Warning: Contains Graphic Content

Poop. There, I’ve said it. This column is about poop. It’s going to be graphic and explicit. I hope you can handle it.

We recently crossed a major hurdle in the potty-training saga of our 3-year-old son and that hurdle was poop. We’ve been working him out of diapers and into peeing on the potty for months and that first transition went rather smoothly. Few accidents. No problem peeing in public restrooms, at school, or others’ houses. Pooping, however, was another story. And the story was that he wouldn’t do it without a diaper.

Potty training started out fine. He was still in a diaper. He’d disappear for a while. We’d call into another room to ask him what he was doing. “I’m pooping,” came the reply. He’d finish. We’d change the diaper. Pretty standard.

Pretty soon, though, my wife decided that we needed to push forward and transition to the bathroom. So, if he said he had to poop, we’d have him go into the bathroom just to begin to replicate the real experience. He had to have reading material, natch; he’s a future man, after all. He’d finish; we’d change him. Again, pretty standard.

Finally, I think my wife had had enough and said it was time to move the pooping to the potty. “I'll do this. This is my project,” she said. “You can have it,” I said.

So, there it was. We’d cajole. We’d offer rewards. Nothing. He still insisted on the diaper. “I’ll poop on the potty tomorrow,” he’d say. Smart kid. Every day became tomorrow and still no luck.

Then, finally, one day, success. Something clicked and he just started doing it. Now, a couple months in, we’ll pick up our son at his school and, quite often the first thing out of his mouth is “Dad,” he’ll say with a sly little grin, “I pooped on the potty.”

Needless to say, we’re flush with success. And, I give all the credit to my wife for taking on the poop project.