My 3 1/2 year old son just started potty training about a month ago. He has had very few accidents & is doing really well. My problem is that I can't get him to go to the bathroom (pee or poop) at home. He doesn't have accidents, he just holds it all day. He will usually go once a day. He goes to preschool 4 days a week & will go (pee & poop) for them 3 - 4 times a day, but when I get him home he will sit on the potty, but says he doesn't have to go. I know he does because he dances around & holds himself. Sometimes he will go at preschool in the afternoon & then not go again until preschool the next morning. Needless to say I am concerned that he is hurting his insides by holding it for so long. I called my pediatrician & was told that if he continues doing this we will need to get a urine specimen to see if there are any problems (how am I going to do that?). I have tried stickers, prizes & all kinds of reward systems. I am worried about him, but how are you supposed to make him pee if he doesn't want to.
He wears underwear all day & pull ups only at night (wakes up most mornings dry).
Any suggestions to help me??
try a basket of toys and books near the potty that he can only use while he is there. Grownups read magazines right..... maybe that will make it more fun for him. Good luck
i am not sure what all you tryed but when i was trying to potty train my son i put blue toliet cleaner in the toliet and told my son its magic when he pees because some times the color changes. then i tryed 3 cherrieos in the tolet and made a game out of it to see if he can hit the cherrieos that was going good. see my son is different he was going at home but wouldnt go anywhere else i had to get him a potty that made a flushing noise so he thought he was using the big potty.
good luck with everything
S., ask what time intervals they use the restroom at preschool. Then at home, have him sit on the toilet or potty at the same time intervals. For instance, if they go every 2 hours at preschool, then every 2 hours have him sit on the potty for 5-10 minutes. If he is anything like my son has been (who just recently potty trained) then he is too busy playing to stop and potty. It is easier to hold it.
He may not go for you right away but if he gets into the habit of sitting at those times perhaps after a couple of days, he will relax and start going knowing that he is going to have to sit there anyhow.
I would also try a treat for everytime he goes at home. Perhaps a candy kiss or a sticker. My son loves the cherry cordial kisses. They helped with his potty training.
Good luck.
Have you talked to the preschool staff to see if there is anything they do differently than you? Maybe they encourage him a certain way or use certain words. Does he maybe prefer the potty they use whether it be a standard toilet, a child sized toilet, or a potty chair? Of course you might not be able to change the type of potty you have, but you might come to understand what is going through his head.
Have you tried using those little targets that you throw in the potty and he tries to pee on them? Maybe making it into a game would get him interested. I've heard some parents use Cheerios instead.
My son is also 3 1/2 and we are potty training him. He responds pretty well to rewards (candy, stickers, puzzles, books). When he puts up a fuss we explain to him that going potty is a big boy thing like using the TV remote and playing on the computer. We tell him if he can use those then he can use the potty. Good luck to you.
Maybe they use a different kind of potty or toilet seat, and he's used to using that one. I would find out what kind they have and try to make the one at home closer to the one he uses all the time. Good Luck!
I haven't been to this stage yet, but my suggestion to you is put him in the shower with you or your husband and he'll definately pee then.. the warm water will relax him and he'll let go....
Just a suggestion, but I bet it will work!!!
Good Luck..
C. Nine
with my daughter, i would have "scheduled" bathroom visits, like just before meals or going out. i would tell her, you don't have to pee, you just have to sit on the toilet for a minute. i would even tell her to ask her pee if it wanted to come out. she would say, "come on out, pee," then i would leave her alone for a minute. sometimes the pee would come out and sometimes it wouldn't.
I would discuss this with whom ever is getting him to potty at day care. Ask them what exactly they do to get him to go. Maybe it is the type of potty he goes on there, he may be more comfortable. It may also be something else they do to get him interested. Find out.
If you do end up needing to take a urine specimen to the doctor, I guess you will have to have them get it for you.
the girl i babysit has a little potty and the toilet and she can choose which she wants to use. that works well.
my daughter needs privacy, so when she's all set up, i leave her in the bathroom alone and then come back and help with the wiping, etc. that works for her.
as for a child in daycare, they probably have scheduled times that they go potty. maybe tell him potty times are when you get home, after dinner and before bed. something like that. that may work.
good luck! potty training is SO much fun!!
It sounds like this is more of a control issue than a potty training issue. I knew of several 3yo's who knew when/where/how to use the bathroom, but would hold it for whatever time period they decided to (days to a week!). Usu, there was some kind of stress going on in their lives and this was the only thing they had control over.
Have there been any changes at home? Have things been so crazy w/ holidays that he might feel neglected? How do you react to him when he doesn't go? This might be his way of getting attention (even if it's negative).
You don't have to answer these questions here - just consider them. And maybe try a more relaxed approach. No rewards, no punishments. The potty's there - if he uses it, fine. If not, well he suffers his own consequence of being uncomfortable.
