Potty Training - Saint Louis,MO

Although I have 2 boys who are a couple of years past the potty training stage and never experienced that, I do recall my mother in law as well as many others telling me that I had the potty dance and avoidance of the potty during play to look forward to. It comes down to boys in particular are more interested in play than taking the time to potty. Some that do this long potty dance even end up having frequent accidents just because they refuse to stop what they are doing to go pee. So just know that it can be a very common thing, though as always you want to be sure you pay attention to details (symptoms and anything that could indicate a problem). You may want to just set up a regular routine for potty for example have him go before he begins playing. Standing to pee can also be a big deal. My boys felt it was a big deal to be able to do that. I never did do the cheerio thing because I always thought it would possibly leave them with the idea that food or other objects could be placed in the toilet. However some people have enjoyed throwing some cheerios in there for the boys to aim at. Good luck and hang in there!

B. :)

A.,

I'm struggling thru the potty training at the moment too, so first of all - hang in there! A few suggestions - my pediatrician said that this is the only time he promotes bribery (stickers, candy, toys, whatever it takes!). Also, have you tried letting him stand? Maybe some Cheerios to "aim" at. You've got to make it fun, the stupided I feel doing something the more effective it seems to be. Good luck!

L.

My son is goin to be 3 in August and I was just curious how did you get your son to go poo-poo? My son goes pee really well but won't go poo-poo. We got him in big boy undies and everything.

Do you suppose he is perhaps coping with a bladder infection that makes him scared to pee? Maybe that is the painful part?

My daughter (rather stubborn) had an accident on purpose to see what I would do. When I acted disappointed, she stopped. Now she is so busy playing that she waits until nearly the last minute to go, and in some ways I think she is just testing herself to see how long she can hold it or whatever game she is playing in her head. Not sure what the case is with your son...either it hurts to pee, so he is postponing it, or he is just seeing how you will react, or he is testing his new powers. As long as he's not peeing all over your house, let him work it out.

I would first make sure he doesn't have a urinary tracOt/bladder infection with the Dr. If that's not the problem, I would try to ignore the whole issue. I had a similar problem with one of my boys, and the more of an issue I made of it, the more of an issue it became. When I totally ignored it (and let him have a few accidents), it got better all on it's own. It took a lot of patience on my part, but it did get better.

(Sorry if this response is too late to be of any help, I just saw your request.)

1. I definitely agree with having him checked out medically first to make sure there isn't an underlying medical issue.

2. You can also try telling him that it is going to hurt his tummy (er..bladder, but they don't really know the difference at that age) when he tries to hold it for so long. I don't really expect that to work but at least it will plant the idea in his mind.

Then, after 1 and 2, and because he already has the concept of potty training down and because he is old enough to have the basic coordination and capability of dressing and undressing himself to a certain extent, and because he obviously KNOWS he has to go to the potty, there are just other things he wants to do first and he's ignoring his body "warnings" (or whatever you want to call them.) Let him have an accident (and try not to give him attention for acting like he has to go either). When he has the accident, make him change himself and clean up the mess as much as he is physically capable. Be prepared for some screaming/tantrum/etc. because they really really hate this and would much rather just let you do it. Just stay calm and help him with what he can't do but make him do as much as possible. Also, make sure you tell him that he would have had much more time to play if he had just went to the potty when his body had first warned him. He would be out and playing already instead of having to take all this time to clean up the mess.

It usually only takes once or twice of this before they get the idea and make sure to make it on time. This also works very well when kids regress from potty training (most kids do regress, it is because they miss the attention they get when they first start potty training, and the treats, etc. So then they start having accidents again and wow, they are getting more attention for it.) I definitely wouldn't do this with kids that are just learning how to use the potty or that are too young (under 2) to have the physical capability of dressing/undressing yet.