Seeking Suggestions from Other Parents Concerning Potty Training Problems

I agree with the other posters that this maybe somewhat caused by attention seeking, especially if this means he needs more help from you. But beyond that he is having to adjust in a lot of different ways to having a new baby in the house. From what I hear other moms say, many times when a child is making progress in one area, as your son is having to with the new role of "big brother," they slip in other areas you thought they were past. I'm sure this doesn't help in any concrete way, but hopefully it is just a matter of time. Good luck!

Hey J. R,
Your oldest son is just going thru a normal stage in his life. By having a baby in the house, the older child or children are very jelous of the baby but also they regress to get more attention from you. They fill like this new intruder is taking all your attention and love. You need to be patient and address the situation with him. Some time with mommy and older child will help. Encouranging him to feel "needed" or wanted not only by you but by the new baby will be very helpful. Keep up with the potty training and praise him a lot when he does good. I went though a similar situation when I had my second child. Be consistance. Best wishes, M.

Hi J.
I have a 3 1/2 year old boy as well and he regresses from time to time. What we have done is take diapers away and we have also used positive reinforcement every time this happens. So, we might get a hot wheels or a small monster truck and tell him that if he canmake it through the day or 2 days - whatever the hump might be - and do all of his poop in the potty - then he can have a special "Big Boy" treat. If we focus on him being a "big boy" and not being a baby - it usually works.

Hi J.. I'm having a similar problem with my 4 year old. He wets himself sometimes, then uses the potty like he should other times. We even took him to the doctor thinking that perhaps he had an infection or something. I believe it's behavior and we have started trying to figure out how to reward the positive behavior and not be too firm about when he has accidents. I guess I'll wish us both luck and will check in on your progress!

It sounds to me like he is trying to be like the baby (remember that he was the baby until the little came). What I would do in your shoes is to really talk to him about it (you'd be suprised at what they can understand at that age!). When you are changing the baby, talk to him about how big brothers are supposed to go poopie in the potty. When he does sit on the potty, have something for him (a piece of candy, stickers, whatever you find really works for him). Explain to him that when he pee-pees in the potty, he gets one of these things, and when he decides to poopie, he gets 2 (or more if you want). What I did with my son was, we would have "poopie parties" whenever he would go in the potty. We would sing and dance and parade around the house (outside in the summer too). This made it a lot of fun for him, and in no time we had success.

Good Luck, I hope this helps a little!