She Could Pee on the Potty Just Fine. But Poop? That Was a Different Story.
If your child has mastered pee but refuses to poop on the potty — this might be the most important thing you read this week.
My daughter turned 3 in January, and we'd been potty training for months.
Pee? Nailed it. She'd run to the potty, do her thing, flush, wash hands — the whole routine. We were so proud.
But poop was a completely different world.
She would hold it all day. Sometimes two days. Sometimes three. She'd cross her legs, clench up, and refuse to sit on the potty. If we tried to make her sit, she'd scream. If we left her alone, she'd eventually go in her pull-up — usually at bedtime, when she knew we'd put one on her.
It was like she was terrified of pooping on the potty. And I had no idea why.
So I did what every parent does. I tried everything.
- ⭐ Sticker charts and reward systems — worked for exactly two days
- ⏰ Scheduled potty sits after meals — she'd sit for 15 minutes and nothing would happen
- 📚 Books, videos, potty songs — she could recite them all but still wouldn't go
- 🍬 Bribery — chocolate, toys, screen time — she wanted the reward but physically couldn't make it happen
- 🥤 More fiber, more water, prune juice — nothing changed
I read every potty training blog. I posted in Facebook groups at midnight asking what I was doing wrong. Everyone said the same thing: "She'll do it when she's ready."
But something felt off. She wanted to poop on the potty. I could see it. She just... couldn't.
Then I had a conversation that changed everything.
At her 3-year check-up, I mentioned the poop issue to her pediatrician. I expected the usual "give it time" response. Instead, she asked me something I wasn't expecting:
"When she does poop — is it hard? Does she strain? Does she seem like she's in pain?"
Yes. Yes to all three.
She explained something that completely reframed how I understood the problem:
The moment it clicked
For a child to poop on the potty, their gut has to send a clear signal to the brain that says "it's time to go." When the gut doesn't have enough good bacteria, that signal is weak — and the child can't feel the urge clearly enough to act on it.
That's why she could pee but not poop. Peeing uses a simpler, more direct signal. Pooping requires the gut to coordinate a much more complex process — and when good bacteria levels are low, that coordination breaks down.
My daughter wasn't being stubborn. She wasn't "not ready." Her gut literally wasn't sending the right signals to her brain.
And on top of that, because her stools were hard and painful, she'd learned to hold it in — which made the stools even harder, which made the pain worse, which made her hold even more.
The solution wasn't more sticker charts. It wasn't waiting longer. It was fixing her gut so her body could do what it needed to do.
Her pediatrician suggested supporting her gut with a pre and probiotic designed for kids. I spent two weeks researching and found UpAiry Tummy Gummies.
What made them different was that they combine three things in one:
Kiwifruit powder that pulls moisture into the colon. This is what makes pooping stop hurting — which breaks the fear cycle.
Adds the good bacteria back into the gut so digestion works properly and stools form correctly.
This is the key one for potty training. It helps restore the connection between gut and brain — so your child can actually feel when it's time to go.
Here's What Happened With My Daughter
I didn't expect much. We'd tried so many things. But here's what actually happened:
The Poops Got Easier
Her stools softened noticeably. She stopped crying when she went. Still using her pull-up, but the fear was visibly decreasing because it didn't hurt anymore.
She Started Telling Us
The big shift. She started saying "I need to poop" — something she'd never done before. The signal was clearly getting stronger.
She Pooped on the Potty
I will never forget the look on her face. Pure pride. By week 8, it was just... normal. The pull-ups were gone. The battle was over.
I genuinely didn't believe it would be that straightforward. After months of failed potty training methods and tearful bathroom battles — a gummy was going to fix this?
But when I thought about it, it made sense. We weren't fixing a training problem. We were fixing the physical reason training wasn't working. Once her gut could send the right signals and pooping stopped hurting, the potty training we'd already done just... clicked.
One thing that mattered to me: this isn't a laxative.
I'd avoided laxatives because I didn't want her gut to become dependent on something artificial. Tummy Gummies restore the bacteria the gut needs to function on its own. Gut independence, not dependency.
I'm Not the Only One
"My son would withhold for days. We'd tried everything — prune juice, fiber gummies, even Miralax. These gummies have finally brought some consistency back to our routine. The difference has been night and day."
"Poop struggles have been a never-ending nightmare in our house for over a year. In just a few weeks, our daughter has made real progress and is now pooping much more frequently 💚"
"We tried everything before this, and nothing stuck. These delivered. Our daughter actually asks for them now — she calls them her 'tummy bears.'"
Backed by Published Research
*Based on published clinical studies of individual ingredients. Results may vary.
Questions I Had Too
The Potty Training Battle Doesn't Have to Last Forever.
You've done everything right. Now give your child's gut what it needs to catch up — and watch the training finally click.
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