potty training

My son turned 3 years old in April and does not show any interest in potty training. It's not that he doesn't know what to do (he does). I couldn't tell you the number of stickers he has peed for. The problem is that I have a hard time getting him in the bathroom. Once he's in there, then he goes. I have tried everything from doing nothing to getting mad at him and nothing seems to work. Any suggestions? He is signed up for preschool in August and cannot go if this is not done!

im not a mommy yet, few years maybe; but my hubbies son learned by the time he was alllllllmost 4.

I have six children and a great believer is letting them know how it works and being consistant in that however, leaving it to them not to push too hard at it, as it can cause distress.

I believe that they will get there when they are ready for it ...

Is it one particular bathroom that is the issue or is it that he does not wish to enter ANY bathroom? If you only have the one bathroom then this is a mute point.

My youngest son potty trained early - a little over 2 years old. We were so thrilled. And then, for no known reason, he refused to use the toliet and we were back to diapers. He eventually potty trained by about 3 years old. I still do not know what in the world caused him to regress.

My oldest son did not potty train until he was almost 3 1/2 years old - and then one day he just announced that he was wearing big boy underwear to daycare and that was that. I have no idea what caused him to decide.

So I would have to agree with what others have stated that the best approach is to be supportive and provide the facilities - making sure there is either a potty chair or an insert so they don't fear falling in, a step stool for putting their feet on once they are on the adult toliet, easy reach for toliet paper, etc. The rest is really up to the child. If you push it - it is likely to turn into a power struggle.

Perhaps you can arrange a play date with another child who is already potty trained. Perhaps some peer interaction will help. ?? It really is up to the child.

Hang in there.

Kids decide when they're ready. You can only encourage and offer the opportunity. I thought my boys would be in college before they got out of diapers. If he wakes up dry, bring him to the potty. But they decide that they're ready and off they go. Praise praise praise. My oldest boy also went through a stage where he was too busy to potty regressed.

What worked for my daughter (who in all honesty trained herself before she was a year old) was buying special panties. She did not want to pee in Minnie mouse so she'd tell me during the day. Nap time and at night she still needed a diaper until she was almost 2. I tried Power Ranger undies for the boys they just didn't care, didn't seem to have the ability to know when it was coming until they were older.

first off if you are using pullups take them off him and get rid of them. they are too much like diapers and they don't know the difference. secondly take him like every half hour. if he goes then wait another hour. make sure you keep doing this til he actually goes. when he does clap and yell good boy!!!!! praise him! let him know what he did was right! I just trained a set of twins last summer. it only took about a week once I got them out of pullups. get him bigboy underwear today.

My son was a stinker to potty train, my daughter was done by 2 years old. Nothing to recommend except the cheerios in the toilet, and the reading books in the bathroom.

Take care,

Dee

I agree - get rid of the pull-ups. They are glorified diapers that present as if they are underwear. Use cloth underwear. Carry extra changes of cloths with you and always take trips to the restroom.

Good luck

Hi Brian,

Don't worry about the toilet training. One of my sons took that long too but he came along fine.

I taught preschool for 9.5 yrs and believe me, we had accidents almost every day. IMO children also learn by observing peers go through the motions and that seems to tell them that that's the way things go.

You don't have to tell the preschool that he's not toilet trained. Just tell them that he has mistakes sometimes. Like I said, when I was teaching, there were parents saying their kids were trained but in school, they would have accidents every day. If I had an assistant teacher, that was no problem for me because I had someone helping out. I did however feel badly for the parents who had to wash out those clothes after they'd be sitting in plastic bags for awhile.

For our last child, we had to practically turn our 1/2 bath into HIS toileting room. I had alphabet charts on the wall, books in a caddy and even some toys for when he would sit. I figured I'd make his toileting time a "learning" experience! lol Well it worked for him.

Don't give up....some kids just take longer than others and he'll learn in Preschool along with the other things he'll learn there

Both my boys were fully trained by 3 1/2. I tried earlier but didn't take until 3 1/2 (when they were ready). While I was training my youngest son his pediatrician recommended (last summer) to let him run around outside with no pants, diaper or underwear on. Put him in a long t-shirt and also put a potty outside. I never did this, but thought I'd share with you what his doctor recommended.

And yes I agree you've got to get ride of the pull ups my son did not like wetting his paints (it took a few accidents in his underwear for him to get it).

Good luck!