2 Year Old That Refuses to Use Potty!

He's not ready. My son was almost 4 years old before he was potty trained. I thought he was ready at 27 months, but he regressed (this was my fault due to relocating job to another state)

The signs to look for to see if son is interested in potty training are:
toddler indicates they need a dipaer change
can pull their pants down by themselves
having an interest in "the potty"

What we are doing with my daughter (24 months) is just having a small potty around for her to look at. Sometimes she wants to sit in it and make special effects. Sometimes she'll insist that I take off her diaper so she can sit in the potty. If I or my son needs to go to the bathroom she'll follow us in and sit in her potty. Once again I am taking my cues from her.

There is no right or wrong age to begin potty training, but I think there may be some merrit concerning girls are easier to train than boys.

Just take it one day at a time, but whatever you do, do not make this into a traumatic experience. Potty training should be positive.

Hope this was helpful.

H. :)

Honestly this is more about training you than him. You have to be the one that actually watches for signals and takes him often. Most of us people that were trained by 2 had mom's that waited until after we were asleep to do any housework and devoted all of their attention to the kids. Unless you're willing to do that it's not going to work right now. If you have things you do everyday that take longer than say 15 minutes you're going to miss optimum times to catch him before he uses the training pants or floor.

I've read about potty training before 1 where the mom watched the eating habits and suspended the kids above the potty until they went.

My older boys were all well over 2 and pretty close to three when they finally achieved this milestone. I experienced the same thing with my younger two and I'm still trying with the youngest.

Keep trying, stay unemotional, and maybe let him sit instead of standing. Take him with you when you go. Set a timer and just go when it goes off. Drink lots of water, give him lots of liquids and soon he'll get the hint.

This is a big change for him. He's probably thinking "Daddy's gone and you want to take away my diapers too. Mean old Mommy"

One thing that you could try is putting cheerios in his potty. Tell him that you want him to sink the cheerios. If you make a game out of it, he may play the game and not realize that he is doing something that you want, too.

Not to offend anyone, but the idea that a child isn't ready to potty train until almost 3, I think is silly. They can be potty trained VERY early, they just might still have occasional accidents since their little bodies are fully developed. My 2 year old has been potty trained for about 4 months now. I think the BIGGEST reason kids potty train later these days are b/c of DISPOSABLE DIAPERS. They are so absorbant, so they are never uncomfortable. I (and most people from earlier generations) was potty trained at 18 months. We were poor, and my parents couldn't afford the "fancy" diaposable diapers. My hubby was the same way. He was potty trained well before 2, b/c he was allergic to disposable diapers, so they used cloth as well. I am not saying cloth diapers are the way to go....we used disposable diapers, but I am saying they don't help the potty training issue.
A great book to read about the subject is called "Diaper Free Before 3" I found it VERY helpful.
This is what we did:
We took away diapers (she only got one on at naptime and bedtime). She was put in cloth training pants with a cover and no pants (unless we were going out..then we would put pants on her and bring spare cloths). We would put her on the potty about every hour and we kept track of when she would potty (wether it was on the potty or an accident) to learn her body's "schedule". If she had an accident (which she did ALOT in the begining), we cleaned her up in the bathroom and explained that pee and poop goes in the potty. If she happened to go on the potty we made a big deal about it. (You say that he won't even sit on the potty...try something different. our girl HATED the little potty seat, but was willing to sit on a seat that goes on the big potty. It could be something like that. If what you have isn't working, try a different type. Something fun with characters on it...maybe get a doll potty for his favortie bear or toy to sit on as well so they can sit on the potty together. some ideas to try.)
What happened with us, is that there was a lot of accidents in the begining (and care taker has to be willing to make the commitment also!!), and it felt like we LIVED in the bathroom. After a couple of weeks the number of accidents went down (as she learned to hold it better) and the number of successes in the potty went up. We would make a big deal about going in the potty, and she would be really excited. Even if I go pee, and she hears me through the door she screams "Good Job Mama!!!" We average about 1 accident a week now, and ususally stay dry during naps. It was about 2 months after we made the switch to cloth training pants that I was willing to actually label her "potty trained".
It is a stressful time, and it is okay to feel stressed and overwhelmed. The book really helped me. I found it at the Arnold Public Library. I also joined a yahoo! chat group for potty training. That was also a helpful resource.
Good Luck!! We are all pulling for you!

this seems like a clear sign that he is not ready. Developmentally, children begin to have the ability to "hold it" between the ages of 3 and 4. Throwing a fit about using the potty means he is not ready and if you push it you are really setting yourself up for a battle of wills. Please consider waiting until your child is ready.

You can try using food color. It kinda makes it fun. If you put blue in the toilet and when/if he goes it turns it to green. My younger son really liked that.
Good luck. It takes time. Both of my boys weren't potty trained until a couple months before their 3rd birthdays. He will get the hang of it, though.

Our daughter refused to use the potty as well until recently when she turned 3 in June. Two things helped push her potty training along faster, the first one was a video from the library called "Once upon a potty" they have it boys and girls, Amanda sat and watched it over and over until she finally got the idea. The other thing that worked was placing the potty seat on our toliet which helped to instill the "Big girl feeling" for her a little more. I hope these ideas work for you.

My daughter was the same way. She's naturally a scaredy cat. She wouldn't even sit on it, so we brought the potty chair out to the living room to where she was familar with being around it. She would finally sit on it with her pants and pull up on. When she was able to do that we moved it back to the bathroom. Then she would sit on it with her pants down, and I mean SIT. She wouldn't go. The first time she went potty I had given her a couple of books to read while she was sitting and left to go to the other room. She yelled "I peed!". She's almost three now and I think she goes more often on the potty if I'm not hovering around her.

I really think the key thing to remember is that every child developes differently in different stages. The main thing is not to push the subject. If you ask and they turn you down say okay and ask again later. He'll eventually learn! I'm sure of it!! Good Luck!

He is not ready yet and to force it will only make things hard on both of you. You could leave the potty out where he can see it and get use to it being there... maybe get some childrens book about it and read them to him but he is still young for a boy so give it time and it will happen, but trying to do it on a schedule for moving is just setting yourself up for failure. If pushed when he doesn't comply like you expect him to, he will think he can't please you no matter what he does and he will give up and it will be harder to try the next time. Just curious...why does he need to be trained by the time you move?

For my daughter the character potty seats you put on top of the potty worked. I also had the same problem a few months ago with my son. I think he was scared of the toliet and falling in but he was also sitting and not standing. I went to walmart and got a small portable potty and that seemed to work. I also went straight from diapers to underwear, the pullups made him lazy it was like a diaper to him. He refused to go for about two months but i sat him and made him and now he is going on his own with no fuse. I hope this helps a little i know every kid is different.

Ok, don’t take this the wrong way… but expecting to have your child show interest in 3 days is crazy. It took months for my almost 4 year old to get used to the potty chair. I started taking her into the bathroom with me at 18 months. She of course wanted nothing to do with it. I sat her on it with her pants on and she screamed. So I waited. At 20 months she wanted to start going into the bathroom with me, of course I thought she was a little young but she actually went in the potty a few times… I was pregnant with my 2nd and was worried about the regressing. Of course she did and after her little sister came she didn’t want anything to do with the potty. I knew that was/could happen and did not force the issue earlier. She is now completely potty trained and is having 1 accident a month maybe. My youngest has been showing interest since 18 months, but I am also expecting again so won’t be forcing the issue until the baby arrives in June. If she wants to sit on the potty she can but I am not going to stress my self over it because with the new baby you can expect some regression.

i have a child that will be 2 on december 6th. he isnt wanting to potty train either. he will sit on the potty after he is already done going potty in his diaper.. they are just not ready to potty train yet. most doctors say that a good time to start potty training is around 3 yrs of age.. just be patient and let him get use to the potty right now.. he will go all by himself soon. my stepson is now 4 and a half and he didnt start using the potty this he was 3.. good luck with the potty training. and good luck with the pregnancy!

I went to a potty training seminar recently, given by a dr and pediatric nurse. They suggested that the earliest children start training is 27 months. Most children just aren't ready before that, so it may just be that he isn't ready yet. I would suggest waiting a few months and try again. Good luck to you!

If you try to push him it's just going to make him not want to do it. It will be harder on you both that way. I totally understand us not wanting our kids in diapers, but why on earth do we all want them to grow up so fast? I have twins so by the time they were two I was definitely ready to push them to potty. I bought a potty and encouraged them to use it. They just didn't get it. I decided I needed to let them tell me when they wanted to go. They are a month over 3 now and R is pretty much potty trained. I took them to the store to pick out their own big boy underwear. R went an entire week after that without a single accident. We still put diapers on them at nap and bedtime and whenever we leave the house. E is only slightly interested and he'll have a couple accidents a day. The fact that every kid is different is really true. I have two the exact same age and one wants to, the other doesn't. I'm not pushing it on either of them and I'm not the least bit stressed about it.
How many kids do you know that go to kindergarten still wearing diapers? They do it when they are ready.

My son was older (3 yrs) when I began potty training him but that was because I knew he wasn't ready-- he just didn't understand. But if you think he understands, then I say go for it! Here's a tip (this is what I did with my son): Devote a few days where you are able to stay home and be with him. Make sure the house is warm cause your gonna need to undress him COMPLETELY!! No diaper, no underwear, nothing! I know this may sound crazy, but it is the ONLY thing that worked with my son! If he had something to "catch" it, he would just pee on himself. As soon as I took the underwear off, he went on the potty. Just like that! Once he realizes that its no big deal (which shouldn't take too long), you can put his clothes back on:) Also, I started out with the potty chair in the room with us so that he would have easy access to it. Hope this helps!

My daughter is now 4 and we had the same problem. We started when she was 2. She would scream and refuse to use the potty, so I put her back in diapers, and then I would try usually like once every couple of weeks and if she refused to use the potty then I would put her back in diapers. Finally she got to the point that she would only go potty if daddy took her to the potty, and then one day she woke up and decided to use the potty all of the time. She was 3 when she was fully potty trained, she had maybe 4-5 accidents for the first 2 weeks but she hasn't had an accident in almost a year, not even at night when she sleeps. I have noticed that if you force your child to get potty trained they have more accidents then a child who is not forced and just does it on their own. I talked to my doctor and she said if they refuse to go do not force them, they are not ready and they do need to go back into diapers. I know you want to get him potty trained and especially before the new baby gets here, I was in the same position, but if he isn't ready then he just isn't ready, you can't speed that up and please do not force him to use the potty, it isn't a punishment, and they should not be afraid to use the potty.

My daughter turned 2 recently and I have been working with her on the potty issue. She to is smart enough to do it she is just being stubborn. She sits on the potty when i do and when she wants her diaper changed she will remove it, throw it away then sit on the potty, then wipe, then flush. She is getting there but still no go. I got her the elmo potty dvd she seemed to really like it, I think its going to take patience and reinforcement. All kids are different, maybe some potty books or movies woould help. I have heard letting them pick out there own potty chair helps .. he will get it.