Potty-training Advice

Hi K. - If he has no interest then drop it until he is really interested. When that happens it will go quickly and smoothly. When we push, our kids resist and we loose since we can not "control" the inside of their body. For us we skipped the little potty chair & stuck with the "big people" one. I liked it because there was less to cleanup but it also gave my boys when they were ready a feeling that they were more of a BIG kid. My oldest did not potty train until he was about 3 & 1/2 and my younger son was longer than that. It is ok, remember it is on their time not ours. If you take the stress you feel out then he will too and he might surprise you one day & just do it! God Bless

Hi K.,

At 2 1/2 he's still plenty young to be potty training. Boys tend to train a little later than girls, so there's really no need to worry until he's at least 3. Also, the more pressure you put on him, the less likely he is to want to go...it's a control thing, so take a deep breathe, step back and let him take the lead. He'll let you know when he's ready.

Good luck!

K. - I would stop asking him altogether. My boys (I have two) didn't potty train until about 3 years old. I truly believe that it was because I didn't pressure them at all that they got it quick. One potty trained in a week and a half and the other was done after three days. Pee, poop, sleeping in bed, NEVER used pullups.
My advice to you is this...When you do decide to potty train don't do it halfway. No pullups, those are just thinner diapers!, go straight to undies and be ready to do a lot of handwashing! DO NOT force the issue. You will lose.
I tried with my second son when he was 2 1/2. He peed over and over and over in his underwear and then by the evening he was screaming that he didn't want to sit on the potty. Okay. Potty went away and I stopped asking him anything about the potty. Then when he turned 3 he started saying that his diaper was feeling a little tight around the top (his belly) and he wanted bigger diapers. Well, I could have bought him size 6's but decided to tell a little lie. I told him that those were the biggest sizes that they made, but that if it started getting really uncomfortable we could try going in the potty and wearing underwear. He said, "okay, lets try that". He peed in his pants once a day for three days, and then was fine after that.
That sounds a lot easier to me then consistently being in a battle with a little kid and trying to control "their" bladder.
Good luck, potty training can be difficult.
L.

One way I got my older son at 2 1/2(and now my 2 year old who isn't trained yet, but is interested) is to let them run around with no pants/diapers on a warm day. Then they can actually figure out what is going on without ruining the carpet. Otherwise they have no clue why anyone would want to go to the potty. Also, cloth diapers make them feel wet and they start to clue in that way too. Disposables make it way too easy to stay in diapers too long. We also liked "potty training in a day" book. It took a weekend for our older son, and after the next one figures out the peeing outside bit, we'll try it on him. Other moms swear by it too. You can get it at Barnes and Noble, etc.

K.,

I agree with Megan S and Laura U. This is one thing that has to come from him, not you. My son is 5 1/2 and has only been potty trained for about a year.

Like you we started when he was about 2-2 1/2, got him almost totally trained (excluding night time) then my dad, his best friend, started driving semi-trucks again and the training went out the window. We waited for his interest again, got him to the same point again and then his little sister was born and I had two kids in diapers. We waited again, I got a lot of great advice from this site and finally he was potty trained in about 3 weeks. Now he's 5 1/2 and just like all the other kids :)

Hope this helps,
Melissa

If you'd like the link to all the advice I got send me a note, I'll give it to you.

K.,
You are doing all you can do already! My only piece of advice is: To keep asking him BUT DO NOT make a big deal out of it. If he says no...thats fine. One of these days he will say yes and then you can be excited when he finally goes.

Dont worry...he'll say yes...eventually!

K.