Need Help Getting near 4 Yr Old to Poop on the Potty

My son has the same issue. He was potty trained right after he turned 3. His preschool teacher told me that he poops on the potty at school. However, he would only poop in diaper while at home. We tried everything and nothing worked. It has been this way for about nine months. Finally, we followed his teacher advice to buy him a toy that he likes (a lot) and make him earned it for pooping on the potty for a number of times (we did 10) and it worked. Once we established the number of times he had to poop on the potty, my husband was firmed about sticking to it. Also, your son might be more incline to do it once he sees other kids do it at school. The peer pressure works magic.

Good luck!
C.

He will go when he's ready. He's just not ready yet. Maybe he feels like he's losing a part of himself and he's not ready to go yet. My son was hard as well. He use to go in his underpants and then take them off and throw them i the dirty clothes and out on a clean pair of underwear without wiping himself.

My friends daughter did the same exact thing. She was completely self-sufficient, would go get the pull up herself, put it on, go, then even take it off and clean herself up. They started her with baby steps, she could get the pull up, but then had to go in the bathroom to poop. Then she could get in the pull up, but then had to sit on the potty with it on while she pooped. She went to preschool wearing underwear, but usually held it through school. So she started giving her prune juice in the morning to make it softer and harder to hold. One day, she couldn't hold it through school, and had no choice but to poop on the potty. That was all it took for her was having one success, and she has been using the potty ever since. I have also heard that some kids don't like to poop on the potty because their feet don't touch the floor, so it is harder to go, so you may want to try putting a stool so he has something to push against while he goes. Or you could be really brave and try to be out in public with no pull ups in the morning when he normally has to go so that he has to use a public bathroom. Not the best place to go, but my kids are fascinated by public bathrooms and enjoy using them more than going at home.

Hi J.,
While we have never had this problem with our daughter, who just turned 3, we did have problems getting her to pee on the potty regularly until about a month age. I was given some great advice though. When you run out of pull ups, don't buy anymore. Let your son know that when the pull ups are gone he will need to start pooping in the toilet. If he poops in his underwear, make him clean himself up and put on clean underwear and pants. I was told that as long as there are pull ups or diapers in the house they won't feel the need to go in the potty. Make sure he is eating lots of fresh fruits and fiber and drinking lots of water.
Good luck,
L.