2 And 1/2 Year Old Boy Afraid to Sit on the Potty

My sister had 4 kids, the first one she pushed into potty training and it was a nightmare for almost a year. Fights, screaming, accidents, you name it. After that she decided to let her other 3 kids decide on their own when they are ready. All of her kids were potty trained by 3 and the last 3 kids did it in a matter of a couple of days, with occasional accidents. I'm having the same problem with my daughter. She is 2 and talks about the potty, asks about the potty, tells me when she is going potty, wants me to change her immediately when she goes potty, but is afraid of the toilet. It's hard, I want nothing more than for her to just go on the potty already, but she won't and I won't fight it. I still ask her every time I change her, before bed and bath, and a couple of times during the day if she wants to sit on the potty. She always tells me no, and I say okay maybe next time. She will now get close to the potty and if we put the dora potty seat on the floor and not on the toilet she will sit on it. She's warming up to the idea, so we are taking small steps.

My son did this - we gave him more time. Don't push as it will make it worse, just reward when he does. My son was 3 years and 1 week when he told me he was ready for big boy undies. Trained himself in a weekend.... each kid is different, you can't push them, just gently encourage and be patient : )

My son did this about a month into potty training. So I ignored the potty, to the point when he told me he had to go I would say no, it's for big boys sorry. Then about 2 months later I picked up with the potty training again and he was eager to use it.
I'm not sure why he got freaked out but the break did him well...maybe your son is just getting stressed over it or something.

Does he really need to sit on the potty or be potty training right now? Is he showing any signs of being ready, like staying dry for 2 to 3 hours or asking to have his wet diaper taken off? Because if the answer is no, I would just hold off for now. If you give it a few more months and if he is showing more signs of being ready, then maybe you can try again. My daughter was the same way and eventually she got over it, but we waited until she was more ready - and this was 2 months ago, and she will be 4 in August. Not every kid is ready or able to be trained at this age (2, 2.5).

Talk to him and ask him why he is afraid to sit on the potty. Maybe it hurts when he goes potty.

Talk to your Dr. about this.

This shall pass.

Take care and good luck.

Readiness happens on several levels before a child can succeed with potty training. Your little guy may not be ready emotionally (not unusual at 2.5, especially in boys.)

Here's a wonderful, informative website you might find helpful. It gives a few variations on"readiness" checklists, plus tips on various training strategies, the best ages to start them, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach: http://www.parentingscience.com/toilet-training-readiness...

They say boys aren't ready until close to three years old. We waited and were successfully pottty trained within a few days. We had them weear pullups only at night until dry. The thing that really helped them to go on the potty was that we bought a potty seat from one step ahead . It is an actual toilet seat with two different sized seats. One for the little ones that is attached. You remove your old toilet seat.It was expensive but worth it. I guess they sell some at Menard's now that are less.When my son put one of those stupid potty rings on his head I was done and tossed it and bought the real one. They can get comfortable on it and it really helps. Good luck to you !