17Month Old Thinks Its Funny to Poop in the bathtub!Yuk

If ya' can't beat 'em, join 'em. Maybe he won't poop before his bath, but have the potty seat on the toilet and ready to go. Just be aware of any cues that he's going to squeeze one out, and then pull him out of the bath and onto the potty. A couple of weeks ago my then 12 month old started making the face and the whine while in the tub, and I quickly found the potty seat under the sink and plopped him on the toilet. He did his business, though he wasn't horribly thrilled about getting out of the tub. At the very least, it will put the connection into your son's head about the feeling of having to poop and going on the potty. Good luck!

Almost all kids do this at this age. It is the warm water in the tub. It relaxes the muscles and since they can not control there bowel movements yet it just comes out. Kids laugh at all kinds of stuff that is new. It's all part of kids discovering there bodies. Just take him out as soon as it happens and clean it up. When they get older they start to be able to control it and then they stop doing this. Something else you can do is make the water a little cooler. Then it is not so relaxing and doesn’t happen as often. Good luck!

I think sitting on the potty before bathtime is a great idea. I don't know if it will keep your child from pooping in the bathtub but its a good idea anyway. I just started putting my son on the potty everytime I have his diaper off, so before and after bath time, when I change his diaper, etc. That way he can get comfortable with it before its really time to potty train. He's doing great with it (and is the most stubborn, strong-willed child ever, so its a bit of a shock to me! I just make it fun and read books, sing songs, etc.) My son will be 18 months in the next couple days.

Many babies do this when they are relaxed in the bathtub. If this is a new behavior, is he laughing when he does it?

I would do the best I could to not make a big deal about it, just pick him up and take him out of the tub, it is time to be done and clean it up without him seeing it and not letting him know it is a big deal. Try not to give him any reaction, positive or negative just a simple all done with bath time. Don't forget to reward him when there is no poop with lots of praise.

Doctors and books will actually tell you to put a baby/child into the bath to relieve constipation, as the warmth soothes and helps them poop more easily. So...it's a perfectly natural thing for him to be doing. Our first did this ALL THE TIME; our second has only done it a handful of times, and for some reason, he FREAKS out at having a poop in the tub with him, so he wants out immediately. With our first, though, we started saying, no poop in the tub! and scolding him. He was removed immediately from the tub, and then we washed him up to get "poop water" off him--but did not run another bath. We also started limiting the time in the tub when he started to do that--previously we'd been letting him enjoy his water time, but the poop kinda ended that. We also watched him closely for cues--both our boys, by that age, were pretty obvious in their poop habits; you could see the squint and the tense muscles, and whisk him out and onto the potty. You can certainly try him on the potty first, but if it's unfamiliar, I'd say it's an outside chance. Also, we knew generally when our kids pooped and whether they were "due" for one, and, if they were, tub time was VERY quick. I think those are the things that worked for us...good luck!