I guess I liked asking questions, so here’s another one for all the Mamas out there :)
Kelvin (3 ½) has been sleeping without diapers for a week now (no accidents so far – he just got up late one night when I was still at the computer and I took him to the bathroom), and he’s been peeing in the toilet (standing up) quite effectively since last April when we came back from Brazil. Sometimes I have to remind him to go, or just take him there so he won’t get his pants wet, but he’s been getting better and better about going on his own, etc.
There’s just one little problem. When he needs to poop, he asks for a diaper. No amount of coaxing or bribing (we’ve promised tons of presents if he does it in the potty/ toilet) will make him even try to go and sit. I think part of the problem is that he learned to pee standing up from the start, and he also poops standing up (always hidden in a corner or in the bathroom) as well (that’s another reason why I think it’s easier with girls, or so they say).
Any advice? I really don’t know what to do. I mean, I’m just tired of wasting perfectly good [disposable] diapers. When he still used them at night, we’d keep the lightly wet diapers and use them later, since he only had them on for a minute or so… but now, it’s just such a waste! I have no idea if he has any “retention issues” or anything – he’s never been constipated, and for over a year now he knows exactly when he needs to have a BM. I know I have to be patient, and wait, and eventually he’ll learn to do it, but I’m really tired of this whole situation, and even more tired of trying to reason with him (other than that he’s a pretty “reasonable” little boy :)
6 comments:
I guess he will just "get it" that he has to go on the potty one day. When are you planning on putting him in preschool/daycare? Maybe it will be easier then.
With Rosarinho, since she has to sit to pee anyway, she just poops at the same time, so I guess it is easier with girls.
Have you tried the book Once Upon a Potty Boy from Alona Frankl? This one worked miracles for us (we used the version for girls). Isabella loves the book and so we got her the video as well. The book/video is very graphic, they teach the kids the difference between pipi and poopoo and where it comes from (lol). I think it is really great but I have also read some disgusted reviews by more prudish parents, so not everyone likes the book.
Anyway, everytime Isabella 'reads' the book she gets her potty and tries to produce the same results. So during the day we hardly have any problems, only at night she still wears a diaper.
Pooping in a sitting position can be a hard thing for a child to learn. Humans are squatters by design, not sitters ;) I have a friend whose daughter asked for a diaper to poop in until she was 4.5 or so. And Naomi can't poop sitting down yet either.
Thanks for your support!
Yes, Ana, I agree that one day he'll figure it out. He's not going to preschool our daycare because I can't work yet, and won't be able to until I finish the dissertation.
Sophie, I have bought this book over a year ago, and he loves it, but it never helped, unfortunately. His favorite part is definitely the one in which the picture show where the poop comes from :)
Yes, Kateri, you pointed out a very important issue. He doesn't squat, though, he only leans against the wall, standing up.
Well... I think time will be the best remedy as for most childhood issues :)
I read a technique somewhere-- probably on an internet group. First you give him the diaper, but he has to use it in the bathroom. When finished, scrape the poop into the toilet and explain that the toilet is the place for poop. Once he gets that down, give him the diaper but he has to use it while sitting on the toilet. And the next step was something like asking him if he wants to try sitting on the toilet first, then you will give him the diaper if he still wants it. Or something like that. I've also heard that it's much easier to poop with your feet on the floor, and since kids' feet don't usually reach the ground while seated, it can help to put a stool there that they can rest their feet on while pooping.
I don't know if any of this helps, but I do know the problem is a common one, and as you say, time is probably the best remedy...
I truly enjoy your blog although my concerns as a mom are very different, my son is 17...(it doesn't get any better, just different) but your post reminded me of my son's best friend who at that ealy age just wouldn't go to the bathroom, he would get a diaper himself and go behind a door... his dad used to joke and say he would be doing this even after moving out. But it eventually went away! el tiempo lo cura todo..
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