3 1/2 yr old boy uses toilet when naked but poops in underwear when wearing them?

Question

How do we get him to be more aware of when to go when he has underwear on? He seems to forget to go when he is active and does not want to interupt his play when he has on underwear. When he is in clothes we ask him every 30-45 min. to use the potty but he gets annoyed.

Answer 1

That's a hard one!.. keep him naked and in the house as much as you can, when he does go on the toilet reward him! make a huge deal of it.. go bring him to a toy store.. once he sees all the positive attention he may want to use the potty all the time.. Good Luck.

Answer 2

Dont ask him if he needs to go; kids don't automatically tell you when they need to go when their potty training. You tell him it's time to sit on the potty. Of course he won't want to stop playing, but you are in charge. I always use "First potty, then you can play, watch tv, whatever". Take him to the bathroom and let him sit a few minutes. You may also notice that he goes at a certain time of day, so in that case you would take him to the bathroom at that time and give him a few minutes to go. He'll probably resist, but be consistent and be in charge. He'll catch on and learn it's quicker to go then he can go play. If a 3 year old gets annoyed, oh well, he'll adjust. Just think how annoyed and embarrassed he'll be when his peers taunt him for his accidents. Don't be afraid to be the parent. I am a pre k teacher and typically potty train about 10 kids each school year. Also, control of BM's' comes later, after they learn bladder control.

Answer 3

I agree with masmalan2004 (?). My son behaved the same way, except that he didn't get to run around naked. His potty training was going very well when it came to "#1" and actually thought himself to be pretty cool but when it came to "#2", he wouldn't "make the deposit" in the potty. As much as his father and my mother-in-law thought I should push him, I took the add vice from my 2 sisters-in-law, who had 4 boys between the both of them, and just maintained the vigilance. We also added "fancy" underwear with his favorite cartoon characters as a reward, with a little but not much success. Then came May and he was going to be tested to see if he was ready for Kindergarten. That was when he got the message.

We'd been telling him that he had to be going to the potty all day, everyday but it didn't seem to matter. When the lady who was testing him asked him if he was potty-trained, he was very honest (as only a 4 yr old can be) and said "I p** but I don't p**p. I p**p in my pull-up." She then informed him that if he wasn't out of the pull-ups by the time he was 5, he couldn't go to school. That lit the fire and he was done with the pull-ups by the end of July and getting to wear his Sponge-Bob or Spiderman underwear too.

There will be times when you're talking with other parents and they'll brag that their kid was 100% trained by 2. Don't let it get to you or make you think that there is something "wrong" with your son. This is one area of his developement that you can not force to fit into your time-frame. Patience and perserverance are your friends.

Answer 4

He is just forgetting, he gets so involved in his playing that he forgets. I don't think there is much that you can do, maybe just cut the asking time down to once an hour.

Or try the reward system. When he poops in the toilet, reward him with something that he would not normally get....stickers or candy or something, then make a slightly bigger reward for a week.

I really can't think of anything else. My son was 3 in Feb, and I remember that 1st summer, when he would come in feeling bad cause he had an accident. He just lost track.

Good luck

Answer 5

It is very common for boys to respond like that during potty training and beyond. I had the same problem with my son when I potty trained him. All I can suggest is to be patient with your son and keep working with and talking to him. He will get the hang of it soon enough. Keep doing what you are doing, maybe pick him up from his play activities every hour and put him in the bathroom for five minutes or so, and that will help him get the hang of getting up from playing and to go to the bathroom. It will be difficult at first, but before you know it, he will be doing it on his own. I was told by doctors and relatives and friends, etc., that each child does things on their own time and in their own way, all we can do is encourage and coach. I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 6

i have 3 boys 7,4,14mnths, and my first one was absolutely horrible! we potty trained him during the summer, we tried the reward systems and everything else you could possibly imagine. i know how cruel this is going to sound but i took him outside to the waterhose a couple of times and it finally broke him. however i strongly advise you to NOT let him run around naked or he will imbarrass you! he'll think he can so it all the time! keep trying but be consistant in what you do. find one thing and stick to it because every time you change things it sets him back that much more!

Answer 7

my two year old does that too. I found that putting a loose pair of shorts on him without underware works real good. I think that knowing he has clothes on but no diaper helps him out when he has to go poop. Also when he goes whether it's #1 or #2 we always make a hugh deal about it that keeps him confident that he's doing something right.