Potty help

[Michi5]

My son is 4 years old and I still have problems with potty time, there is no problem with number 1, but there is no way that he goes to potty for number 2, he stills asks for a diaper to do number 2 and he hides behind the bedroom curtain or wherever he can hide if he is not at home, I have talked to him telling that mom and dad goes to the potty for number 2 and he can do that too, and there is no way, for two times I told him that there is no diaper and that he has to use the potty, and I have not done that anymore because he holded it for almost the hole day and that is not good either, he starts school in a few months and I can't get him to use the potty for number 2, what can I do? Please help?

[need_answers_from_someone]

Take him to the preschool that he will be attending soon.  Let him play with some of the toys and see what the school has to offer.  Get him excited about the idea that he is a big boy and gets to go to school soon.  Then remind him that if he doesn't go poopy in the potty he cannot come because they only allow big boys that go to the potty.  My nieces are 4 and they work well when they are told they cannot do something.  They are always trying to prove us wrong when we say they are too young. A little reverse psychology is good sometimes.  Just a thought.

[mum2beagain]

How about a compromise. Agree he can wear the diaper but that he sits on the potty? If you can at least getting sitting in the right place for a start rather than hiding in a corner. Then after a couple of weeks suggest he tried without the diaper. He may also be frightened of the splash from the toilet, maybe a potty char would work or put some toilet paper over the water before he goes.
Also make sure he has a foot stool to have his feet on if he is using the big toilet. Some kids physically need to have their feet on the ground (my OT told me this) and maybe this is why he likes to stand and poo in the diaper.

[AnnieBrooke]

I read your question to my son (also age 4), wondering what he would say.  He suggested "putting a machine in the house that will catch the smell and then you can know when he is doing it and put him on the toilet."  :)  Except for the machine part, constant vigilance for an entire day or weekend and putting him onto the toilet at the moment he is on the verge of using the diaper (so he pretty much has to poop it out no matter where he is sitting) might get him past the mental block of worrying about the toilet.

[AnnieBrooke]

I'd suggest starting with a potty chair, not a big, scary toilet, and a whole lot of bribes.