staying dry through naps and night. But I can’t get her to do her business on the potty. It usually happens when we aren’t paying attention. She heads off to the corner and starts to grunt, and then it is too late. And when we miss it all together, she comes running up to us with a huge smile and says, “I just did a stinky.”
So now that my husband and I have cleaned up so many poopy pants (and completely gagged while doing so), we decided that we couldn’t take it anymore. We went back to the pull-ups which makes the clean up easier, but also makes it easier for her to just pee in her pants. Good news so far, she hasn’t reverted back and has only done the “other” in her pants.
I have tried everything to motivate her. She no longer gets m&m’s when she pees. I ask her incessantly if she has to go poopie. She constantly says no and fights me when I try to make her sit on the potty. Annie’s teacher suggested that I just put her on the potty every hour and sit with her, but she is so independent now. She won’t sit on the potty if I ask her to, only when she wants to.
So this weekend, I took some advice that a couple of CSP readers provided. When she had an accident, I took her favorite toy or stuffed animal away from her. And today, we headed to Target and let her pick out her own big girl panties (Hello Kitty) and explained that she will ruin them if she poops in them.
I am hoping that this tactic will work. I would love to hear more suggestions if any of you moms out there have mastered to poopy train. I am open to trying just about anything! Thanks for your help.
12 comments
I'm sure it's frustrating, but I would love to be on the poop train….. we're still working on the pee train at 3 1/2!! AGH!
This is too funny, Jenny! #2 sometimes takes a little longer. I remember Ansley was a little anal retentive, and she started timing her poopies around naps. So her new routine was go down to nap at 1p, then she'd immediately poopy, and then I'd change her pull-up to a freshy-fresh. I thought it was still good potty training b/c it was teaching her control. She finally started pooping in a normal potty maybe after a few months at most. It may seem like an eternity, but she'll come around. I wouldn't worry about it:-)
I had the same issue with my second. After a couple of months (and bribing her with a toy), she finally stopped pooping in her panties. Jen's right – it will resolve itself. Hang in there!
We had the same exact problem. Our first was a breeze with pooty training, but the second just didn't want to poop in the potty. I can't count the number of undies we simply threw out because it was such a mess to clean up. Anyway, I even talked with my Dr. about it. She rec. not showing any emotion one way or another, and when it happened, to simply state the obvious like it was absolutely no big deal ("looks like you had an accident, that's o.k. because soon you will be pooping in the potty"). No taking away things, bribing with candy, etc. All kids are so different that a tactic that works well for one might not for the other. Within a week he started pooping on the potty. Worked well for us, so thought I would pass on to you in case you haven't taken that approach.Good luck!
Just a tip: If it hurts once, kids withhold poop which can be a real problem. So be sure to keep poops soft. Try "P" fruits- peaches, plums, pineapple, pears, prunes, etc. They naturally soften the poop, causing a more "pleasant" experience for the child. I always did one M&M for pee, two for poop. Another friend kept a "goodie bag" of small trinkets that her kid got to pick from when they pooped in the right spot. Good luck!
my little guy is only 11 months but he poops lots of afternoons as soon as i put him down for a nap. I hope this is not a bad sign of things to come!
I started both of my children at the age of 3 (yes a little late, but my nephew was trained too early and pooped in his pants until he was 6!!!). My first child, a boy was a breeze – watched the video "It's Potty Time" and just did it! (you may want to try that , you can get it on Amazon.com – it was actually filmed here in Charlotte!). My daughter was a whole different ballgame! We put her in big girl pants thinking she would HATE to feel anything in those…well, after peeing on 3 pieces of furniture, I was not happy! Felt like I had a dog , not a child!!! Her teachers told me to send her to school in big girl pants, (even though she wore pull ups at home) well – that worked, and she got the hang of it, but would never poop!! My husband was in a panic thinking she would too be like my nephew – and do that until she was 6!!). Anyway – I talked to her teachers about it and they were shocked! They told me they would talk to her and work with her – and low and behold – it worked!! I honestly think a 3rd party is the way to go, especially at school when everyone else is doing it too. I can honestly say her teachers potty trained her! She too, wore pull ups until she finally started pulling her pull-ups down to go! So you may want to just keep those on. Good luck! You will get there! I feel like a free bird!!!
I had a book that I really liked called Potty Training 1-2-3. It actually talked about the physical difference of going pee pee vs poopie … something we all take for granted, but to think about it from a child's perspective was pretty enlightening! Not sure if this will give you any insight or help with Annie, but maybe worth a quick read? Unfortunately I can't remember who I lent it out to or I'd let you borrow mine! Good Luck!!
My 3.5 year old daughter wants NOTHING to do with the potty. She is one of those kids where the answer is "no", no matter what the question is. "Do you want to eat?" "No!"; "Do you want to walk the dog?" "No!". "Do you want to sit on the potty?" "Heck No!" So I have stopped asking and started telling. The potty is not going well at all. Today, she still had a dry diaper after 6 hours, so I put her on the potty and told her a story thinking it would happen, because who can hold it so long? But she said, "I am holding my tee tee in," and refused any results. It is a total control thing, I know. But she won't be able to go to some camps or even preschool next fall if we don't get this resolved. I don't see her getting "interested" if is not her idea. I have tried sticker charts, bribes, new panties, big potty, little potty and there is a jar of M&Ms just outside the bathroom. She says she likes her diapers and wants to stay little. So much for wanting to be a big girl. Sorry to be so long winded, but if anyone has any advice for a totally unmotivated 3.5 year old, I would love to hear it.
Yowza, sounds like you have one strong-willed little girl! I know the feeling! I say just give it a break for a while. She is totally playing you and obviously wants total control of everything in her world. I would also make her sit in her yucky dipes for a little while, maybe don't be so quick to change them. And force her to be in an active roll in dumping the poopy in the potty, getting the new diaper, etc. If she sees that you are not as interested, maybe she'll come around. I definitely wouldn't worry about the camp/preschool deadline. She'll work this out by then. Good luck!
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I remember my mother nagging me endlessly about pottytraining my daughter (she was 3 at the time).But I had a gut feeling that every kid really is different and that in her own time she would go potty on her own.I did not put any pressure, just causally asked if she needed to go potty, no bribing or prizes, just a simple question I would ask.Then one day she just started going potty, no accidents every. It's like it just clicked.Same with poopy, she did when she was ready and after that there were no accidents.I think they all will do it on their own time at their own pace.