PottyTraining

This slight regression is ok. I had two boys who did this. It was a bit frustrating but then I decided to make it more fun. I did bring the reading books in to the bathroom and let them sit and read. I made it a positive experience and they began to love going to the bathroom.
C.

He's still pretty young. Potty training is something I don't like to push, and like everything else, I take the child's lead. He will eventually be ready and will let you know.

Let him try peeing standing up like a big boy. Give him some cheerios in the potty to aim at. In the summer (if you live in a private area) you could let him pee outside. It is more fun.

When my son (now 40) was 2 he did the same as your son. An older lady gave me this advice and it worked. She said to make him change his own diaper and clean up himself and after a couple of times of doing that he would be glad to sit on the potty chair. This only had to take place 2 times and he was potty trained completely. I will warn you that it was a mess but was well worth it. HE had poop everywhere but I made him clean it up. Trust me, they don't want to handle it any more than y ou do. Of course I had to clean up more afterwards than he but he got the message really quick. I never backed down and that's what makes the difference. He knew I meant business. When you find a workable plan, stick to it until you see results. THis will be the most important thing you do in all situations.

Hope this is helpful.

S.

I pretty much stayed at home for about 5 days, my son wore nothing... I had a container always in arms reach, and when he would start to pee anywhere, I would put that container where he was peeing so that he understood the pee has to go into something, and that something be the toilet... I didn't do that at first but my mother in law suggested that and it worked wonders... I used the little container that comes in the potty. Good luck... I m going to have to go through it again soon.

He is not ready....here are some steps to take to make it not crazy for you or him.

*have him wear his diaper/pullup until he is dry for two weeks.
*He needs to be going about 2-3 hours between times going potty.
*He needs to be able to dress and undress his clothing for this purpose on his own
*have a 'key' phrase to teach him so he can communicate the need and you can ask using this phrase

My daughter was three years and one week old when she decided to do it. She could do all the above, but she just had to 'mature' into it. We can not teach maturity...so be patient and have him sit on it at each change but make it casual and part of the routine, not something pressured and new.

Hang in there.

My son was 2.5 when he wanted to be a "Big Boy" but then lost interest in it soon after so I bought those little drink cups for kids and lined them up on the back of the potty and fill them (half way) with Candy (m&m's) then he got one of those cups every time he went. Then when he was going all the time (about 2 weeks later), it was time to take the cups of candy away so I told him if we were all grown up now we don't need the "Baby cups" and when he agree we went out to Mc'd's and had a playday he was tried that he forgot about the cups being up there the next day. I was bless with this, but it didn't work for my daughter. Good Luck!!!

I bought the kholer transitions seat.
It has the seat grownups sit on and a lid, but in between a lid that the kid won't sink into.

With my oldest son I found it easier for him to learn to pee like a "guy" because he wanted to be a big boy. So we started letting him go to the bathroom with his Daddy. Learning to go standing up and being a big boy was fun for him and made him feel good, especially when he didn't miss. Once he started doing that, the rest went smoothly. Since you have 2 other boys, he already has role models to look up to for this process. It's just another form of "monkey see, monkey do" which is a good thing in this case. Just like litle girls learn from watching Mommy use the potty, so do boys learn from watching those he idolizes. I hope this helps, as I'm going through the same with my stubborn 2 1/2 yr old girl. But I found the boys to be easier than girls to potty train. Well, good luck to all us mom's going through this!

Yup-we went nekkie at home. Maybe he could pick out some of his own special undies for going out-like Superman or Diego (I think they are even on sale at Target this week :)

Hi S.,

You have a lot of great ideas here from the other moms. Remember to check in with your reaction to the ideas, though, to choose what suits your parenting style and your son's personality.

As a mother of three and a Parent coach, I, too have advice.

We regularly post on this issue because it is an important milestone. It can be challenging and drawn out if you force the training when your son is not physically aware of his urges (prior to the event) or when he is not willing to do it.

On the other hand, it can be a positive, short-lived process that is very successful WHEN the conditions are right. Check out my responses and the responses of other moms to other potty training questions here on Mamasource for more ideas.

I highly recommend books for you and your child. We used Once Upon a Potty and liked it. Although I have not read it, the other book (Potty Training in Less Than a Day)sounds good, too. Make sure, though, that any book you read talks about watching for signs that your son is ready for this. When he is, it should go easily and smoothly.

Let me know what you decide to do!

J. B.
Parent Coach

We read "Everyone Poops" and a book about a little girl named Prudence and the potty that her grandmother gave her, as a gift. Also, Go to your local library and check out a video called Potty Power. We checked it out several times prior to really trying to potty train, my daughter loved it and watched it over and over. We didn't press the issue and let her decide that she wanted to have "Potty Power" and she ended up being potty trained in a matter of days and about 4 months before her 3rd. birthday. One of the repeating messages in the video is "No more diapers for me!", so you have to ditch all diapers in the house and let him know that they are gone. My daughter only had a handfull of accidents afterward, including at night.
Good luck and remember, he'll do it when he's ready.

I let my son go bare bottom and he will only stand at the big potty. He had his own idea's about how it should go so I went with it!!! Good luck.

He is too young for you to worry too much about not being interested. Alot of two yr olds are "too busy" to care right now. Try a pull up or just let him be bare butt. Time and you still reminding him to go will take care of this. Good Luck!

This is a battle I refuse to "fight". If he's not interested, put the diapers back on him and save yourself and him a LOT of stress and aggravation. He'll let you know when he's ready. I have TONS of friends that "potty trained" their kiddos quite young(under 2.5) and though they claimed their kids were "potty trained", they were cleaning up accidents nearly everyday. I'm not into cleaning pee and poo from my carpets, so I waited til my oldest son was ready, he was almost 3.5, and I have NO regrets about it. Starting at age 2, I took the potty chair out every couple of months, if there was no real interest, I put it away. When he finally had interest, he was potty trained and I am telling the truth when I say I have NEVER cleaned an accident b/c he's NEVER had one. My second son is 24 months, and I will start bringing the potty chair out soon, but I will not push it. He'll do it when he's ready, you can't really do something to get your child to have an interest.

Buy the book 'Pottytraining In Less Than A Day' and skip right to the part that they use the doll and show the child how to potty, then rewarding the doll. This book is awesome and I've pottytrained 4 children on it.. 2 of them being my own. I didn't buy a special doll that would pee. I actually pulled out one of my Cabbage Patch Kid's from the 1980's and my husband's trick squirting quarter and concealed that in my hand to show dolly had gone potty like such a big boy/girl! Now dolly gets a treat! YAY! I also got the clear kool-aid, sweetened it w/ zylitol so my kids wouldn't get crazy hyper and for my daughter, we called it Princess Potion, and for my son we called it Super Ninga Turtle Power Punch. They drank tons of it b/c I set out a bunch of salty crackers for the day to get them thirsty. That gave us tons of opportunities to go potty. (Do this on a day you're staying home!) We also kept a tin of yummy candies and temp. tattoos, etc. in the bathroom so they'd get a reward for going potty. (1 jelly bean/m&m for trying, 2 for pottying, 3 for pooping and a tattoo to prove it!) The book tells so much more and gets you through the defiant times as well... accidents, etc. so you need the book. It takes a little more than a day for a kid who isnt' interested... usually turns out they figure they have a good deal going. They poop and Mommy cleans it up w/o even being disappointed in having to clean it. good luck!

My first son was so excited & motivated about potty training...i was mortified when my 2nd one came along and decided he wanted nothing to do with it. he kept saying, "i'll potty when i'm THREE!" i got so exasperated, i finally gave up and said, ok, we'll do this when he's 3. You know what?...within a week of his 3rd birthday he was sleeping in underwear and with the exception of a few nighttime accidents, had no problems making the switch to the toilet. sometimes backing off and trying again when they're a little bit older is less stressful on everyone involved!

good luck!
J.

I am also a mother of three boys. By now, you already know that you have to choose your battles. My third boy was very excited to go to the potty at 2yrs old because he saw his older brothers use the potty, and I was a proud MAMA, but then the excitement and newness wore off and he no longer cared. Frustation sat it. and I was a mess. Now, he is three and we are well off to being completely potty trainned. Do what is best for your son, he will use the potty eventually.

Let him go bottomless and pee on the bushes outside - this method works better in the summer. LOL

It seems like you have gotten a lot of good advice. I agree with the ones that said don't "fight" this battle. My son, now 3, told us he had to go potty at 18 months and would always go when we put him on the potty. Then, he lost interest. We put him back in diapers (we used cloth at home, so I knew he knew what wet felt like). It then became a power struggle. I was about to force this issue when a friend of mine mentioned that her son didn't potty train until 3 & 3/4 years of age. So, I relaxed since my son was 2 3/4 years. About two weeks after that, he decided he wanted to wear underwear. We have had a few accidents, usually when he is so caught up in playing. The pooping was another issue and we finally sat down and brainstormed ideas that would work. After we had our list, we took off the ones we both didn't agree on, and then came up with a contract. I only had to remind him of our contract for two days, and now he poops on the potty. Good luck!

Both of my children potty trained quite quickly after two--It could have gone on if I let it, but they were ready. I don't believe in waiting until 3 or 4. Anyways, I am a firm believer in the "Once Upon a Potty" book. Both of my kids loved it,( I hope my third will) and it was available in girl and boy. I helps kids understand what the feeling is like when they need to go, and it also helps them understand their parts of the body. It has been around for like 30 years, so it speaks for itself. I have heard that the potty training in a day book is really good, too. Good luck!!

On the undies--take him shopping and let him pick some--he might like the training pants--they absurb more, but I don't reccomend pull ups, because they prolong potty training.Remember winter time is harder because of all the clothes.

For my two children, I stayed home for 3 days and didn't go anywhere. They were in training underwear and a plastic underwear covered it. When they went #1 or #2, we went to the shower and I showered them head to toe. I then placed them on the potty seat and instructed them this is where they were to go and that they were to ask me. Throughout the day I would ask them to go. Mostly they didn't until the fourth day and both children were willing to go to the potty during the day. Neither have had more then 2 accidents since then. I trained them both at 27 months. No threats, no yelling. One is now 5 and the other is 3.

At night they were in pullups. Each day they woke up dry they got a sticker to put on their sticker chart. After 30 stickers,they got a new blanket, sheet, and care bear that they wanted. I had this placed out so they could see what they would receive once potty trained at night.

Hope this helps.

Maggie C.

Whenever anyone asks about potty training a boy, I cannot tell them quick enough about the Peter Potty urinal. It actually flushes. My son refused to use the potty until he was four and he did it right off the bat with it! You can order at their website or find out which stores carry them locally. I got ours for $20 off Ebay! :-)

average age for boys to potty train is 4yr. Let him go naked so he can pee on the tree and see that it's going to be ok.

S.,
I can't advise you on boys as I have all girls. BUT, I will recommend a $10.00 manual I bought online called Easy Potty Training. I had my daughter trained and going potty on her own in 2 days. We went cold turkey on getting rid of diapers (once you get rid of them, you cannot go back), and instead of me constantly asking her "do you need to go potty?" and then taking her, the program teaches the kids to just go on their own when they have to go. She had a few accidents after that, but no more than I can count on one hand. This program was recommended to me by someone else and it worked like a charm for them too. If you're interested, try www.easypottytraining.com. The manual is guaranteed or your money back (I sound like a commercial). I hope it works for you as well as it did for me.
Blessings and prayers,
K.

Hi S.,

I had problems with my first child. I thought I had tried everything, but a friend of mine had a wonderful idea and it really worked. I went to the dollar store and purchased a bunch of dollar toys and put them in a brown sack. Everytime she went on the potty, she could pick one of the toys. At the end of the day, all the toys were put back into the sack and repeated the next day. It did not take long before she forgot all about the toys and just went on the potty. I hope this helps and good luck with the training!!
T.

My son did this exact same thing. I let it go for a week or so, then all the sudden he wanted to sit on the potty again. Keep trying. I don't believe children need to be 3 and 4 yrs old to potty train. I read somewhere that we didn't ask our children if they wanted to get off the bottle, and we didn't ask them if they wanted to get off the pacifier, so why do we ask them if they want to potty train? We are the parents, and if we TEACH them to potty then they will learn from us. My son is two and we have just started. Yes, we have accidents, and yes, that is ok with us. We are just trying to enjoy the experience, and I hope you are too. Hang in there, give him a few weeks, and maybe he will try it again. Good luck to you.