useing the big toilet for a 2 hlf yr old boy.

my little boy starts nursery in august & he needs to be out nappies to be able to go, he is a little behind with his speach & language. he has regular appointments with his speach therapist so its vital that he get his placement in nursery as it will bring him on. im finding potty training really hard as at first he wouldnt sit near the potty so after putting him back on nappies thinking he wasnt ready & i dont want to push him. After 3 attempts at training him he just sat in the big toilet for 3 days & was even dry at nites. he has now went right back to the start & doing it every where & wiil not go back to toilet, he smears it every where from his baby brothers cot to stairs carpet & bed sheets. as you can emagine im really upset at the set back i dont know what causes him to smear it all over my house & hes so quick its the minute my backs turned please give me advise & help me understand a little as to why he does this. i come from a big family & no one has heard or their kids doing this - smearing poo every everywhere everyday for weeks after being told off thank you

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It is important to remember that development runs its course and it does not proceed on our schedules. So, while the nursery school issue is important from your perspective, it is meaningless from the point of view of how your son is proceeding in his development. My sense is that he is responding to the pressure you are bringing to bear. Try to maintain your equanimity and let him proceed at his own pace. In the big picture, whether he enters the pre-school sooner rather than later is not a major issue.