Potty Training - Utica, MI

Find something he really likes to do, that he can do ont he potty. Like reading his favorite book, my daughter loves to brush her teeth so for awhile she brushed her teeth everytime she went potty.

He is exploring it in order to understand it. Your determination that 'from the outside' he appears to you to be 'ready' is... in fact *requires* intentionally ignoring what you are also seeing that contradicts your theory.

If he were, in fact, ready to pee in the potty you would know: he'd be doing it.

How can you know he is not ready? He is not doing it.

Do you seriously think there is something so mentally wrong with your boy that he'll be in diapers when he's 12?

See, I know the answer to that question is 'of course not, he's fantastic!'

If he's fantastic, and you know he'll grow out of the need for diapers when it is something he is developmentally ready for... what? What are you stressed about this for?

Potty training is an opportunity to create deep and lasting trauma, with repercussions in physical and mental health (like food issues) for life. Best say 'he needs diapers for now,' and wait for the rest of his development, yeah?

While he plays with and explores the idea, including noticing what's happening inside his body where you can't feel it, and inside his brain development where you can't see it, he may well demonstrate a pattern called 'circuitous (circle) learning.' This is where kids learn something a bit -- like peeing in the potty for a few days or a week without an accident -- and then seem to completely forget everything about it and seem to suddenly be back where they were before they even looked at the idea. This is the 'cooking' phase of learning -- it's being written into the brain and body at a deep level, where things are being integrated (like forming neural synapses, the kinds of things that can't be hurried). Picking at it won't help and there is no force on the planet that can hurry it. But hurrying it may derail the process -- maybe only for days or weeks, maybe for years and maybe forever. Then, if it has been left to rest for as long as 'whatever' has been happening invisibly needs to happen invisibly (can I stress enough: you can't see it, you have no way of knowing when it's done), then suddenly the child seems to go from zero to total mastery with no mistakes at all.

I watched my kids go from not being able to read one day to reading with inflection and emotion the next. From having literally less than no interest in the potty to never, ever having a single accident, in one day. Both of those (and many others) followed this pattern: dabble in it, drop it, pick it up again like they've been doing it their whole lives.

Trust your boy and his body. It really cannot be better done in anyone else's time.

He is not ready. 2.5 is young for boys. When he is ready it will be easy. Wait a couple of months and try again.

I have only trained a girl and she was trained in 2 days at 2 years and 4 months..

but she was ready..

If you want to train him put him in cotton unders and tell him not to pee on whatever character is on the unders. Kids seem to learn pretty fast when they pee and it runs down their leg.. he will have a couple of accidents but he will quickly learn that it feels yucky to have wet pants.

Hi D.,
A trick my mom used on my brother when she was training him was to put a few cherrios in the potty, and have him try to sink them. Of course this works for just for going #1, but if he can get that down it may make it easier for him to feel comfortable going #2. Unfortunely this is something you can't force him to do (trying to force him usually just makes things worse.) Be patience, and encourage him often. You cold try a reward system that dose not include food. Maybe putting stickers on a chart would help incourage him. After he earns so many you could reward him with a small toy, or to a special place.
Good Luck with this. Hope my advice helps.
C. O.

Hi D.! We loved the 2.5 age!! Our son is 25 this weekend. My Husband was freaking out that at 2.5 yo our son had not been potty trained. I didn't know much as a young mom, but this I knew...not infrequently boys potty train much later than girls. And I knew that it would happen when he was physically ready.

So my husband, did I say he was freaking out? Offered our son ice cream if he would sit on the toilet...so our son sat down, got up and said "can I have my ice cream now?" I still laugh thinking of it!!

I think healthy praise is the best. Food as a reward or as it usually breaks down to "bribe", sets an unhealthy precedence. However that you and your husband are comfortable and in unity, the most important thing is to not stress over it and turn it into a battle. The number of days at that precious age are too few!

Blessings!! You are fortunate to be at home!
M.

Firstly, don't let anyone tell you he is too young because he is a boy. I have two boys, first was trained at two years and second was trained at 21 months. Neither were difficult to train because they were "too young".
It's great that he likes the potty. Get a schedule with the potty, put him on it after each meal, hourly and before you go anywhere. Remove diapers and pull-ups. Put him in big boy underwear.
Show him yourself how to use the toilet (or get Dad to show him), so he can hear that you are actually peeing in it and not just sitting on it. Patience is the key at first. When he does finally pee or poop on the potty make a huge fuss so he realises what an achievement it is. We had a potty song and dance which was way over the top and we gradually toned it down as my kids progressed with the training.
It sounds like he is definitely ready you've just got to show him exactly what he needs to be doing on the potty so he can get it. Good luck ;)

He's in a preparation stage, not a readiness stage at this time.

I had a potty that rewarded my son with music when he actually did his job. It worked wonders.

I have been there. I have 3 boys. I gave them one skittle or m&m for peeing and 2 for pooping in the potty. Show him how happy you are when he sits on the potty, but get more excited when he actually goes. I also did the cheerio trick, put a cheerio in the toliet and have him aim, and pee, my boys thought this was the funniest thing. Just be reassuring and he will also do it when he is ready. Good Luck and Best Wishes on this big milestone.