How can I stop my 3 year old son from doing poos in his undies?!!?

Question

He's only just turned 3 and will do his wees in the toilet all the time, and he doesn't even wear a nappy to bed, but he keeps pooing in his underwear...

Answer 1

Your little boy is acting quite normally for his age. Some children have a fear of going to the toilet to do a poo as they think it is a part of them going down the toilet when it is flushed so just try the pottie and praise him if and when he does go and bribe him with a little treat if necessary. My nephew was the same as your little fellow where he would quite happily do a wee on the pottie or toilet but if he wanted to do a poo he would go hide in a corner and do it in his undies. This problem will eventually resolve itself within time so long as you don't make too much fuss about when he poos his undies but tell him he is a big boy now and if he goes at approximately the same time each day pop him on the toilet or pottie and sit with him and encourage him and tell him how proud you are of him if he does manage to do even a little bit. Just keep at it and when he is ready you will wonder what all the fuss was about. Good luck with your problem but just be a patient parent and remember to give lots of praise.

Answer 2

Don't fret.... I have 2 boys. The oldest stopped doing that right before he turned 4. The younger one is almost five, he still has accidents though. My suggestion is be persistent, ask him if he needs to go and put him on the potty every chance you get. A little reward goes a long way too. When my younger son started pooing in the potty, we rewarded him the first few times. Occasionally he has an accident but just be patient , and remember positive reinforcement goes a long way. Good luck!!

Answer 3

This is very normal behaviour for a boy. Probably nothing you can do & probably best to do nothing except calmly tell him each time that when he is big enough he can do pooh's in the toilet. He will get there eventually, usually by age 4. If you start exerting pressure or put stress on him he will hold onto the habbit even harder. Good luck.

Answer 4

Food rewards.

I never wanted to this with my kids, but unfortunately it was the only thing that worked.

My son would get a “Turtle” for a BM on the potty.

I keep some books next to the toilet for him to read. Sit with him and read him a story, make it fun for him to sit on the pot.

This may be disturbing to those without children, but I’ll sit with my son on the pot and he’ll have his animal book and I’ll sing Old McDonald had a farm and let him pick the animals as we go through the song.

Just try to get him to sit long enough for something to come out.

Answer 5

go the BIG BOY path ..

tell him what a BIG BOY he is when he does a poo in the potty or the toilet ...


it's worth a go