How do I get my 3yr ds to poop on potty??

[kdescalzi]

Am I missing something here?? I have tried everything and he refuses to even sit on the potty. AS I write this he is whining about cake which I promised we would make togoether as soon as he poops. He asks for a diaper when he has to go and I always eventually give in because it ends up being nap or bedtime. Do I need to be more firm?? Am I making it worse by not being consistent. All my friends who have their 3 yrolds pooping on the potty say I need to just refuse to put a diaper on him. Is this cruel?? What are the tricks? I am so at a loss because dh and all my family and friends are on me about this. He just got into a big boy bed 2 weeks ago because I never push him into anything he isn't comfortable with. Do I do the same with pl or do I need to be more firm? Please help!

[kdescalzi]

Nobody has any advise for me??

[pbjmama]

Based on my experience I would just go with it. Give him the diaper to poop in. Being more firm only backfires - you can't make a kid poop, eat or sleep. Almost every kid will hold the poop in and that will only cause more problems. My ds was pee trained for months and months before he started pooping in the potty. It was super annoying and irritating and I hated it but I had to get over it because I knew it wasn't a battle I could win. I did use incentives when he finally did start using the potty but nothing I promised worked until he was ready.

Also, make sure he is getting lots of liquid and fiber

[sehbub]

I agree completely with pbjmama. Our DS will be 3 on 2/14 and is insisting that he can't go poopy on the potty until he's a big brother (at the end of April). We're just dealing with it. It's not fun, and I'm so tired of changing his poopy diapers, but forcing him does nothing but frustrate both of us.

I know how tiring it is. :

[_betsy_]

Give him the diaper when he asks for it. Talk about "Soon you'll be ready to poop on the potty, but a diaper is OK for as long as you need it."

Maybe tell him he can have the diaper, but he needs to be in the bathroom to poop? Just to associate the act with the location?

My DD needed to have a little talk about where the poop goes - I read something (probably here) about little kids having trouble letting go of the poop in the potty because they feel like it is a part of them. I told DD the poop would flush down into the pipes under the house. Apparently, that was close enough for her comfort!

[LindsC]

We are having the same struggle with our DS (2 1/2 years). I really don't want him to associate pooping on the potty with bad thoughts, so when he asks for his diaper, I just give it to him. I figure that he will do it when he is ready. We do talk about it regularly and he tells me that "big boys poop on the potty" but that he is not a big boy yet.

[Dandelionkid]

Our son was the exact same way. Refused to even sit on the potty until a run of about 2 weeks of pooping on the potty at about 3 yrs. Then he stopped and we are almost at 4 yrs old and he is still refusing the potty! We are going to wait till he is ready. Even if it takes him another year