PLEASE HELP Suggestions on Potty Training STUBBORN CHILD

Hi M.,

Consult your pediatrician first regarding his unwillingness to pee. Maybe it has something to do with his medical problem.

If there is no medical or other such issues involved, I'd just give away all his pull-ups. Then tell him no more pull-ups. Its over. Make the tone of your voice sound firm. Take him to a store like Target and go shopping and let him pick out a new potty seat, and lots of underwear (the kind with cartoons on it). This will make him feel like he is in control of the process. Make your potty & undie shopping trip really special and fun to celebrate this next step he is taking ... kind of like a right of passage.

Let him pee in his underwear - he's old enough to put on fresh underwear himself. In the potty training process, there are lots of accidents esp. in the beginning so don't get discouraged by this. When he has an accident, don't make a big deal about it. Just say "accidents happen, you'll get it right soon".

If you can, try to get him to sit on his new potty in the morning, before going to bed, and about an hour after he drinks something. And, whatever you do, don't put the pull-ups back on him ever again. When you got out, bring extra clothes and underwear for him with you. Eventually he will tire of having wet undies, and having to change his clothes. Also that potty training dvd with the bear is pretty good.

Good luck.
Diana

M.,

HI, my nephew was the same way as your son. He to would have a bowel movement but would not urinate in the toilet.

My sister did as you did and nothing worked. Then one day he decided that he had to go and he did all by himself and was so excited that he did it by himself, he came running out of the bathroom telling us all.

From then we just think that he was ready when he was ready. I know that this is not much of a help. But the children now adays take longer to potty train. All my children were potty trained by the time they were 2.

Hope it works out and that one he comes out of your bathroom all excited that he went potty in the potty.

J.

www.noahsarkworkshop.com/jodigilbert18

I do have a suggestion, but first of all, have you talked to your son's doctor? Sometimes medical problems do have a huge effect on this, and he/she may have some advice or may be able to refer you to someone who does.

Otherwise...both of my children are also stubborn. My daughter is now 4 1/2, and what we had to do is just ditch the diapers/ pull-ups all together, and deal with the accidents. When she had an accident, we would bring her toilet paper, and she'd have to clean it up, not as punishment, just matter-oof-factly. She would need to clean up the floor, etc. where she had an accident, as well as herself, which usually involved showering herself off, which she did not enjoy. We were lucky that her daycare teachers were encouraging about this, and willing to follow through at daycare as well. It only took a week or 2 for her to be mostly potty trained during the day, and she was over 3 at the time.

My son is now 3, and has sensory processing disorder. We are working on his potty training, but his issues mean that he doesn't always realize he is wet, and it doesn't bother him, so we are in for a long road with him. Unfortunately, he ENJOYS cleaning things up, so we'll have to take a different route! Every child is different. Good luck!

Hi...

I had trouble with my son, but he was finally motivated by the reward of being able to put a drop of food color (of his choosing) in the toilet if he went potty. He LOVED it and it worked so well, the day care center he was at started keeping food color in their restrooms! The other thing he liked was playing "sink the cheerio". Sounds gross, but it worked.

My son was 3 1/2 and I was struggling also. I started taking away all his privelages-racing car games, tv programs and no computer time. I wrote a note that said No tv, xbox or computer in large print and put in on the fridge so he could see it. He was very upset to say the least. He repeatedly asked that I take the note off the fridge. He soon realized that I meant business. It was a slow road. It took him two months of sometimes doing okay and sometimes having accidents.

What we ultimately did was figure out that he LOVED a racing game on XBOX. We told him that everytime he peepee'd he could play 10 min of his racing game.
The first day he played the racing game 8 separate times for 10 minutes. He was so excited. He would peepee and then run like a mad man into the playroom saying he could play his game now. It was pretty much smooth sailing from that day on with 2 or 3 accidents in all.

Just be firm. Stand your ground

Good luck.
F.

I'm in the middle of my twins (boy and girl). For some kids, they will just wait a long time. Have you tried games in the toilet - things for him to "shoot at" anything from cheerios to professional games with targets? Does his dad pee in front of him? I show my son all the time, and he totally understands it, but isn't quite there yet - yet he loves running around the backyard naked, and he'll stand there and pee. Hopefully that will lead to something positive. Is he in a pre-school right now? A lot of times that environment and peer pressure will help him to want to be like the other/older kids. Good luck.

Peace,
Richard