He HATES the potty.

[crunchy_mommy]

Well I really wanted to do EC with DS but I was so stressed out with his *high-needs* personality and he didn't want any part of it so I just dropped it. Now he's 15mos old & I feel like (based on his cues) I'd like to try EC again or early potty learning but he HATES HATES HATES the potty. OK let me rephrase that... he loves the potty as long as he doesn't have to sit/stand near it. He is sort of obsessed with the thing actually. We have 2 potties, an Ikea one & a Safety 1st one, and he is always playing with them, carrying them around the house, even tries to pick up other kids' potties when we're on playdates. He also loves watching DH & I use the potty, wants to help wipe (LOL no thank you!) and flush... and he also says "poop" just prior to or after going, and also recently started saying "pee" when he pees. (Haha funny story, he was BF'ing & pulled off and I leaked a few drops & he pointed to the wet spot on the bed & said "pee?" ) ANYWAY, sorry I am all over the place today... so we try to give him naked time & let him play with the potty but if we try to sit him on it he screams hysterically. I have only tried a couple times, I really don't want to push it, but at the same time I feel like he's saying "I'm ready" but I can't figure out how to help him.

[marija_jane]

What I'm thinking is that obviously you don't want to make him scream hysterically, so I would just focus on "communication" and just let time take its course with it being in the potty. What I mean by focusing on the communication is to acknowledge and talk about when he is going. It sounds like you are already doing that, so just keep it up. Since he's telling you when he is pooping, it may be convenient to ask him about loosening/pulling his pants down partway so the poop won't get messy, use that as a transition. I also suggest change him quickly and get him used to staying dry. Your siggy mentions CD so if you can leave the cover off, then you'll know when he is wet, even when leaving him naked isn't convenient.
My last thought is that you may want to get him a step stool so he can pee in the real toilet. I think the potty is a sort of strange thing, after all, none of the grown-ups use a potty, so it makes sense that some kids would be opposed to them. My son hated his potty for about a year, but was happy to stand and aim for the drain in the shower or stand on a stool to pee into the toilet. We also got seat reducers for the regular toilets. Hope some of this helps!

[crunchy_mommy]

He is very small for his age so I think the big potty is just TOO big for him. We did have a pretty funny (OK maybe you'll think it's 'pretty gross') moment the other day... I told DH he should pee in DS's potty. Well DS loved that, he thought it was the best thing ever (and now says 'pee' and tries to pull off DH's pants and pull him toward the potty, which freaks DH out a bit ). He still wasn't too keen on the idea of sitting on it himself but I think a lightbulb kind of went off after DH did that because he seemed to respond to the potty differently after that. I think I will take your suggest of focusing on the 'communication' aspect, which is basically what I've been doing but maybe I can talk about it to him more too. I think part of the other problem is I am lazy & impatient. If I know he needs to go, I don't always have the energy to get him to the bathroom, & if I do try taking him to the bathroom and he isn't quite ready to go yet, I just give up. He gives me either too much or too little warning and I have a bit of trouble responding appropriately. I will try pulling the diaper down a bit, that might be an easier next step.

[emmaegbert]

I agree, maybe just focus on communication and talking about it? and responding quickly once he's told you. Also he can help empty a poopy diaper into the toilet, can put diaper in the pail, etc. So, he can be involved in ways that aren't exactly sitting on the toilet.

If you son is sensing YOUR anxiety around it all, he may also respond to that. Try to play it cool and act like you don't care too much.

My daughter (12mo) just used a seat reducer for the first time at someone else's house. Wow, she loved that thing. Not that she actually eliminated, but she thought sitting on it was the bees knees. We have a funny-shaped toilet so I am not getting one for here, but we'll be moving in a few months, and I might get her a seat reducer/step-stool setup in our new apt.