He knows he pooped, now what?

Question

My 3 year old son will tell me when he's gone pee or poop, but only after he's done. He knows the words and he knows when he's doing it, so how do I get him to tell me before he goes so that I can take him to the potty?

Answer 1

We did 2 things:
1. We bought a clear makeup case (caboodles makes them they have em at walmart) that locks and filled it with little bouncy balls and goodies. Every time he peed he got 1 and poo got 2 toys. We made a really big deal about unlocking it and letting him pick something out and locking it back up.

2. When he pooped in his diaper, I made him carefully carry it into the bathroom and dump the poops in the toilet and flush it.


The combo of the two worked in about 2 weeks!

Answer 2

I have heard and in my experience boys are harder to potty train than girls. My son turned 3 this past May and has been potty trained since last Christmas. I thought he would never get potty trained. He did the same things your son is doing. So about 30 minutes after each meal we would sit him on his potty for roughly 5 minutes and not allow him to get up. And after drinking he would have to sit on his potty for about 5 or so minutes. Also I would have him wear underwear around the house. Only pull-ups when we left the house or for bed. If he pottied on himself he would get a slap on his bottom and I would show him the potty and tell him that that is where you put your pee pee and poo poos. Friends of mine let their children walk around the house with nothing on the bottom and say that works. I just want something on the bottom so that EVERYTHING doesn't get on my carpet :) Good Luck!

Answer 3

Try letting him go without a diaper so that he sees when he's doing it. He may not realize he's doing it until after he starts. After a day or so of actually seeing it happen, he'll start to realize what the feeling is BEFORE he does it. Also, if you see him get "that look" on his face, rush him to the potty, whether he's finished or not. Tell him we pee and poop in the potty, and he'll eventually put it all together. It just takes time. Good luck!

Answer 4

My 2 year old daughter is doing the same thing, but not every time. I am planning on putting her in big girl panties next spring. I have heard that when they have an accident in underwear it feels different than in a pull-up or diaper. I don't plan on going back and forth between pull-ups and panties. I want her to learn to feel when she has to go and when she has had an accident.

Have you tried rewarding him if he tells you before he has an accident? Sticker charts seemed silly to me until I tried it, and now my daughter does a lot of things without being asked, just so she can have a little sticker. It's inexpensive, unlike buying him a toy every time he uses the potty successfully.

Answer 5

Reward everyone else for going to the potty (dad, siblings) and make a big deal out of it. He will go in there and try to produce something just to get a treat like everyone else. My friends who are sisters each did this with their boys. Two week training for each kid.

Answer 6

My parents used to give my brother popcicles on the potty when he went. (I remember a picture from his early years on the potty with a cherry popcicle). They said it worked like a charm. The idea of potty every hour sounds great too, reinforce with a treat.

Answer 7

You need to get him on a potty schedule. Every hour...tell him its time to go potty. Don't ask him (first mistake I made) but tell him that its time to go. Work on that first...tehn they will start holding it till you tell him its time to go. offer a reward if he poops in the potty.

Answer 8

I figured out that it was much easier to just go ahead and put my child in regular underwear. so when she wet or pooped herself she didn't like the feeling and learned to go on her own to the potty.