Potty Training Help - New Baden, IL

HI, one thing you might try is putting cherrios in the big toilet for him an tell him to see if he can hit them with his pee. I apologize I could not think of a really polite way to say that in any other form. My grandson is going to be 4 in oct. an I had told him to see if he could hit the man in the hole, well he did then we all had to play the game of that someone was going to beat him to the man in the hole. So needless to say it had to be him to win an luckily he would hit the potty everytime. Now back door that is gonna have to be when he is ready nothing works on that one believe me we tried them all until he decided on his own to do it. Best of luck to you.

I used bribery with my oldest. He would see commercials for World's of Fun and say he wanted to go, so I told him we would go when he got rid of the diaper bag and that was the end of it. Every time he would potty he would remind me that we were going to World's of Fun.

With my second son I put hair mousse in the toilet so he could have a target. He loved it.

The third son was in preschool and they would send the kids in together to go. He wanted to be part of the group. Maybe your husband could take him or older siblings?

Hi M.,

A friend of mine introduced me to a 3-Day Potty Training program. I have referred it to moms on here and at church. Let me tell you from experience that it DOES work. With this program you can start as early as 22 months, whether you think they are ready or not. It's as simple as reminding him to stay dry. My son pretty much had it down by the end of the second day. If you, or other mom's are interested, send me a PM and give me your email address, (since the program is in PDF file) and I can send it to you.

In as little as three days, you can be on your way to diaper-free days, (and nights!!). ls

When my son was that age he also was not very interested in potty training. We'd read him potty training books & let him sit on the potty (sometimes fully clothed even) just to get him used to the idea. Finally when he was 3 & 3 months old we went on vacation & the whole week I told him, "When we get home, Matthew is going to use the potty & wear his big boy Thomas underwear." The day we got home he ran in his room & came out holding up his underwear & said "Potty train!" He did so well! I can count the number of accidents on 1 hand. I'm so glad I waited a few extra months & didn't have to fight the battle. I know sometimes, if you are getting ready for preschool or something, you don't have the option to wait. Good luck in whatever you do!

Also, we stuck with the Thomas theme for Potty "Train." We had Thomas underwear & Thomas pictures around the bathroom. When he went potty he got to put a Thomas sticker on the chart, when the chart was full (20 stickers), he won a small Thomas toy, like a placemat. We also got a 5 pack of Hotwheels & he got to choose a hotwheel each time he went poo in the potty, since that was only once a day. It worked out great! Good luck!

In my experience with 3 kids it's best to wait until they are ready..my son turned 3 in January and I planned to start close to his birthday. 2 weeks before he turned 3 he started showing interest in sitting on the potty and I went for it! Started sitting him on the potty, bought the underwear and he was pee trained before his birthday..the poop training took a litle longer, which is very normal. It's worth it to wait until they are ready!

M.,

I raised three daughters and had no problems potty training - for some reason girls just seem to be easier then little boys. I do however have 10 nephews and their prospective mothers did nothing but complain when they were being potty trained. It seemed that nothing they did would "help" them along until they were ready.

I do remember a trick my mother tried with my little brother when he was potty training. Crazy enough she made going pee into the "BIG" potty a game - she used to drop cotton balls into the bowl and have him try to hit them with his pee. Not only did this make him a better aim - it made it where he wanted to pee on the big potty ALL THE TIME! (Not sure why the SIL's did not try this!?)

Good luck!

N.
www.lovems1.etsy.com

Please, please do not force him, especially since he is showing signs of anxiety. Listen to the other mamas - the cherios, etc. I loved the hair mousse idea!

The only thing I can add (and I'm sorry if someone else suggested this) is to take him shopping with you to Target or Walmart and let him pick out some big boy underware. Let him carry them up to the check out counter and see if this will motivate him.

Keep it light and simple. He'll be there before you know it! Good luck!

WAIT WAIT WAIT... you will know when he is ready. There is no reason to rush him, that is only going to frustrate you to no end. My son is 3 years and 4 months old and once he started waking up with dry diapers from naps and in the morning, and really seemed like he comprehended the concept and I just "knew" he was ready, thats when we started and while I won't say its been cut and dry - he went from diapers straight to underwear all time - it hasn't been too terribly bad. I think waiting until he was much closer to 3 and even a little after has def. been the right thing to do for us.

I would start working on him. Every morning when he wakes up take him potty and let him sit there a few minutes, before nap, after nap, after dinner, before bedtime. Start with these times everyday as they are spaced out farther but these are common times he will probably go when he is actually potty trained. After he gets used to sitting on it without complaining then you can sit him there more like every 1/2 hour-hour until you figure out the times he actually goes on a regular basis. I would say at almost 3 he should be ready to start. Talk about it a lot about how he is getting to be a big boy and needs to use the potty like Daddy. Good luck! potty training is tough and every child is different so if this suggestion doesn't help there are probably others that might work.

I saw this on a post from another web group & the Mom's who used it SWORE by it. The topic of trying to potty train a reluctant 3yo boy was the same. I would think it would add fun to the process & take away the fear he seems to be exhibiting. It is at Target & called the Peter Potty Flushing Urinal. The reviews on the Target website were all 5's w/the exception of one, so it couldn't hurt, plus while $40 is a lot of money to pay for something you'll only use a short while, it IS cheaper than a few packs of Pull-Ups! ;-)
http://www.target.com/Peter-Potty-Flushable-Toddler-Urina...

Good luck!
J.

My son will be 3 in January and I am going through the same thing right now. My son has one of the little potties for himself (not sure if you have one of those). We are in the process of potty training and letting him take it slow. I ask him several times a day if he has to go and if he says yes, we sit on the potty and sometimes even read a book while we wait for him to go. He is the one that initiated the whole thing. He wanted to sit on his potty one night and we read a book. Then he just went! He is nowhere near being completely potty trained but we are working on it one day at a time. I was feeling just like you - so sick of the diapers! I decided that I would let him tell me when he was ready and sure enough he did! So, my advice to you is the same, let him come to you. It WILL happen eventually :o) Good luck! S.