I am SO SICK AND TIRED . . .

[Sha-nanagins]

. . .of my potty-trained 3 year old pooping in his pants EVERY SINGLE DAY because he just doesn't want to stop what he's doing and go sit on the potty until 2 minutes AFTER he just can't hold it anymore. If I catch him about to go, and get him to the potty, he holds it and goes in his pants later. If I catch him just starting to go and get him to the potty, he holds it, and "finishes" later. If he catches himself mid-poop and takes himself to the potty, same thing. He trained himself to poop in the potty long before he was ready to go pee there. He KNOWS when he needs to go. Now, all of a sudden, he just won't. If I ask him why, he will TELL me he didn't want to stop playing to go potty.

We've tried every motivator I can think of - pick out the favorite underwear, stickers, lollipops, playing "Angry Birds" on my phone - nothing works. Plus, his skin is so sensitive that when he poops in the pants, his bottom is sore for hours afterward. I don't know what else to do, but I'm just about ready to go bang my head against a brick wall somewhere.

[kushie tushie]

Thats very frustrating!
Have you tried making him clean up his mess? Then explain that he will be the one cleaning his pants until he starts using the potty again thus keeping him from his activity even long.
Good luck!

Amanda . Blaming my phone for typos and crap.

[Sha-nanagins]

Originally Posted by kushie tushie Thats very frustrating! Have you tried making him clean up his mess? Then explain that he will be the one cleaning his pants until he starts using the potty again thus keeping him from his activity even long. Good luck! Amanda . Blaming my phone for typos and crap.

Yep. Unfortunately, he made such a mess (I had to scrub and then disinfect the whole bathroom - floors, walls, outside of the tub, etc.) that I'll never do that again.
He understands about the whole "it's so much quicker". Even understands that, if he'll just use the potty he won't be crying for a couple of hours afterward that his bottom is hurting. Still not enough motivation.

[krispy79]

Is there a specific time frame or schedule he seems to go on (my ds will always go after or during a meal, dd will go after playing outside or running)? If so, or if there is a pattern how about taking things away for not going, instead of rewarding for going. Maybe he doesn't get to play until he goes, especially if you know there is a certain time of day he will go. Twice dd pooped while at the playground, the new rule in the house was that we didn't get to go to the playground until she pooped. Ds had accidents watching tv, so no tv unless he went potty first. And if he didn't go, he didn't watch tv.
If you see him getting ready to go in his pants, and once he gets to the potty doesn't have to go, don't let him play again until he does finally go on the potty. At 3 they can understand he doesn't get toys until he poops. "son i know you have to poop, we are not going back to toys or playing until you finish pooping." And a few tantrums because he doesn't get to go right back to play sure beats cleaning up poop umpteen times.

[Melinda29]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS.../chrisficti-20

Buy it today. Right now. I guarantee that if you follow the method, your son will be TOTALLY trained with NO assistance from you within one week of starting (one day is pushing it a bit, but my sister's son was trained in 4 hours and I swear they had tried EVERYTHING with that kid!). Seriously. If it does not work, you can send me the bill