Potty Training - Bethlehem, PA

i know plenty of people who had kids train after they were 3. It's not a big deal (and to tell you the truth...much easier when you are out and about)... i swear we are always at the opposite end of the store with a full cart when my daughters scream "POTTY!", so we run like maniacs through the store to make it to the bathroom... not fun!

anyway, when he's ready, you won't have to bribe him with anything, and it will be a much simpler process.
My daughters are 15 months apart, so the younger one started peeing on the potty at 16 months, like big sis. Then she refused to wear clothes and diapers, but she didn't have bladder control yet. so she'd pee on the potty, then pee on the floor. Let me tell you it was a LOOOONG 12 months before she finally stopped having accidents. My older daughter practically trained herself, and it was so much easier!

good luck!!!!!!!!

Hoping I can help even though I have a girl. My daughter just turned 3 in Sept, and a few months before she showed interest, but did exactly what your son is doing with the sitting and not doing anything.....let me just say,"Dont rush"! Off and on since then, she has peed, and these last few weeks is going poop on potty which I know is a huge step for kids. I still put her in pull ups on occasion, but the funny thing is....is that when she is in pull ups, it is harder for her to just go pee if she has too....She likes to do things herself(not a good idea to let her wipe poop off her butt)LOL....I had to re-wipe her many times, and change her panites....LOL....I just let her put normal cotton panties or if need be and able...I let her run around with just a t shirt....Funny thing is that she does not have accidents when she does not have a pull up on......She goes everytime......patients.....he will do it..........I did not at all push/rush my girl........she did it all on her own instincts.....

E., when my son turned 3, I tried to get him interested and tried to start potty training. I could just tell that he wasn't quite ready for it yet, so I backed off and decided to wait a little longer. And at 3 and a half years old we had very successful potty training. Every child is different, but boys do tend to do it a little later. Follow your instincts. If he's not quite interested enough yet, I would suggest waiting a little longer until he really wants to be a big boy and wear underwear, then go full steam ahead with it. The quicker you get him into underpants once you've started, the better success you'll have. If they wear the diaper or training pants, pretty soon they figure out that they can just go in that. When he's ready and you have a good week or so where you'll be at home with him a lot and be able to spend time watching him closely, go for it. I would recommend using a doll or something that he can teach to use the potty. Teaching is the best way to learn. We used a baby Elmo that came with a little potty and said he had to "go". That's also a good way to see if he's ready or not. If you start trying when he's not quite ready, it may backfire and end up taking longer. If he sees the potty as a negative thing because he had to sit on it forever when he really wanted to play, he might put the pottying off even longer. With toddlers, everything has to be a game and be fun, or they just aren't interested. I would recommend a reward system. It can be used for potty training, then you can continue to use it for other good behavior that you want to reinforce, like cleaning up toys. Me and my son made a "Big Boy Chart" together. I made the lines and words, and he went over them with a crayon and decorated the chart around the edge. Helping make the chart, gave him more pride and interest in it. Every time he used the potty, he would put a sticker on it. When he filled up a row with stickers, he would get a surprise. It was just a cheap, neat toy (about a $1), but he thought it was the greatest thing in the world. He's 6 now, and we still use that system when we want to reinforce something. We also had "potty parties". I got a bag of some cheap party blowers(in the very beginning of training -to make it fun), and if he "went" on the toilet , we would blow them and sing "Potty party - Woohoo!". Of course, he loved that. Also, my son spent a couple days a week with my nephew, who's 7 months older than him(who also mastered potty training at 3 and half). My son got to see him going on the potty every time and was motivated. We put him in underwear right away because he went on the potty every time that day he started, and he's never had an accident unless he was sick. I've always made sure that he empties his bladder right before bed, and I try to limit his drinking after a certain time. We used a potty seat ring that you put right on top of the regular toilet, from the beginning, so we never had to transition from a little potty and that way he was always used to the big one and the flusher. Don't frustrate yourself if he's just not there yet. Don't worry, it'll definitely happen! Good luck!

Dear E.,
While it's probably not what you want to hear, patience & persistence are the key here. Once you figure out your strategy or "game plan", you have to be consistent. My son was nearly four before he was fully potty-trained. Don't stress about it ~ you'll only end up frustrating both of you. Encourage his interest, but at this point, forcing the issue could be Very counter-productive, especially since you already stated that you "can't dedicate all your time to potty training." When you think he fully understands & is ready, you will probably have to get serious about spending several days (possibly a week or two) focused on potty-training. It may even require frequent trips to the potty.
I know that my mom said I was a real PIA to potty train. I don't know how old I was when I was finally potty-trained, but 25+ years ago, they used a method where you take the child to the potty, pull down the underwear & sit for a minute or two. Then they stand up & pull up the underwear. Go to another room in the house for 3-5 minutes & then go back to the potty & repeat the process. My mom said we got as far as 25! (pull down, sit down, pull up, go to another room, go back & repeat). Having heard this story many times over the years, I learned one thing ~ potty-training "can" be VERY frustrating! Despite a lot of grief from various people, I let my son show me he was ready for potty-training. Also, because he has some learning delays, it was VERY slow going! However, he is now 5 1/2 & in school, fully toilet-trained! One of the docs that my son saw said that she'd never seen a child go to kindergarden w/o being potty-trained unless there were behavioral or other issues that were pretty obvious ahead of time. (This gave me GREAT hope when we passed three, and then began to approach 4 & he was still struggling with potty-training.) Hang in there, he'll get it!

Hi E.,
I rewarded my daughter with 1 M&M for pee and 2 for poop. This worked very well with her! Once she got the concept, we went cold turkey on diapers and voila! A few accidents and a few days later she was day trained.

Good luck!
~C.
www.daisybows.com
http://thepurplepear.etsy.com

E.,
Just be patient. He will go when he is ready. I would not do anything to 'jumpstart' him. He is already showing interest at this age which is wonderful. Some boys take longer than girls. Just a known fact. He will go in time, when he is ready to go. Just keep doing what you are doing and praise him when he does sit on the potty. That is a great step! He won't be in diapers forever so it will come soon enough. Maybe when he does go in the potty give him a special toy (they have some inexpensive toys at the Dollar Store) like bubbles, play-doh, hot wheels etc... Just continue to support him like you are and he will make you proud real soon!
Christina

The only way to potty train is to take the diapers off and put them in underwear. If they have a diaper (or pull up) on they will continue to pee/poop in it.
Yes, you will have some messes to clean up....but they'll figure it out.

When Daddy is around have him take your son into the bathroom, throw some cheerios in the toilet and have them make a game of it. Bubbles works also. When I was in Chicago, visiting my grandson of 2 1/2 years, we started this game and now he is potty trained at 2 3/4 years old. Good Luck!

I think you have to figure out what motivates him and use that as a reward. For my first son, I used match box cars in a big basket WAY UP HIGH where he couldn't reach. I told him every time he put something in the potty, he would get one. Worked like a charm! For my youngest it was bubble gum ,after I tried the cars and dinosaurs and tattoos and other things! When they get good at it, you space it out more. When you are dry for a whole day, you get the prize. Then when they have the hang of it, do the underwear. It is the best way. Hover over him like crazy for a few days, and expect a few accidents. Good luck to you!

I was in your same postion with my little girl. The only thing that I found that would work was reading book after book about being a big girl or in you case a big boy. They were the only books a read for about a week but it worked. Now I am just working on not going at night. Hope it helps.

we started potty training my son at 2 1/2 also and it took a year of trying everything and then at 3 and 1/2 he just trained in about a day all on his own. Definately let him take the lead because when they decide it's time, it's time! I really wish we had backed off and let him decide because it was a lot of pain and agony for us and I'm sure for him.

There is a great book (and a DVD) called Once Upon A Potty. It's very cute and funny. It talks about having to sit and sit and sit and sit and sit and sit and sit and sit!!! My son loved it and it really got him interested in using his potty. Make a HUGE fuss if he does go in the potty! you can do a sticker reward chart so he gets something he wants for potty success. Good luck!