Potty Training Help

My DD recently turned 4 and she is mostly pee trained but refuses to do a #2 in the potty.
In fact, she holds it all day and does it when she's going to sleep after we put her to bed. This has made it really hard to fully potty train her...she won't ever tell us when poop is coming. We have had her sit and sit and sit on the potty, tried positive reinforcement, stickers, M&Ms, toys, nothing has worked.

She wears pull ups during the day. She will poop in underwear and it won't bother her. She is scared.

We have tried everything. Looking for professional help at this point.

Potty Training Help

Have you spoken with her doctor? She might have holding issues, where she holds out of fear until she can’t hold it any more.

Since she’s 4 I’m guessing she’s in pre-k? Does her teacher have any advice?

Re: Potty Training Help

Her teacher recommended a book called The Poop Puzzle - it helped.
We ended up trying the no pants method again and I think because she's a bit older it seemed to have worked this time (fingers crossed).

Re: Potty Training Help

My DD was exactly the same. It was maddening. You can search back on here for some of my posts from back then.

I feel like I was trying everything.
Reward charts, praise, no underwear, prizes, miralax, little potty, big potty, seat that goes on the toilet, you name it.

She was pee trained at a young age and never even had an accident at night. Not once ever.
But the poop. OMG. She would go stand in a corner of our living room and poop in her underwear and come out with a huge load in her pants crying- "pooooopieeeeee"
I still have PTSD from it to be honest.


Randomly she would poop on the potty, but it never lasted.

She was four years old and 1 month when one day she just pooped in the potty like it was nothing and then after that she never looked back.
I remember that day specifically, more than I remember the day she said her first word or took her first step. I swear to you, that's how significant that moment was!

There was nothing we did different or special. She just decided she was ready.
I know it's maddening but I always told myself she won't be going to High School shitting her pants.
She'll get it.
Sometimes they just need to do it at their own pace and when they are ready. Whatever was holding her back- fear, pain, etc- she was able to let go of at that point and then that was it.