Hello everyone. I have a 3-year-old son who I am having a very hard time potty training. He did really well for about a month, but now he refuses to go. He likes to sit on the potty, but that is about it (he won't go). Does anyone have any suggestions?
The thing that helped me with my first boy was showing him that he could stand up to pee. When I showed him that he left the diapers behind and we never looked back. Up until then I couldn't for the life of me get him to go potty. Good luck
Bribery is a must! What does he love?? Candy, jelly beans, stickers?! Jelly beans and M&Ms worked great with my son. DO NOT put any diapers on him during the day at home. Let him go naked and ask every 5 min. if he has to pee and reward him with something! (I believe that diapers on will never make them use the toilet!) Don't use diapers anymore!
I have 2 suggestions that have been working best for my son who will be 3 in April. First is Pull-ups/underpants and potty time watch for some reason kids love this gadget and it really works. I tell everyone about it, I think this company needs to put me on their payroll. Second I bought my son a little stool so he can stand up to pee. We tried the little potty and the seat that goes over the big potty but all he wanted to do was play. Standing him up like a big boy got him in the swing. He is still not wanting to poop on the potty, but I know that takes a lot longer for all kids to get that one. Good luck!
I agree with Trini P, I think that was her name, I believe that most kids can be trained starting at 2, not all but most. I also let mine run naked, to train, waist down with a long shirt. A pull-up is a diaper, just more expensive, and unless a child feels what is happening they don't truely understand what happens when they pee, a diaper and pull-up even the new ones catch it, so they stay dry. Rewards when he does go pee/pooh help mine always like to see the pee-pee dance I really make a fool of myself! But hey whatever works :). You say he won't go, he will just not on your comand watch for the signs, and rush him there even if he is peeing while you do it and say something like "oh boy we almost made it maybe next time we can do better, know help mommy clean it up" and have him help, don't be angry or mad or frustated, he is just learning. Good luck!!
Our Dr. always said "They will learn when they are ready" If your son is refusing to go right now, don't push the issue. Be encouraging and talk it up but don't get frustrated. There are a lot of good (short) movies and books that can help get the idea across to your little one. Check the library first to save some $$. Hope this helps.
Have you tried throwing squares of toilet paper in the bowl and challeging him to try and "sink" them? Both my boys loved this game. You could even try and use a theme like sinking pirate ships or just hitting the targets. Better yet, ask him what he wants to 'sink'. Monsters, dinosaurs, bad guys. Whatever. SOmetimes kids go through these phases (my daughter did this) and won't use it. The best angle to take is to offer the 'sink it' suggestion and don't push it. He will potty train in time. Sometimes I would sit on the toilet first to show them how. Another thing you might try is food coloring (yellow and blue make green!). Sounds weird I know, but I'm that kinda Mom and what matters is if it works. Good luck.
J.
Hello A.,
I just recently posted about this on my blog:
http://melissaschoenhardt.blogspot.com/2008/01/potty-trai...
Hope it helps! Good luck!!!
--Missy
Drop it for now. Pushing him will cause more regression. Boys I found kind of go up and down. First, make sure he is 100% ready, go let him pick out cool underwear, HOWEVER do not let him wear it until he starts going on the potty, use it as a reward for being a big boy. Put him in pullups until he can wear underwear. Also this sounds crazy, but when my daughter regressed around 3 I had someone call to pretend to be Santa, stating he would be so proud of her to go on the potty, I am not kidding, 100% she was potty trained, she hung up the phone, got on her underwear and it was done! You kind of have to in a round about way let it be his idea.....hang in there.
Always remember that too much energy is o.k. Be thankful that your young man is healthy. My experience with the potty training bit is that every person in his life has to be so EXCITED that he is such a big boy. This means in addition to you celebrating his new skills, phone calls from family members ,daycare, and friends are so empowering. I would have my son go every 10 minutes, yet it was a lot of work, but very quickly he figured it out. CONSISTENCY is critical and a big commitment. ***They also sell the Pee-Rings that go in the toilet. My son thought it was very cool to pee on them. With one of my girls I was very frustrated, but what I found was that it was me who wasn't consistent, which is why I tried to be so consistent with my son. It took my kids any where from 1 1/2 months to 2 1/2 months to figure it out. Hey, you might even buy something super cool, bring it home, let him see it, and then tell him that when he does a good job for one week (few accidents), then he can have it. Use a poster/stickers to record his efforts so he can see a visual of his progress towards his goal. Remember: They'll figure it out by preschool, so just be patient. Good luck. T(he #2 thing was the hardest for my kids because for some reason, it was scary....)
