Poop: My daughter's newest delaying tactic

My son doesn't use it for bedtime, but for just about any other time - like before we're leaving the house, or cleaning up toys. He'll use the potty, then insist that he has to go poo-poo too, and refuses to get up until he either has gone, or a substantial amount of time goes by.

I've generally waited it out a minute or two, then held up ten fingers for him to see - I slowly put one finger down at a time and when all the fingers are down, it's time to get off the potty, because "the poo-poo just isn't ready right now."

So far, he's done ok with this scheme - he knows I'm giving him benefit of the doubt, but that there are times we must move on with our lives.

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We tell our toddler that we won't accompany him to the potty after we put him to bed. Ever night, without fail, he tell us he has to go pee pee or poo poo within five minutes of us tucking him in for the night. We just tell him to go right ahead. He whines and complains for company but we tell him he is on his own, so he learns that this will not buy extra mommy or daddy time (until we hear the flush and then help him wipe and ensure the pull up is on properly.)

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[laughing so hard at the Poop Picasso idea! ugh, been there]

Baby A did this a lot for about three weeks while she was in the intense almost-there potty training stages. It was awful! You don't want to refuse them, but it's clear they're using it to get out of bed. (Like your daughter, A. has always had trouble settling down to sleep, naps and nighttimes.)

This coincided with lots of stripping naked at bedtimes, throwing her clothes and her loveys behind the bed, threatening to mess her bed, etc. Is you daughter doing that? I think it was one of those toddler power-plays...I am toddler, hear me roar! I can pi$$ you off!

She tried it with pee, too, and even did wet the bed a few times just to show me. There were times I said, "Well, it sure does feel yucky to sleep in a wet/poopy bed. I'll feel bad if that happens to you. But you've already sat on the potty and you didn't need to go." That might sound mean, but she was playing me hard, and I had to calmly call her bluff.

Just when I was despairing, she gave it up. Or forgot about it. Not sure. But the tactic went away on its own. I hope the same happens for you. That was about three months ago, and she does still get up and say she needs to go--but now it's generally the truth.

Good luck!

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Our daughter is pretty close to being potty trained, out of diapers during the day, etc. But, she has used the "poo poo on the potty" delay tactic for a long time, unfortunately. Sometimes she goes, sometimes she doesn't. Since she generally has a tough time going #2, we wait. And wait. And wait some more. And a few times we put her in bed and she poops in her diaper and then does the unthinkable (love the picasso comment, too). No matter how much we tell her it is yucky, stinky, and dirty, she just can't seem to help herself. But more recently, she has stopped touching it and just takes off her diaper and holds it out and calls to us. I guess the good thing about her having a tough time with her poop is that they are relatively compact and dry, because there ends up being a bunch of roly-polys in her bed. *sigh* And now it's taking off the diaper any old time after bedtime or when she wakes up, then peeing in the bed. But now I am drifting off your topic of delaying bedtimes and lamenting about our own diaper/bedtime dramas... best of luck! Our poo-poo procrastinator has been pulling this stunt for about six months, off and on.

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Poop Picasso! LOL! Yep, been there. Not very fun. My son is three and he was peeing regularly in the potty but has now reverted to going in his pullups. We have yet to get him to go poopoo in the potty. He screams if you try to set him on the pot. We've tried the reward system without much luck. I'd be very intererestd to know how we can get him past the fear of sitting on he potty. In less than a year, he will be old enough for pre-k but will be unable to go if he isn't fully potty trained.

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I am experiencing this delaying tactic with my daughter as well. We have just begun potty training with my daughter(for the 4th time!) ---the 1st four times were not successful. She seems to be getting it now, although is using the potty for delaying at bedtime at night time and for naps as well. She'll do either poo or pee before either of these times, and then says she has to do more. So, I try putting her on again and then she gets upset if she doesn't go. I really don't want to make it a battle because she is doing so well. Any suggestions?????

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