Next Step?

Honestly, you're doing it the hard way. Child led use of the potty is the most effective and doesn't require much effort at all on your part AND you will likely have far more problems with the BMs if you're trying to control the situation. Here's a good FAQ on the whole topic:http://www.parentdish.com/2005/01/28/potty-training-faq-a...

And, I learned this the hard way. My oldest was potty trained (self directed primarily) by the time he was two. So, I figured my younger son would be ready at two. But, honestly, I drove myself crazy taking him to the potty on a schedule and he is the sort of child that knows his own mind and he really rebelled against the control issue. You don't have this problem it seems, but when my son was ready, it took less than two weeks - for everything, including nighttime with no accidents at all. This approach also encourages a child to be self aware of their body and re-enforces that they have ultimate control over their body - a good thing to learn for the teenage years and since I now have teenagers I can tell you that this sure did seem to help.

I completely agree with Mary.

I agree with Mary, too. Let your child take the lead. It is his body. I think it is difficult because of the way he has been trained. I wouldn't even call it training because training means your child recognizes the need to go to the bathroom. Any child or baby will go if you hold them over the potty every 2 hours. I would make sure he is willing to participate in training and then put him in underware and remind, but don't force him to sit on the potty every few hours. Reward him for telling you he needs to go and for going on the potty. Expect accidents and don't show frustration. Just have him help clean up the mess. Don't even think about anything other than a diaper at naps or nighttime until much later, like 4. Some of my friends spend months and months working on potty training, but if you just wait until they are ready, it will be easier for everyone. My oldest wasn't interested at all in potty training until he turned 4 and then he was trained in less than a week with 3 accidents. He was night trained within a month. Good luck!

I would ask your pediatrician on this one b/c of the BM. However, I can tell you that my daughter who is also 2.5 only will ask to go potty occassionally. I would say the majority of the time I remind her. We started doing a sticker chart again and giving her a sticker only when she initiates going potty. I don't give her a choice - she throws a fit; however, I just ask her "big potty or little potty?" We have a toddler potty and the adult potty. I let her make a choice as to which one she would like to use; however, there is not a choice in "not going". Usually, after offering the two choices she slowly makes a choice. And all is fine. After she goes, we blow it out with the congrats. She only has maybe one accident a month and that is improving as she gets older. She is even starting to learn to "hold it" if we are in the car. Anyway, every child is truly different and this may not work for you. However, thought that I would share. Good luck!