Potty Training My Stuborn 30 Month Old

I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and the only thing that has helped with her(pullups were a joke)was going for broke and letting her run around naked. I also made her go every 30 minutes whether she wanted to or not. Every time she went potty I made a big deal about it. I sang and danced like a complete goofball and she loved it. Hope this helps. Good luck!

My daughter was doing so well & now has almost lost all interest, so we're using sticker to bribe her for now. I really want to get her trained, but everyone keeps telling me "it'll be easier when it gets warmer." There's less clothes & outside accidents are easier to clean up. If daddy (or another man) is around to show him how it's done I've heard that helps. Also, Cherrios to "aim" at can be fun! Good luck & let us know what helps.

Hi L.,
It sounds like you've received some pretty good advice already, but I just wanted to emphasize not pushing your son too much to use the potty. This may actually cause a setback for him if he has a bad experience with potty training. Two years old is still young. He has time to learn. Just let him go at his own pace, and I'm sure it will make it much easier for the both of you. Have you tried getting some books about potty training and reading to him? There is also a doll and a video. I forget the actual titles, but you can go to your local library and check out some books/videos for him. Good luck!

Sounds like the new potty chair worked!! Probably having his own special potty was inspiring along with the know it all big sister. Just for the others who might visit this page...

He is a little young at this point to train unless he is showing lots of interest, although in the days of cloth diapers, most of us (myself included) would jump through any hoops to get that 2 year old boy toilet trained. Developmentally, if he is not waking up from a nap or nighttime with a dry diaper, he is probably not ready to train. My son, now 32, had great success when his friends who were a little older (4) were visiting and cheered him on.
We had switched from the "potty on the floor" to the potty seat on the adult toilet and he totally "got it". You really do have to know your child and "new" stuff for a third child becomes really special to him.

Remember that pullups "feel" like a diaper. The very "dry" feeling we love with infants is a problem when we want them to feel the result of an accident. Big kid pants allow the independence children need and when they are wet they do feel uncomfortable. My youngest granddaughter wanted to train with her older sister who is just a year older, bur really wasn't quite physically ready. She wore "big girl" pants under the pull up and that gave my daughter-in-law security while Molly could feel when an accident happened. She toilet trained just a few months behind her older sister.

One other factor parents have to consider is that most preschools do not have facilities or staff to manage diapers or toilet training. Summer without pull ups and the reward of going to preschool with friends to play can really make a difference. Most of the time, children are just so busy having fun, they don't want to take a break and they really can't manage all the clothing themselves. To a certain extent, the parent has to be trained as well! With boys, going potty with daddy can make all the difference, so you might engage Dad to do the potty visits when he is home.

I'm a preschool director, so I hear this all the time....and...I have never sent a normally developing child on to Kindergarten in pullups. Remember that what goes in and comes out and when are about the only things a 2 year old can control, so eating and toileting can easily become power struggles. When he shows interest, follow his lead....but try not to make a big issue over it.

I have 3 boys-all who are stubborn. My earliest one was potty trained at 33 months, one right at 3 yrs. old, and the middle guy didn't potty train until almost 3 1/2. Just be patient and wait until he's ready. It will be a lot easier and less stressful. Remember it's up to him to go on the potty-you can bribe and threaten, but it's his success, not yours. Don't worry about what others say or comment. Just let him tell you when he's ready. My pediatrician once told me that no typcially developing child has gone to kindergarten in diapers. He'll get there sooner or later.

I used the sticker method with my boy. Everytime he went potty & washed his hands, he got to choose a sticker. When a certain number were collected, he got to go somewhere "special" - like Perfect Swing or Chuck-E-Cheese. I used the stickers for everything I wanted him to do regularly. I must admit, too, that we would send him to his "time-out" corner when he intentionally went in his pull-up. He would go in his pull-up at daycare because "the teacher will clean my butt". Eventually we switched to BIG BOY underwear and made him clean his own butt and dirty clothes. One last thing, don't rush it. It's true that kids will potty train when THEY are ready. Take a deep breath and enjoy your child!

He's still pretty young. My daughter expressed great interest around 15 months and I thought -WOW! Well, that is fairly normal and it subsided. I let her pick the time and it went fantastic. She was about 33 months and wearing pullups, then to underwear and didn't have accidents in the day, nap or night. I had always heard if you wait until they are ready, it makes a big difference, I am a believer! :-) I hear that boys aren't usually ready as early as girls, I bet you are ready to get him out of diapers, but... Does he pay attention to his other siblings being "big girl" or "big boy", we let our daughter pay lots of attention to us going to the "potty". Hang in there, he will make up his mind and you'll be amazed.

Maybe let him go in the bathroom with the older ones so he can feel like a big boy too? Beyond that, just try rewards systems I guess. Wish I had more advice for you, but like the others said, it's not uncommon.
Since you have a 6 month old, do you think he's regressed a little because he wants to stay the baby? That's totally common as well.

My son is the same age as yours and he has absolutely no interest either. Our pediatrician has told me boys usually take longer and that average age is 3-4 when they successfully potty train. She said it's really wasting my time to try before he's ready and I'll just get frustrated. Really, she said one day it will just click with him and he'll want to do it all the time, and when that day comes to praise him and stick with it from then on out. We'll see! Good luck!

L.,

Is he in daycare or anything. I had the same problem with my stubborn 3 year old until she saw her friends in daycare going and then she wanted to be like them. What about having her older sibling role model for him? Also I read her books daily on it. and bought her some really cool big girl pants that she could only where if she was trying to go on the potty. Eventually she came around. I feel your frustration, keep it up - it'll all pay off soon!

I would ease up and let it go for a while. Then when he shows interest again you can start up. I found with my son it was 3 till he was potty trained. He showed zero interet. However, once he showed interest about 2 weeks after he turned 3 the potty training went very fast...about 1 week. Not only could he physically do but he wanted to as well.

Now, my 2 girls were potty trained by 2.5 yrs. They really had the desire to do at that age. It took much longer because all the physical feelings weren't there.

Good Luck!
Fellow mother of 4 kids 6,4,2, 10 mths

you tried bribery but you didn't stick with it?

My boys have gotten candy after every trip to the potty then only after they pee and now the younger one only gets it after he poops.

Listen, it's a lot better to want candy after going than to have to go every time you hear running water. That's what my mother did, she would put me on the potty every 15 minutes then turn on the faucet. To this day, I can be washing my hands after going and really need to go back. It's starting to feel like an OCD episode.

Don't feel bad. i have a nephew who is turning 3 on April 12. He still isn't potty trained. Whereas my son has been potty trianed since he was 20mo. Every kid is different.

I'm in the same boat. My daughter is 21 months old and we have all the gear, just need to start putting it to use. She LOVES the "Once upon a Potty" book. She sits and sits and sits, etc. But nothing comes out. I've tried to even give her a juice box, while sitting on the potty. Nothing yet. Being an active toddler, she doesn't sit long. We aren't pushing it hard, but I'd sure love to get her out of the diaper stage. I'd love to read more posts from moms on how I can help her understand the concept. Thanks!

My daughter was ready when she just turned two. We let her run around the house without bottoms, no panties, pull ups, or pants, and she only had one accident on the floor. I made sure there was a potty everywhere in the house we frequented and had her sit on it to "try" every 20 minutes. When we went places, I had her go potty before we left and then had her wear a pull up until she had more practice. Then I just brought lots of changes of clothes with us and had her sit on a towel in her car seat. When she went poopy, she got to wear her ballet outfit (her sister did ballet and she wanted to do it too) and after she went potty, we did the potty dance and gave her a sticker. Some kids aren't ready until they're closer to three though, and I heard boys are harder to potty train. If it becomes stressful for him, I'd give it a break until he's ready.

Hi,

I don't have any advice on this, but I did want you to know you're not alone. I have a 27 month old daughter, and she knows exactly what to do, but she still goes in her pull up.

I have had 6 kids (ages now are 21, 19, 17, 14, 8, and 5).
When my 5 year old was 1 year and 7 months she was acting very ready to potty train, but there was no way until school was out.
I had to drive kids to 2 different schools-no bus service and they were a couple of miles away and from each other. By the time school was out she was not interested at all,. When she turned 2 years and about 10 months old (which I had always done around 2 years old, with all the usual accidents and all) she acted ready. She was done in 1 day with maybe 1 or 2 accidents after that day.

D. B