Need Help with Potty Training - Oil City, PA

my son was the same way the way my son finally started telling me was I would ask him every 15 min since that seemed to be his schdule at first I would ask him if he had to go potty he finally after about a week started telling me he had to go potty athough he's five now he still tells me he has to go even though he no longer needs help with the potty process

Wow, I had the SAME problem with my child, who is now 3. I was very frustrated that she wouldn't say anything, and I was too busy to clean up her "accidents," so I just kept her in pull-ups...until she started her new "potty-trained only" school. I was forced to put her in panties, and after 2 days of "accidents," she was finally potty trained..now, almost a month later, she says when she has to go, and even today, I noticed she had gone in her potty (i had bought her a nice potty which makes a flushing sound) while i was on the phone..oblivious...so i guess my suggestion would be..put the big boy underwear on him, and be patient...

With my first child, I told her she wasn't wearing diapers anymore and that was that. She was potty trained within a few days and around the clock within a month or so.

With my second and third children, they told me when they were potty training. I tried and tried with both of them but they weren't having any of it until they were ready-charts, rewards, potty song and dance, etc...non of it worked!

As far as the every hour thing is concerned, you are the one who is going to get trained not your son. If you are feeling pressure from others regarding the issue either ignore them or avoid the topic whenever possible. Your son is young, give him some time.

Hi R. i am a mom of 4 kids. all my kids were potty trained day and night by 2 . I also have been a daycare provider for about 13 years. I have pooty trained many in my time. It requires a lot of time and patience. Take your little guy shopping let him pick out underwear he likes. Let him wear them all day. Give him lots of praise i would place him on the potty every 30-40 minutes.Even if he doesnt go tell him good job mommys proud of you. Be patient he will catch on. Good luck steph

I would suggest (if you don't already have one) getting a small, portable potty and keeping it near wherever you are in the house. That way you can sit him on it at regular intervals without it being too much of a hassle. Do whatever intervals work for you and your son's bladder capacity. It will just take time for him to connect the physical feeling of needing to go so that he can tell you BEFORE he is actually going. It sounds to me like he is already ahead of the potty game for a 2 1/2 year old boy. I have 3 1/2 year old boys in my class who are still struggling with this.

E.

That's exactly how our son was at this time last year. Now, at 3.5, he's finally trained. He was interested in it when we would put him on it, but he wouldn't do it on his own. Then, during the fall, he wanted nothing to do with it. Finally, around the start of winter, he started getting better with it (as did we) and daycare helped tremendously. We were lucky, there were 8 boys in the same age group who were trained together at daycare. Now, he's goes on his own all day, and only wears a diaper at night. He has around 2 accidents a week, which isn't too bad, I don't think. I wouldn't stress it right now, keep introducing it to him, but let him take the lead. He'll get there with persistence and patience, but it has to be on his terms at this point. Boys train later than girls, on the whole, so for him to be 2.5 and not trained yet is no big deal.

Hope this helped you, good luck!

By the time I got to my 3rd child I realized all I had to do was recognize cues they were giving me. There is no forcing a child to learn to use the potty. I hate the term "potty training", you aren't training them, you are helping them learn. And you help them do that by recognizing when they have to go and encouraging them to do that on the toilet. That's all there is to it. Bribes set you up to be manipulated ("I wn't go on the toilet unless I get candy") and if your child doesn't "get it" it's becasue they aren't ready yet, so back off for a while.

And don't punish for ANYTHING potty-related, or you are setting yourself up for long term negative consequences. Who cares what the other kids are doing. Who cares if little Sally down the street used the potty at 1yo, most probably it's her mom who is trained, not her. Kids can't even control those sphincter muscles until 18mo.

Sounds like he's not quite ready. Maybe you should wait a few more months and try again.

Hi R.

I know what you mean about it being a lot of work to do the reminding thing. We waited for my daughter to decide she wanted to go. She was about 2y 10m probably when she trained. Some may think that is a little late, but it was SOOOO easy...She just woke up from nap one day wanting to wear underwear and she was trained. We NEVER had to ask or remind or anything and we had 2 accidents total - because we were outside and we didn't ask before going out which we really should have and she couldn't get there fast enough. I also had an 18m old at the time so I know what you mean about devoting so much time to the potty training. It just wasn't going to happen. And by waiting she was more aware and able to communicate her needs to us when appropriate.

I'm not sure why you are feeling pressured to get him potty trained now, but another advantage that I found to waiting is that quite honestly it's just plain easier on you in other ways too. Once he is in underwear, shopping isn't the same again. Stopping mid-trip to race for the public restrooms with 2 kids and not wanting them to touch anything in a dirty public bathroom (I'm really picky about that). With waiting my daughter was able to go longer amounts of time between and we were able to avoid needing to make frequent stops.

Clearly it sounds like he could do it if want to or have the time to put it in front of him regularly and often, but I only suggest looking at how having him out of diapers will change your life and may add complications. With being pregnant again, it might just keep your life simpler to wait for him to get a little more mature and interested. Good Luck

Hi R.! Hang in there and don't give up. My daughter was finally potty trained right before her 3rd birthday. The pediatrician kept telling me how far behind the curve she was. He said almost all kids are potty trained at this point. But if it's one thing I figured out, it's that you can't force a child to potty train if he/she isn't ready. I tried so many different tricks, bribes, rewards, etc to get her on the potty. Nothing worked. So I just forgot about it for awhile. Then we started trying it again. This is what (finally!) worked for her. I put her in big girl panties. No more diapers. Yes, I had to do a hunt around the house for little puddles, but that only lasted about a week. She wore her panties while at home, when we went out to run errands, and even to bed at night. Within a week, she had the hang of it and was using the potty. We started off with a little toddler potty that I put right next to the "big potty". (I was always told that putting his little potty in the bathroom will help him associate the bathroom & potty with having to go.) And believe it or not, that little potty only lasted a couple weeks too. Pretty soon she refused to use it and insisted on using the big potty. For as long as it took her to finally get an interest in going to the potty, she sure did get the hang of it super fast!

And just a piece of advice...always bring along an extra bag of clothes when you run out. You never know when he might need a change!

Good luck! Hope this helps.

I have 5 kids. My first sone was like that and I just said forget it, he will do it when he's ready and that is what he and 2 of my other boys did. I would just wait and when he is ready, he will let you know. Encourage him by asking if he wants to go on the potty but if he says no then be fine with that. All my kids were trained by 3. I still have 2 in diapers, one 23 mo and the other 3 mo. My 3 year old turned 3 on October and he is actually very good at the pee part has only gotten good at the poop part in the past 2 mo. Good luck!

I dont want to sound rude or anything,but u have to make the time for him.He is old enough to be using the potty.Or at least giving it a try.All of my kids were potty trained by age 2.And yes i have 3 children.They were all potty trained by the time each one of our other children were born.The best thing i did was as soon as they woke i took the diaper off,and at night,when they went to sleep i put in on.They really never knew it was on.And i NEVER did those pull-ups,i see no point in those at all.Just buy reg underware for him.Come this summer let him go around without anything.He'll do great i'm sure.Good Luck.