Potty Training - Rio Rancho,NM

Try relaxing to the point of not mentioning potty, big boy pants or rewards. Wait a week or longer and he will somehow bring up the subject. Let him lead. He is at the stage where he is the "big boy" and wants to do things his way. Good luck.

Hi M.! It's frustrating, but it sounds like you're doing all the right things. My son Blake turned 3 on April 30th. He was not interested in potty-training either. But, I went out and bought him the game Chutes and Ladders, which he'd been wanting very badly, and promised it to him if he went potty and poop in the toilet the whole next day. He was so excited and wanted his big boy underwear on right then and there. He seriously potty-trained himself in 24 hours. But, I think it was because #1 he knew what to do already because we'd practiced, #2 he was three and physically ready, and #3 because I made it worth his while and he made his own decision to do it.
I hope this helps a little. I think every kid is so different that it's really hard to know what will work for your own. But, just keep being creative and trying new things.
Also, I saw that you are looking for new friends in your area. We just moved to NW ABQ less than two months ago and don't really know anyone. We'd love to get together for a playdate. Feel free to PM me if you're interested. :) I know my son would love a playmate his own age!
Good luck!
- M.

M.,
I'm in the same boat with my 3yr old son. Nothing works. I have in pull-ups now but that doesn't work either. I've tried telling him I'll get him a new car, that doesn't work either. I've tried the underwear thing too. Let me know if you find anything that does work.

Hi M. -
I just went through this! It's really mind boggling, isn't it? Why a kiddo would not want to get out of those hot, damp diapers! My son who's now 3 1/2 is now potty trained though so it will happen.
Back in March or April I finally got sick of so many people wondering why he wasn't and bugging me about it that I just decided that I wasn't goingto put another diaper on him - ever. He'd been staying completely dry at night for months and definitely knew when he needed to go but would make no effort to want to take the diaper off. So one morning I took it off and set his potty in the living room and when I knew he'd been holding it as long as he probably should I convinced him to sit down in front of the tv and then just went about my day. He absolutely did not want me standing there looking at him! So off I went. Finally he peed and I made a big super deal over how great that was and then just continued to leave the diaper off. I repeated the sequence when I knew he'd been holding it again for a long time. From that day forward he's never worn a diaper and never had an accident. He was ready he just needed me to sort of create the boundary of no diaper anymore.
A couple other things: I was making him sit down because my other son couldn't relax the right muscles standing up right away. But this little guy could and preferred to stand up from the start (after that first couple of days). Also he liked the regular potty much better than the little one on the ground - and I could not flush until he was well away due to his fear of going down! But here we are in July - we've moved across country during this phase and he's never missed a beat!
P>S> I'm in Enchanted Hills too and when the other kids go back to school we sure could use a playmate - esp one my son's age!
Barb

I also have a 3 year old with the same issue. He was really interested when he hit two and we thought okay, we'll let him go at his pace. Well, he got more and more disinterested the more interested we became in it! I am enrolling him in childcare where there are two other 3 year old boys about 6 months older than him. They are both potty-trained so we are hoping that seeing his peers using the potty regularly will encourage him to become adept! :)

My son turned 3 in March and is JUST NOW interested in the incentives we have been doing with him. So, maybe your son isn't ready. I don't care what others will tell you. If he isn't ready, he isn't ready. Here's what we have done that has had somewhat positive results: he's been in pullups for 3 weeks and diapers during nap/bedtime. Everytime he goes to the potty (and goes), he gets one jellybean. I put them in a tupperware container and decorated it with stickers so he knows they are special. This was working okay but we were having to prompt him to go and he wouldn't. Then this week, he started telling us. And yesterday for the first time ever - he went poopy in the potty twice. The first time we prompted him and then the second time, he told us he needed to go. The poopy has been the biggest thing because we would see him going and ask him to go to the potty and he would rather go in his pants. So for the poopy, we bought really special toys and hung them in the bathroom. (I think I got that idea from someone here.) So even though it took 3 weeks for him to care, yesterday he got 2 of those toys. And he was very, very proud of himself.

As for playgroups and such, you might join a MOMS group. They have one in Rio Rancho. Let me know if you need help with that and I can probably hook you up. I'm in the club for Ventana Ranch.

good luck,
C.

By big boy underwear do you mean pullups or actual underwear? I always suggest NOT using pullups. They are the same as diapers and kids have no incentive not to go in pullups. Most kids will not continue playing if they make a mess in actual underwear. If yours is and not making any indication to you that he's done so and showing no discomfort, perhaps he's truly not ready?

Some people report luck after their child spends time with other kids. They either see the other kids going successfully or they experience "peer pressure," for lack of a better term! If he plays with other kids and goes in his underwear and just keeps on playing, the other kids will certainly point it out to him.

Does he have a little potty for himself? Sometimes going to/on the big potty is too intimidating for little ones. Make sure every time you or his dad or grandpa or whoever goes to the potty, you bring him with you and sit him down on it. He doesn't have to go, but one time he might and that could help him feel successful. OK, just a few thoughts. Good luck!

Hello,
Her ea re a few suggestions that I hear work.Buying one of the potties that look more like a real toliet,those ones usually paly music too which I hear helps, and lastly my mother said my brother was horrible to train and that he felt like his stuff was a part of him so she would have him say bye bye before flushing....hope it helps

Wow! My son was just like that at three. Don't worry too much. He will potty train soon. What I did with my son is I put him in long jeans and big boy underwear. Then when he wet them, I made him go in and change them all by himself. Trying to get wet jeans off -- well you know, it isn't easy, especially for a 3 yr old! He went through that only 3 times (kicking and screaming) and then decided he didn't want to do that anymore. He has been potty trained ever since and is now 10 years old.

Good luck and be patient.