4 year old won't poop in potty

[sewingmommy]

So DS2 is 4 and will let me know when he needs to go pee and will go pee on the potty. The problem is he won't tell me when he has to poop. I am at my wits end and really need to figure this out.  I have tried bribing him with special gifts if he tells me but he just won't do it .

I would really appreciate any advice and reassure me that he won't be pooping in his pants in college

Sewingmommy

[Bokonon]

Mine did this at age 4 as well.  I was at my wits' end too, and then I realized that he just had to come to it on his own.  So I made a deal with him that he could wear underpants and when he told me he had to poop, I would put a pull-up or diaper for him to poop in.

That worked really well for a couple of months, and then one day I decided I was going to try coercing him into sitting on the potty when I knew he had to go.  I brought a bottle of bubbles into the bathroom and had him sit on the toilet while I blew bubbles.  It was the first time he ever pooped in the potty and he saw that it wasn't scary, and the bubble thing was pretty cool!  From that point on he was out of diapers and pull-ups completely.

Best wishes - I know it may feel like it, but you're not alone.  Some kids, boys especially, take a lot longer to do these things than others!  My son has always been a "late bloomer", but that didn't make it any easier to deal with.