Hi there! I’m looking for some potty training advice. My son turns 3 in April, and we’ve been potty training since the second week of January. He’s doing great staying dry all day, during his naps, and most of the time at night. He sleeps with a pull-up but training undies all hours of the day. He tells me when he has to pee and is super independent on getting his bottoms off and sitting on the potty—still practicing pulling them back on. However, for the love of God, I can not get him to go poop on the potty STILL. He will hide and poop in his undies and not say anything and run away from me all mad. He went poop one time on the potty, and it got stuck between his cheeks, and it absolutely freaked him out; since then, it’s just been a game of run, hide, poop, hide, run. I do not do a reward system simply because he hasn’t relied on it from Day 1. I’m at a complete loss at this point on how to get him to go poop on the potty. SOS.
Have you tried the no pants method? See how it goes having no bottoms on at all.
My son is 3 and is potty trained but won’t poop I try everything. I know he will eventually get it. But I figured out that he’s constipated and it hurts when he goes so I’ve been giving him a laxative to try and soften it. Just try to be patient and encourage it everytime he has to go.
Make up crazy fun songs about pooping on the potty…and if he goes poop on the potty sing and dance act crazy…and tell him he get 3 m&ms candies…sing songs about when ya poop ya get to flush it down down down. And it goes round round round…etc…make it a fun ordeal…saty positive. Don’t give up…he will get it…but I am totally against the negativity…positivity and fun will bring about better faster results. Read a book…while sitting g on the potty … play a game…etc…
He may not be ready for that yet. My son was the same way. He loved peeing outside or in the potty, but he wouldn’t poop in the potty until he was 4. My daughter is 4 & we still struggling with her poopi g in the potty. Their doctor said they will do it when they’re ready
My daughter did something similar and I noticed she would squat and hide in the same spot to poop so I put her lil potty in that spot and she used it to poop after a week I moved it back to the bathroom and she started going poop in the bathroom since then.
My youngest wouldn’t climb on a regular toilet until he was three. It sounds gross but move the poop to the inside of the training toilet. My youngest son didn’t understand pooping in the potty until we did that and then showed him that yay, the poop is in the potty! And find a reward system that he likes. Our boys loved stickers so there was one sticker given for pee and two for poop. It took less than two weeks to get him toilet trained after that.
Punishment and potty training don’t go hand in hand. I do agree with helping to clean up but not to the extent of dealing w his own poop. What I would do is dump the poop
Into his potty , and have him take the poop from the potty and dump it into the toilet / flush and wash his hands and give him a reward.
Eventually he will ask to do it- so give him 2 rewards (I like smarties ) and tell him when he poops straight in the potty he gets 3 smarties and if he goes right in the toilet a whole mini box of smarties
Kids like to be rewarded.
I’d also put the potty in his safe space that he uses to poop in his underwear or choose a new space and deck it out potty style 
How do you manage them not having accidents when your out and about? my little boy is brilliant in doors but when we go out he tends to forget?
I dedicated an entire weekend to potty training with my son. I took off work on a Friday and we moved the toddler potty to the area of the house where we mostly are during the day. I had him wear nothing but underwear and literally asked him every 30 minutes if he had to go potty. We did a reward system 2 m&m’s for pee and a dum dum lollipop for poop, by Sunday night we had no accidents so we went Monday to pick out a toy of his choice. To get him to go on the big potty since that can be intimidating to some I told him that we had fish that lived in hole and he had to feed them, we also used Cheerios/fruit loops to have him aim for them (made a game out of it).
when o was traning my oldest the doctor sai no iaper or pull ups at bedtime it tells them its ok to potty in them i never had a problem at night she loved her big girl panties but now that is a girl not sure about little boys the girls doc was very old fashion belived in different then others we loved him
My son will only poop on the potty if he is butt naked
I was advised to put a night pad under the toddler and let him feel the wet; he will get up and go
Put the potty seat infront of tv and let him sit on it while he watches his favorite tv shows. His body will relax and it will happen.
DO NOT USE pull-ups worse thing you can do. Either go all out with underwear or nothing at all. Stop using diapers and don’t use pull ups.
Rewards for going to potty.
I’ve trained all my kids in a weekend three girls and a boy.
Tell him no snacks if he don’t poop in potty.after he poops in potty give him a cookie
Put a stool next to toilet so he thinks he’s a big boy so when sitting on it it is wider so his poop won’t get hung an scare him clean wipe
Cheerios:rofl: not even kidding. Put them in the toilet and tell him to aim:rofl:
that’s how my mom trained my brothers and that how I trained my son! Worked like a charm. He was potty trained a matter of days. He still wore pull-ups for a few weeks, just in case, but he just loved taking a handful of cheerios to the toilet and aiming. It was a game for him. He did it for about a month or two lol
My grandson did the same. His first poop hurt and it was a battle after that. She bought a big truck and she kept it on the refrigerator and kept encouraging him to poop in the potty and he would get that big pretty truck. It took time but it worked. You might also try some probiotic gummies so it doesn’t get stuck
If you have one of the kids potty, try putting in his hiding place. We used the reward method for two days and it really helped but after that we quit and he’s still using the potty.
My mother had a syringe. And gave me a inamay. Then set me on the pot. It worked only had to do it once. I lined fast.
Commando maybe socks on his feet that’s about it if the poo gets stuck help him squeeze it out or just wipe his bum and praise him anyways
Food coloring can work watch blue turn green or Cheerios in the toilet and see if they can make it in the middle
My daughter was like this in the beginning I just had to watch for her going quiet n pick her up n sit her on the potty, she would always hide when she started pooing just had to keep doing it till eventually she started asking took a wee while though.
Sit him backwards on the toilet and let him draw on the lid with whiteboard markers! Works everytime
If you make a big deal of it then he will continue to think it’s something to be concerned about and he will continue to hide and go somewhere else other than the potty. Does he get constipated easily? If he does then it’s going to hurt when he goes and that will cause him to associate pooping with pain. Let him read books while he tries to poop. Make sure he gets plenty of water to help keep his poop a normal non painful consistency and just act casually about pooping so he doesn’t think pooping is a huge ordeal to be concerned about.
My son hated pooping in the potty chair but loved hearing the plop on the big toilet so we put a booster on the toilet for him with a step stool.
When it comes to pooping in the potty you have to stay consistent as with anything. The other key is to put him on the potty every time about 30 minutes after eating. When you have him there, stay with him. If he tries to get up gently place him back on the potty and let him know that is where he must potty. Once he goes clean him and give him a hug saying you are proud of him. If he takes off and hides clean him and explain again about the potty.
Make him sit on toilet a few times same everyday . And give him a book or something boys don’t like to sit still
All these comments have good advice, but from experience I would watch for constipation. My daughter is 8 and still gets poop in her panties. She has chronic constipation and the doctor said that’s why
Boys are a lot harder to train than girls, generally speaking.
What helps is if he goes to a daycare center where he’d see other kids his exact age using the potty. Odds are they will be potty training and will help you with getting him used to sitting on the toilet to try to poop. Especially if he goes at a regular time each day- that teacher will make sure she gets him to sit on the toilet at about the same time each day he’s in daycare. It will take time, but eventually he will become more comfortable with pooping on the toilet and not in his pants. It takes time- particularly with boys. Take it from me-I’ve spent 20 years in early childhood education, half of those working with 3’s. Lots of patience & lots more praise. A gummy worm when he poops in the toilet is a good thing, too!
I told my 4 year old I wasn’t going to buy him anymore pull-ups we went out and got underwear he peed in them and decided he didn’t like the feeling of wet clothes. Btw at this point we had been potty training for weeks and it was to the point where he knew pee and poop go in the toilet he just didn’t want to do it…
anyways he was filling potty trained in about 3 days but he showed the he was ready. Before we started
Honestly I swear by naked potty training! Potty trained both my boys before 18 months with that method 
Have him drink more water
Wish you would have ask this when they were about four months old.
All of my children were potty trained before they were 14months old and they did it their Self they didn’t like wet diapers plus I had a potty chair for them to go when they wanted to in the bath room.
The ol “ping pong ball - point and shoot “ game works a treat .
Have them aim for a cheerio 
Put Cheerios in the potty and make it a target practice. I had 3 potty in my house. If he potties, he got M & Ms. He didn’t get them outside of home and it worked.
Try a cheerio in the toilet for him to “aim” qt and use a reward chart!
They do make potty training standing urinals too that could be an option
Fruit loops and teach him colours while you’re at it.
He isnt ready mama. When he is ready he will basically train himself. Patience is key. Boys urethra is longer so sometimes they dont recognize the urge to pee. Dont push. Encourage here and there but let him tell you when he is ready
Show him age appropriate potty training videos and put cheerios and make him aim to get the cheerio
I have three boys. I had to buy the small toilet seat that goes over our seat and got my bf to build a small step to put in front of the toilet. I would take all diapers away and make them my main priority. I would lock the door and keep them butt naked and run with them to pee and jump for joy when they did. Make a huge deal with it, even Offer a special treat. Took me top a week and they were trained. First week they turned 2 my boys were all potty trained
It helped my son to go to the restroom with dad once in a while. Maybe that might help show him it isn’t scary.
If your not in the city… Both our boys were potty trained outside… But we were in the country so the fact they pee on a tree was way fun to them than we took that to hey can you aim in the bowl
We used a toddler urinal.
Ask a doctor. It could be a variety of issues. Sometimes kids develop slower than others in some areas and that’s ok. Don’t feel bad. 
My son was scared of the toilet at first, we got him one of the frog urinals that you can hang on the wall and he loved it… potty trained in like 3 days!
Cute Forg Standing Potty Training Urinal for Boys Toilet with Funny Aiming Target - Blackish Green https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FHWLJ3M/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_0Z2Q6F855DJFY2NNH3PM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
urinal attaches under sink and it has a fly to drown
My son was about five and a half before going in the potty for no2 no1 was harsh at first then he went but would no 2 I think the more pressure you give the less they’ll want to
I got tired of my 3 and a half year old grandson refusing to use the potty. I put the potty in front of the TV, gave him his blanket, juice and a snack. Put on his favorite show and told him that he was going to sit there until he went potty. It was difficult at 1st but eventually he got into the movie and about an hour later we had urine in the pot. Smooth sailing after that. Some may say that’s horrible but I’m an old school grandma and enough is enough
I had my boys drop Cheerios in the potty and they had to “sink” the cheerio 
it worked on 3 boys…my girls did it too… only because they didn’t want to be left out
Let him go outside…I know hillbillie as hell, but it may work
Read him a story book, offer bathroom every 2 hours 
My youngest just turned 4 and isn’t potty trained. He has ALOT of sensory issues and he doesn’t actually know when he needs to go. This could be the issue with your son as well and might be something to look into. Forcing it will only make it worse not better if there is a bigger issue there.
We just let my son run around the house naked… well he has a longer shirt on. And had the potty chair in the living room since the bathroom was up stairs… he would pee in his potty after the first day… then he finally would poop… once he got the hang of it then we started with the big potty… we tried rewards but he wanted one every single time he pottied and so that made him back slide… I let him pick out his big boy undies for during the the day and his night time (pull ups)… he loved doing that… but I will say we worked for months with him and then one morning he woke up and it was like it just clicked and he never had an accident again
Put on potty training cartoon I’m sure there many available!!! And have him watch and maybe perhaps start with a baby toilet for just him to do his business and also mention when you are going potty and say what your gonna do like “I’ma gonna sit on the potty so I can go potty” idk Hope this helps
Throw Cheerios in the toilet and have him aim at them.
We used a toddler urinal
Maybe try potty training urinal and a potty watch. They also have potty training toilets that look just like the real thing but its their size so when your ready to get rid of the potty seat he wont be scared of the big potty. My mom lived in the country n would let my oldest pee on a tree and my other 2 boys just wanted to be big boys like their brother so potty training for me was really pretty easy i guess
We have all been their seriously don’t feel defeated first off seriously all three of my kids refused but required immediately changes it was stressful the third child learned out side in summer we live in wood so he was able to pee off the porch and thought that was the coolest thing ever and figured it out quick once we learned he liked it vs the diapers the first was hard because I was going threw a divorce and that out a lot of stress on her I let her go longer my second woke up one day I think he was about the same age and I was just burnt didn’t know what to do anymore I had tried everything and bam 
woke up and he was potty trained lol they really have to want it
My nephew was obsessed with Easter eggs filled with little toys….we made 2 potty baskets. The small eggs were rewards for #1 and he got the larger eggs for #2. Regular treats didn’t work, but the special potty eggs did.
The book oh crap potty training
Have him go on a tree
Put Cheerios or fruit loops in potty chair have him aim at them if he gets them give him a prize
This is what I used with my son about 9 years ago, he loves the music that would play when he went pee or poo. I would just let him chill on it while he watched his favorite shows, then I would know and he would know when he went. It made his day knowing he was being a big boy.
Do not put things like cheerios in the toilet. This teaches them to put things that do not belong in the toilet.
Yes i need to know bc my almost four year old is like this
Dad is the best trainer. Start even younger. A four year old should be potty trained.
Is he on the big toilet? Never flush toilet with him near it. Or on it. It terrifies many kids. But yes I always was blessed to have a privacy fence and potty trained outside in the summer. Lol
My son came home from his dad’s one weekend and was potty trained… I didn’t ask no questions… But my guess is that he let him go outside… My son would walk right past the bathroom and go outside to pee lol
At 4 you may be able to teach him to shoot Cheerios and stand up.
Don’t push it my 3rd son was so hard to potty train until he learned to go outside and pee on a tree 
it’s not ideal but it did make it easier and he wasn’t afraid of the potty anymore
Boys are harder to potty train then girls my 4 year son is 4 if he wears underware he pee in the potty if u put on a pull up he just pee in the pull up now the poop he won’t go at all but when he poops I make him throw his diaper in the garbage and he get him to clean his own poop he like yuck you want to poop in your pants then u clean up your own poop boy he hates that
My neighbor in the country let his son potty train #1 outside at their barn. After that he wanted to pee on the fence post. 
My friend has like 5 boys. I don’t have any. But she told me. Let them run around Butt naked for a week. And it worked every time.
I only had daughters but I trained my oldest daughter by offering her a treat if she used the potty. She learned quickly that if she didn’t use the potty like a big girl she didn’t get a treat. Hey, don’t knock it…it works for dogs…why not kids.
My son turned 4 in December and it was a battle with him… all of a sudden the other day, it just clicked and now he’s doing it. We have to stay on top of him about going regularly or he’ll wet his pull up and he won’t poop in the potty yet, but it’s miles from where we were last month. Just keep being firm but gentle, and positive reinforcement is key. It’ll click with him when he’s ready. Some kids just take longer
As a grandma I potty trained my 3 year old grandson. One day I told him that I only had money for milk or diapers and he had to choose what he wanted. Well he chose milk and pretty much that is all it took. I let him make the decision.
My son didn’t want to use the potty either. I put Cheerios in the toilet and told him to aim and shoot. Now going number 2 took more time.
Get a mini potty. If they don’t like the seat on the big potty, adjust to them.
They make all sorts of little potties for kids now, a lot of them look like tiny little real human toilets.
Or, just let him pee outside which is more fun for boys, and he’ll figure the pooping out eventually.
Teach to sit and pee first. Get potty books.
I used a mini potty and did bare bottom for 3 days. Moved to some boxers in his favorite character and after a week he had that down. Month later he’s sitting on the big potty and starting to pee standing up
Are there any issues or problems going on in your household that is affecting a 4 year old not using the bathroom? When did you start trying to make the transition?? I feel like there is something going on since you said he gets hysterical. Call your child’s doctor to explain the situation and make an appointment to rule out any medical issues, then take the next step
Highly recommend the book Oh Crap Potty Training. I borrowed it digitally from our local library and it worked for my 2 sons. We also used a little potty chair while training and bought a special toilet seat with a little seat that comes down over the big seat after the training was done.
If you live in a rural area, take him outside and let him pee on a tree. It worked for our grandson.
My son hated the cloth diapers in the days prior to disposables. He couldn’t stand the feel of the wet one so we set a potty chair on the floor in the bathroom and he had watched how we used the toilet so he knew what to do in his personal chair. Eighteen months old and completely dry day and night. I had to buy the very smallest under shorts made! They were cute but I kind of missed folding the cloth ones; changing the fold from one growth phase to the next. I got my fill of that a couple of years later; my daughter was 2.5 years old when she “got the drift”. ;~) General consensus is that boys are harder to train. I choose to differ.
If he is afraid of the toilet try a potty chair that is separate from the big scary toilet. Im not sure what other advice to offer u concerning potty training for a 4 yr old both my son and daughter were potty trained by 2(my daughter) and 2 and a half yrs old for my son. we bought potty chairs when they started crawling and put them in the bathroom everytime 1 of us(mom or dad) went potty we would take our son/daughter with us and set them on their potty chair started out just sitting them on it then we sat on the big toilet when he or I went. My kids followed me everywhere so the minute they started crawling they were always on our heels wherever we went in the house lol so I took advantage of it and It worked for us my kids are 7yrs apart so it wasn’t at the same time just to clarify lol.
Ashley Feltner Waters
Put a bullseye sticker or Cheerios in the toilet. I rewarded with a dum dum sucker and he was potty trained in a weekend
My son took forever to potty train. Then my dad started taking him outside and letting him pee on a tree. He was instantly potty trained. IDK
My six year old did that at your kids age we disciplined him when he would potty in his bottoms and my now four year old she’s pretty much fully potty trained now she’s doing very well with using the potty on the potty when she needs to go we’re so proud of her
Squirt dish liquid in toilet and tell him "let’s go make bubbles "
I taught my kids to sit on the potty-chair at 8 months. They are potty trained by 11 months. They only wear pull ups when taking a nap and at night until they are 3 years old. Then I have my Home Daycare after my kids, for 26 years. I start potty training the kids at 1 year old. Well potty trained before they turn 2. Its a lot easier to potty train children when they are that young.
Y’all ladies are awesome! Tryna potty train my lil skunk boy! Seems like i came to the right place for help haha ima check out the frog cuz im addicted to amazon
It doesn’t sound like he’s ready yet. Keep encouraging him. But don’t push. Let him do it. And celebrate when he does it. Every child is different and learns differently. Enjoy him and his milestones. He’ll get there on his time.
I wouldn’t know because my children where fully potty trained at 3@ a half and four