Potting Training Almost 3-Year-Old Son

He doesn't seem quite ready yet. Have you tried the "bare bottom" approach? Both of my my boys seemed to catch on very quickly when allowed to go bottomless for a day. But, it won't work if he is just not ready yet.

If I were you, I would take a Saturday and spend the entire day tending to potty-training with your son. Let him go bottom-less for the entire day. Sounds crazy, but something about not having shorts or pants on made both of my boys go potty in the toilet at 34 months old. It only took a day and they wanted to wear underwear. Don't schedule any plans that day and make sure your hubby is on board.

Good luck! I know it is difficult! Oh, and I also bring one of those little potties with us and keep it in the car for those emergencies.......it helps.

I just answered another question about potty training and said this...try letting him go outside! It is less messy and more fun for them.

I was having the same issues with my son. He was about 3 1/2. So what I did was; one weekend I let him run around all day in his birthday suite. I asked him every half an hour if he had to go potty.... also monitored what he drank. He didn't have a pullup or clothes on so he had to run to the bathroom. Put him in there even if he says he dosen't have to go just in case. Most likley if he drank something... he might pee just a little bit. But he will get get the hang of what he supose to do. You have to work just as hard as he does. Well it worked for me. Yeeeaaaa! Well he is 5 now and a pro. haha. Good Luck.

L. : P

First, I want to let you know that the average age that boys day train is 38 months. Average night training age is over 4, closer to 5. Having that in mind, I tried training with my son when he was about 2 months shy of 3, but it was quickly apparent to me that not only was he not ready, but I was 7 months pregnant and didn't want to force potty training when so many changes were coming. I also didn't want to take the chance that he would regress once his sister was born.

He knew how to use the potty; would even occasionally tell me he had to go, but it was usually me or his dad who initiated. He absolutely REFUSED to poop on the potty, and it frustrated me to no end! He would go behind his train table, squat down, and poop in his diaper. He would then tell me in perfectly understandable English, "Mommy, I pooped. I need a new butt." I was just done!

So, at Christmas (his sister was 6wks old), I told him that when this box of diapers ran out, I wasn't buying any more. Every day, I prepared him by telling him he only had xx amount of diapers left.

The day of truth came on President's Day (5.5 wks after I first told him; yes, I know I had WAY too many diapers, but buying in bulk was best for our pocketbook!!). He woke up that morning, and I pulled out the last diaper. I told him: "Look! Last diaper!" He acknowledged by telling me that he had to use the potty now.

Later that morning, he started to go behind his train table to poop (even though he had already peed on the potty twice), and we caught him. Immediately, we picked him up and put him on the potty. He refused, crying and carrying on, and I felt like such a bad mom. But I knew that I had to stick to my decision, and we made him sit on the potty until he couldn't hold it any longer (about 30 minutes). He pooped, it splashed him on his butt, and he thought it was HILARIOUS! "Mommy, it splashed me!!!" And that was the end of it.

We've had a couple accidents in the last 14 months, but accidents is exactly what they've been. Part of me wishes I would've run out of diapers a couple months earlier or maybe even before his sister was born, but I accepted that he probably wasn't ready before then. I'm glad I went the route I did, though, and I honestly don't know what I would've done had it not worked!

It sounds like he's not quite ready yet. Here's some good information
http://betterkidcare.psu.edu/AngelUnits/OneHour/ToiletLea...
Hang in there! :)

Is it a regular toilet he is refusing to use? If so, have you tried a potty chair or one of those little toilet insert seats to see if he'd accept that? I had a potty chair, and one of the inserts when we were recently training two daycare boys. I let the boys choose what they wanted to use each time. Sometimes they preferred the chair, sometimes the insert, sometimes sitting on the regular toilet seat and (more often) standing in front of the toilet (and we tried to be sure the seat was up!) like the big men do.
For our two, a chart seemed to help. I made a chart up on the computer, and titled it _________'s I Rememberd Chart. I put about 8 steps of going potty on the chart and added little icons by each one to illustrate the step. I laminated the charts and hung them on the linen closet door across the hall from the bathroom. When each boy went to the bathroom, I kept an eye on him to be sure he remembered to flush and get his hands washed. Then I handed the boy a dry erase marker and let him make a mark beside each item he had done.
You also need to remember that, especially for boys, three years old is not all that late getting trained. I understand that it costs more in childcare when they are in that two year old class and not potty trained. I've worked in centers that had that policy, and am not totally sure I agree with it. I don't have so much problem with the extra charge in the twos class, as most children are potty training during that year, and it does require extra hands to take care of that (though most centers don't really provide the extra hands in my experience!) What I really object to is that a center will not promote a three year old if he or she is not trained, because they are unwilling to provide any extra help for that child to finish their training in the older class. I've seen really difficult boys reach nearly five before they were trained and moved out of a two year old class. Most of those were intellectually ahead of their age so it seemed even more unfair to hold them back.
I'm telling you all of this so you can be more aware of what may be taking place in your son's childcare. If you see any evidence of things not being handled fairly (not just the financial angle, but more importantly, your son's developmental angle) then you should speak up about their policies.