Three year old won't poo on the potty. Help?

[Snowflake777]

DD is turning 3 this month. She's been potty trained (peeing) since she was 2.5, but she's still struggling to poo on the potty. She has done it a handful of times (like, maybe 4-5 times in 6 months), but nothing even close to regular. In the last couple of months she's become unwilling to even try.

When she needs to poo, she asks for a diaper. We always encourage her to try going on the potty, but she refuses 98% of the time and we let her have the diaper. There's no point refusing to give her the diaper - she just holds it in. Besides, we don't want to make it a battle.

The few times she has agreed to try the potty, she hasn't been able to do it ("The poo won't come, Mama..."), gets frustrated and is less willing to try again next time.

I think she associates pooing with the diaper so strongly that it's hard to break the pattern. She's used to doing it standing up.

We've been playing it casual because don't want to rush or pressure her, but it feels like she's gone from making slow progress, to no progress, and now actually going backwards. Any advice? TIA!

[Mama2Kayla]

nak...my 3yr old does the same thing...its annoying now that we have a new baby, his diapers just seem so gross!

I'll be watching this thread

[Courtney-Ostaff]

Hah!  It can take a loonnnnng time for them to poop in a potty. It's perfectly normal (and usually the case) that they will pee in a potty months before they will poop in it.  I mean, come on, who wants to live in fear of cold water on your butt?  I suggest a trainer potty readily available (like in the living room, in our case), oodles of patience, and some casual roadblocks. "Oh, you want a diaper?  OK, but you have to pull it up yourself."  Or, "Oh, you need to poo? Wait a minute for your diaper, cause I've got to ____. If you want, you can go in the little potty instead."  Also, if you're the type, you could do rewards: "Oh, I'm so proud of you for trying to poop in the potty!"

If you reach age 4 and they're still pooping in their diaper, it might be time to draw a harder line, but remember -- it's their body, and you can't make them poop in a potty.