Potty Training - Bountiful,UT

Potty training is harder for some kids. A couple thoughts... first, my last two boys (I have 4 kids) potty trained way-late. The 3rd child went on the potty 2 days before his 4th birthday, and the 4th child 2 weeks before his 4th birthday. Here's the thing. Healthy children are all potty-trained before kindergarten so we don't need to worry. :) Trust that it will happen.
You didn't mention if he was having accidents with pee or poop. If it's poop, you might give him the option of going on the potty or asking for a diaper. With my first 2 kids, I gave them the option of going on the potty or asking for a diaper, and they were "tinkle-trained" for a few months before they were willing to poop. No big deal because it saved me from having to clean up accidents, and I was able to be a better mom.
Hang in there! He will potty train.
A.

My son showed some interest but changed his mind. It wasn't until he was 4 & 3 mos that he actually started training again & consistently went potty. My youngest, he started training just over 18 mos, & it was his big brother who got him started! (I was online w/Dad who was deployed & they brought me the peecatcher in the bottom of the pot)
If your daughter is interested, keep trying w/her! Maybe seeing that she's doing so well will encourage your son. I babysat a little girl (2) who potty trained w/no problem. I'd set a timer, put her on the potty every hour & in 30 min windows for the first hour after a meal & she stayed dry. After a couple of weeks of that, she didn't even need the timer, she'd just come tell me she had to go potty. I'm guessing girls are easier to train, based on my experiences.
A friend's son was in pull ups til he was about 5, it happens.
He'll be potty trained before he graduates high school :)

It sounds like you're doing fine. As long as there isn't a battle of wills here, I would say keep going forward the way you have been. Most kids, even after they are 'potty trained' have accidents quite often. My daughter decided to go potty and leave diapers behind shortly after her brother was born, but it was over 6 months later before she was mostly accident free. Two things that helped were reminding her to go before activities she got really involved in (like playing outside) and her being in a preschool where they were very willing to work with her. Being around other kids who went potty and didn't have many accidents gave her the model and incentive to do the same.

As far as your daughter, follow her lead. Girls tend to potty train earlier than boys, and she might be ready. It doesn't hurt to be dealing with both at the same time. It could even help them have an incentive to stay dry. Just don't compare them or set it up as any kind of competition.

Don't put it off for your daughter just because your son isn't fully trained. If she's interested, go with it. All children are different and learn at their own pace.
One thing you mention in your post is that "I tell him it's OK to have accidents", and while it is ok to have accidents while he is still learning, you don't need to actually keep telling him that. When you tell him that, what he may be hearing is "This really isn't all that important".
With my son when he had accidents I just said, "I'm so sorry you didn't make it to the potty in time, that's really no fun. Next time, we'll try a little harder." I felt that was a way to encourage him that this was something important to learn without making him feel really bad about an accident.

I have not been through the process yet but I read that reminding your kids to tell you when they need to go to the bathroom puts the responsibility on them and helps them identify when they need to go but still lets you put a reminder in their heads frequently. My son is 21 months and doesn't have much interest yet. I am looking forward to being done with diapers but not the process. Good luck.

we got my boy a real watch with a timer that went off ever 30-120 minutes. When the watch would go off, I'd say, "oh, I hear your watch...what does that mean?"....that way he was telling himself to go potty with a little remind from his own watch.

he'd wear it on his wrist or around his ankle. it's waterproof so he can wash his hands without breaking it.

http://www.amazon.com/Timex-Expedition-Classic-Chronograp...

After 3-4 weeks of that, he decided he could do it w/out the watch.

He also liked showing his younger sister how to sit on the potty and make your pee come out.

I did the three day potty trianing book with my son. It did take a little over a week and not three days, but he learned to go on his own. I would reccomend it as it has you use verbage and actions to encourage them to take responsability for keeping their pants clean. Keep it posative and I'm sure both of them will get it. I know the frustraion there were some times both my son and I were in tears over messy pants, not everything goes according to plan and not everything goes by the book.

www.3daypottytraining.com - best 26 bucks I have spent! The problem is that you are asking him, when actually he needs to be in charge of it. You will get an ebook with all the details and a personal mentor to help you work through your individual problems. We trained our 22 month old in 3 days with he is now 31 months and we have had less than a dozen accidents since the training. Best of luck!

I have 3 boys. I had a 3 1/2 yr old and 2 yr old and a newborn. Everyone was in diapers, despite our efforts for over a year with our oldest son. Because of how much trouble we were having with traditional potty training, I decided to start Elimination Communication (EC) with my baby, while continuing to encourage the older ones. The sociality of "everybody's doing it" worked wonders. We had the benefit of going on a family trip for a week where we just had everyone running around either naked or with just underwear, toilets in the most trafficked areas of the condo where we were staying, and lots of juice being consumed (helps to increase the frequency and opportunities to pee). Those few days really were key in helping us turn a corner. My son was almost 4 as well when he decided he wanted to take on all the responsibility. There was about a month between the family trip and when he was staying dry all the time. Now he can't stand the thought of peeing in his underwear. He's totally traumatized on the rare occasion when he wets the bed. I would definitely work diligently with your daughter and I think your son will eventually want to "show her how its done". Best wishes!

You have to remind them all the time until finally they turn to you and say " I KNOW! STOP TELLING ME!" and that is such a great achievement for them. its them taking control of something in their life. its a valuable experience in and of itself. dont give up. he will get it. a wise person once told me, the kid wont be in diapers forever...

C.,
I had a similar situation, my third started wanting to potty train before my second one was. One thing that I found helpful was establishing specific times that every one uses the bathroom, (even if they say they don't need too, they still have to sit and try, counting to ten to "show me" they didn't need to) Ours are... when we wake up, before or after we eat, before we leave the house, before nap times and play time. before brushing teeth and bed time....We just set up the rule that when I said "potty time" every body goes. And I tried to split up our activities in equal times, that way it was at least every 1 1/2 -2 hours.
Good luck
E.

I am currently working on training my 2 1/2 year old, and he is NOT interested. We are taking a break for now, and we'll plan to start trying again after the holidays (plus we are taking a long road trip through New Year's to see family, so that would just interrupt the process.)

I do have friends who have had success with taking a week off to spend working on potty training; many of them recommend letting the child go without diapers/training pants completely, and just plan to deal with quite a few messes until they get the idea. Might be worth a try?

C. hang in there! Boys can be tough! Just remember that it isn't your fault and keep up the praises! Let him know what a big boy he is when he goes on his own and how proud of him you are! Remember little boys are just like our husbands we have to always remind them to do things as well! Just a little humor for you! One day soon you will look back and laugh about this! Don't get discouraged!Good luck!
C.

Oh, C., honey.
I remember laying on the bathroom floor crying and talking to my mom on the phone asking her what I ever did to her to deserve this. I had just cleaned up poop from everywhere, his clothes, his body, his socks, his shoes, the bathroom floor. Oh my goodness.

My son was interested in the process, but not in actually doing it until he was 4. I told him about a month before his 4th birthday that he needed to be a big boy now that he was 4 and big boys use the potty. Every time I changed his diaper, I reminded him that he needed to start doing this, because that was what big boys did. I'm not sure if it was right before or right after his birthday he was immediately potty trained, with only the occasional accident, due to being too busy to make the trip to the bathroom.

You might be able to encourage him that he needs to start before his "little" sister passes him up. A little healthy competition?

Remember me laying on the bathroom floor? My mom told me that my problems definitely were not payback. I was potty trained over the weekend my mom had my sister in the hospital. I was 22 months old.

Girls are almost always ready before boys.

C., I wish you the best. This is one thing I don't miss at all!
S.

I have had the same trials with my little boy. I have 3 girls and they were soo easy to train but I am having such a hard tinme with my little guy. He will be 5 in a few months and we are still battling it. The worst part is that people will say " Oh I can't believe he isn't potty trained yet!" I really am doing everything I can think of and trying all the techniques I have read about but he is just stubborn in this area. I absolutley DO NOT believe in punishment for potty training and I refuse to use that technique. The other day he decided that he wanted to start pooping on the potty and I have tried to be very supportive so that he knows I am not pushing. He is doing awesome so far! (knocking on wood right now)! I believe that they have to get over whatever fear or uncertainty that they have about it. Once he got up there and did it he was so proud of himself and I wasn't forcing it on him. It was a much better experience but I know most people do not look kindly on a child the age of 4 not being potty trained. You just have to do what is right for YOU and your little boy. Next step for me.....breaking him from pull ups! Ugh!! wish me luck!;)

One thing that has helped us is having our son clean up his own accidents. We don't make a big deal out of it, but we do let him know that big boys clean up their own messes. . . funny, but he quickly found that it was easier to just go in the potty than clean himself up! He still has "accidents" - usually when he is throwing a tantrum but overall, we are cleaning up way fewer accidents these days. Good luck!