Potty Training-3yr Old!

Try having him help clean up the mess when he has an accident. If my kids pooped in their underwear (NO pULL-UPS) they had to help clean up the mess. Usually, that just meant helping me dump the poop in the potty. Once they saw how yucky it was to clean up, they started going in the potty.

My son will be 5 yrs next wk and my dgt will be 3 yrs next month. My dgt has been potty trained since the beginning of August. My son did not get completely trained until about a month after his 3rd birthday. With both kids, I just threw away the pull-ups and used panties. For the first few days, i put the vinyl training pants over the underwear just in case they had an accident. They did not war pull-ups at night either. They had both been dry in the morning for a long time so I was not worried about nightime accidents. My son was completely potty trained in a week and my dgt in about 10-14 days.
Good luck.

A.,
Sounds like you've tried every trick in the book, like I did. I started trying to train my daughter at age 2 and introduced her to the potty seat before that. She was very bright and learned everything early. I thought she would catch on to the potty thing also. She was very head strong so none of the potty charts, games, prizes for going worked for us. I had to finally tell her at when she turned 4 that the fairy was coming to get her pullups because they didn't make enough for 4 years old to have them. Well Mommy the fairy forgot to do that so I just put them up and said we're wearing big girl panty after a few days she hasn't had any problems going pee in the potty. We're still having problems with getting her to go poo-poo I think she's just being head strong on that also. Don't give up trying, their going to do it when their good and ready. Good Luck and Keep up the Great Job!!!

Something that was a motivator for my daughter, who hated being wet, was that she had to clean up the mess. (At least to the best of her abilities). In other words, she had to take her "pee-pee" panties and shorts to the dirty clothes and get new ones herself. I then gave her a cloth. She learned to mop up the pee with it. Of course, I had to follow up with a couple of sprays of carpet cleaner and yet another rag, but after doing this several times a day, it seemed to work after a few days.

Good luck and keep up the great work. I think 1/2 of parenting is perserverance and being consistent, whether it's potty training, manners, or discipline!

Hi Aimee! It sounds like you've tried all the great tricks & have some wonderful advice here! I agree with some of the ladies that posted in taking the diaper/pull up away. I read an article a few years ago that pull ups actually deter potty training b/c they tell the child he/she is "big"...yet they can still go to the bathroom in them. What 2 or 3 year old wouldn't opt for being "big" but not having to change anything? lol. You might try training pants w/ the rubber pants on the outside. They seem to get uncomfortable in those; maybe that would help him not to not go.

Also, the schedule is very important. Even if you're working, take him at the same times every day. When he wakes up in the morning (even if he's still in a diaper at night), after lunch/before nap, after nap, after supper, before bed. Whatever your schedule allows, but make it a routine.

My son trained a little past his 2nd birthday, my daughter at 18 mos and my second daughter just turned 16 mos and she's ready to start (from watching the others - which also helps a GREAT deal!). If he's in daycare, make sure they know what your philosophy is and that they are working with you. :)

Good luck!

C.

I know what you're going through. Potty training is no fun! Using a timer worked for my daughter. I set it for every 30 min in the beginning and made her sit on the potty every time it went off. Gradually, I increased the time between potty breaks until she was able to go to the potty on her own without me reminding her. I'm sure your son won't like such frequent potty breaks, so let him know that you won't keep making him sit on the potty so often if he's not having accidents. I'd also suggest going back to the underwear during the day to help your son feel like a responsible big kid. Good luck!

A.
I see you have had alot of responces to your request, all good advice as well. I'm a mother of four 3 boys and a girl.
The one ting I noticed you saying was that your son does'nt want to stop playing to go potty. So make a game out of it, my youngest son I honestly thought would wear a pull up to college. He was just over 2 1/2 when he finally trained, but We took cheerios cereal or apple jacks anything round and put them in the big boy potty put a stool up there, and we tried to pee in the hole. It worked in two days. We ran out of cereal and he started going all by himself. Good Luck Girl.
and God Bless Ya.....

Hello, I'm M. and I've been keeping children in my home for 13 yrs. I've potty trained LOTS of children and there is one thing I've found with every single one of them. You eventually reach a point where you HAVE to outwait them. And every time I think the child has been sitting way too long, I get them up and they immediately pee in the diaper. This is not one child, but every single one I've potty trained. I then let the parents know, tell my past experiences and ask what they would like me to do. They have all gone with "outwait them". This is usually the breaking point. Once the child realizes it's pee or sit, that they won't be getting up until they go, they go. After that, they usually go pretty quick after you sit them down. This IS NOT professional advice, but based on 13 yrs experience. My potty chair is in the living room behind an easy chair, where they can see the tv. I can't spend unlimited time in the bathroom with one child, leaving others unattended. Nor can I leave one child unattended in the bathroom while they wait to go. I also reward the child with 2 M & M's after they go. The child potty training is the ONLY one to receive this treat, the others understand why. That makes your child feel special. We also cheer and clap (the whole group of kids)loudly for whoever is potty training. I've interupted buisness calls to cheer for someone who's gone! I promise this is not harsh treatment and it has worked every single time! My own children, one boy and one girl, were both potty trained at 18 mths! I don't ask if they have to go, I have kind of a schedule, after they eat, before and after nap time,ect. Once they've started going, when you ask if they have to go and they look away and don't answer, you know they have to go! Good Luck

A.,
I have 3 children two daughters ages 22 abd 17 and a 3 year old son. I didn't have boy experience so when my son refused to potty train I just could not understand. My daughters were so easy. I do believe that the sticker chart and rewards helped but you know what, when he decided to do it he just did and it was like over night. We also read the potty book everyday. I think you'll find the less you stress over it the better. Keep his clothes free so when he wants to he can do it by himself. I have found boys to be very independent. Good luck. C. S.

Is he in Daycare? Seeing other children his age usually will do the trick. He will want to be like his peers and will usually in time strive to be like them. A regular playgroup is always a good idea. Dont be too hard on yourself boys are always later to potty train and he will do it:) Good Luck. Sounds like your doing a great job. He just wants to be Mommys baby:)

Hi A.,

It sounds like you are really doing a good job trying to potty train your son. Since he doesn't want to be disturbed from whatever he is doing then maybe you can take things away from him at times when you know he is going to go in his diaper. Usually after lunch,kids have to go or after drinking they have to use the bathroom. I would tell him if he wants to be a big boy and watch a movie or play then first he would have to use the potty. This worked for my kids and I hope that it helps you out.

One trick to think about is putting the potty near his play room. Just till he gets used to it. This will allow him to go quickly without having to leave his toys.

Just a thought,

N.

My oldes son is 3 1/2 years old and we had a hard time potty training him too! What worked for us was we gave him money (pennies for his piggy bank) everytime he went to the potty. It took a little while for him to get the poo poo part down, but the money thing seemed to work for us. I also have some friends who used stickers. You just have to find something that he likes and use it as a reward for everytime he uses the potty!

let him go naked again but this time when he pees on the floor make him clean it up.

My daughter is three, and she didn't really have a problem with the potty because she saw her older sister always doing it. Her cousin, however, who is two wks younger, and a boy had a lot of problems in that area. We went for a visit, and his mom had tried all the treats and so on, but she couldn't get him to go. While we were there he would watch my daughter go in and out of the bathroom, and his mother would say, "Wow, look at her! How great of her to go on the potty like a big girl! I am so impressed!" and various other praises. She never said any thing about how disappointed she was in him for not going. The visit lasted about four days, and two days after getting home I got a call. It was my cousin saying that her little boy had been going on the potty ever since we left. I don't know for sure what clicked, but something did. I know that some kids have different fears of the potty, things they can't explain so they don't even try. We didn't use a potty chair with our second, but did with our first. Every kid is definately different, but I would definately suggest a little peer involvement. It really seemed to help! Good luck.