Potty Training - Hersey,MI

I am in the exact ssame boat as you. My son will also be 3 at the end of Feb. One day he just wanted to use the potty and loved it. He told be everytime he had to go for about two weeks, he would even go himself and yell for me when he was done. Then one day he lost complete interest. I have to battle him now to get him on the potty, if I force him to go, he will, but he does not tell me that often and is back in diapers. I also felt so sad, I was so proud that he was doing so well. I guess they will be ready when they choose to be.

Hello,

I feel for ya on the diaper thing. I have 4 kids ages: boy 8, girl 5 (soon to be 6 in feb.), girl 4 (soon to be 5 in apr.), and boy 2 (soon to be 3 end of dec.). I was sick of changing diapers I have been doing it for 8 years. Soon as I would get one out of them another baby came. I even had 2 in diapers at the same time. Lots of garbage. I started potty training my youngest son October 27 of this year. I was shocked how fast he took to it. It took me 1 week in pullups and he has been in underwear since then. I did 2 m & m's for pee and 1 sticker. I did on mini reese's peanut butter cup and 1 special sticker of a character that he likes for poo. He has since then started weening himself off the candy and sticker reward and still going. He didn't use to tell me that he had to go. I normally after about 2 hours take him to the bathroom and have him try. I took away his sippy cups. When he is thirsty he tells me instead of walking around drinking all day. I ask him several times a day if he has to go. I tell him it is yucky to go in his pants. He even tells me that it is yucky to go in his pants now. It is nice to not have to do the whole diaper thing.

My friend has a little boy who will be 4 in May. He will go pee on the toilet no problem. He won't go poo in the toilet. I have suggested to her to make him sit there a little longer then she normally would. Everything that I have suggested she has done and it doesn't work. I have always had a problem with pooing in the toilet. Some kids get it and some don't. You said that you are due in 3 months. How does he feel about that? Some people don't think that matters but sometimes kids know more than we do. Maybe you getting ready for the baby is making him feel a little left out. I was at a loss with my friend to help. I know that none of this is probably helping. Just hang in there if he was going then he will go again. You just have to reinforce the potty. If he is going poo then reward him for that tell him how big of a boy he is. I haven't heard of not going pee on the toilet. That is a new one for me. Let me know how things turn out. Sorry I know that I didn't say anything that may help you. I wanted you to know that you are not alone in this potty training world. Boys are harder. I have 2 of each and the girls seemed to get it a little faster and cared more if they were wet or dirty.

N.

I think he is too young. In training my 3 (many years ago) I didn't start until they were dry AT NIGHT. I would wait until then and then go cold turkey. No diapers...no pullups. It is very normal to have a "relapse", especially with boys and if they are under 3. Once started again, a reward system could help...stickers on a calendar with a prize for "days in a row", one m&m for every time he gets there..whatever would be motivating for him. When my brother was training, my mom got a little potty that had a back on it like a urinal. It had a target on it.
Be patient, he'll get it.

Sometimes, bribery means everything! I have no problems with little rewards for a job well done. What about doing 'dry checks' and giving him an m&m every time you find him dry? Do it often at first (like every 5 min) and then gradually stretch it out. Then up the ante for actual pee on the potty. We had a Baby Einstein DVD that he ONLY go to watch after a successful potty trip. (Funny thing...now at 4.5 he says 'I went potty so I can watch this movie now...LOL)

Just a thought...good luck!

~L.
Mom of 3 and sister in Christ!

Sounds like you're doing all the right things. I have three boys and they all trained at different times but they trained themselves and never went back. What I did was to put them on a schedule. Go into the bathroom and try every hour or so. They had to try before/after eating and before/after sleeping as well as the every hour try. To interest them more I put a square of toilet paper in the toilet and asked them to use it as a target - "can you hit it and sink it with your pee? Daddy and/or your big brother can." Have them demonstrate they can sink it, too. Worked like a charm. I've heard that some places even sell bullseyes for training boys but I'm not sure where to get them. Once my boys were in regular underwear we never went back. If they had an accident I would ask them if the rubber pants over their underwear was necessary and they hated the way the rubber felt so it never became a real issue. Keep the positive reinforcements going and hang in there, he'll get it soon.

Good luck - S.

My son, now 3 yrs 4 months, had a similar issue at about the same age. He would poop in the potty but not pee - had no clue what to do and was really frustrated. There were a few days here and there in a row (like your week) where he would never wet at all, then suddenly he was peeing everywhere. Then, about two months ago, he announced he was going to wear underwear and has not had but one or two accidents since then.

I would give it a little bit of time. We tried not to make a huge deal out of it, as our little man likes to have a sense of control over everything and if we tried to do the charting or anything he wouldn't have that sense of control. We did give him stickers, if he wanted them. He liked to wear them around... it will happen, just give it a little time! Good luck

I truly believe that the only way to successfully potty train to is get rid of the diapers/pull ups, etc. Doing dry checks and giving 1 m&m for each successful dry check worked for us. I gave 2 m&m's for going potty on the toilet. The other thing that I would highly recommend is reminding him to go potty and pay very close attention for a week, don't let him out of your site until he has his first potty of the day, and take him to the potty or at least ask him if he has to go, every 45 min to an hour after the first potty. You can be real aggressive for the first day or two and just pump him full of fluids(I mean give him whatever he likes-pop, juice, choc milk, anything to get that bladder full) for the first 2 hours of the first day and he will have to pee a lot. Take him every 20 mins or so, he will really have to go a lot and it will help him remember what it feels like when he needs to go, so that he can be more aware of the signals his body is giving him.

Mine did great for a week or two, then would relapse for several days, then do great for a few days then have a bad spell. When she was tired or super busy, she had accidents. TAKE away the diapers, play in the room without carpet, or stay with him most all of the day (postpone the housecleaning, etc, grab a book and slow down for a week or two). The house will be cleaner anyway, without the accidents.

I'd try cloth diapers for a bit. They feel wet much more in them and its more uncomfortable, so it would be encouraging for him to use the potty and not the diaper.

Good luck, this sounds very frustrating. At least he's got poo down! ;)

Sounds very typical for this age, especially for boys. This may go on for months - hate to tell you that! Clearly, he wants to be in charge of this. Sounds like you're doing a great job with it. You can never be too sure of kids this age with anything. A lot of boys aren't trained till they're 4 and some girls too. He sounds very smart, and that may be part of your problem - less compliant, wants to think for himself. He'll get it together some day. He obviously knows how. At least you're getting the poop in the potty, which is hard to acheieve with some kids. Hang in there!

It seams to me that every mom who is having trouble with potty situations has a baby on the way. Do you think there is a relationship there? Maybe big boy wants to stay the baby for a while? This too will pass. Hang in there! You almost never see a kindergardener with a diaper on!

S.

Have you tried giving him something to "aim at" while he's peeing? Drop a couple of Cheerios, small pieces of toilet paper...tell him he can shoot the targets. It's worth a shot.

L.

Don't sweat the small stuff. My daughter did this same thing. She was completely potty trained at one actually. She hated poo and I never had to change a dirty diaper of hers again after. The problem became when I got closer and closer to my due date she reverted farther and farther with the potty training until when her brother was born she was back in diapers. She'd poo in the potty but she wouldn't pee. I'd say about 6 months later she was fully potty trained again. I had to do two things with her . . . one I had to reassure her that she is and always be my special little girl and the baby wasn't going to change that. Two I had to get her on a shedule. When I went she went, if she wanted to eat she had to try, before and after bed . . . you get the point.

Good luck!
Melissa

I can only give you the comfort that I have a daughter age 3.5 that still wets her diaper (cloth, too). She started potty training herself when she was 1, and now occassionally will choose to stay dry and use the toilet, but frequently will not.

Our solution: she changes her own diapers, and has since she was just over 2 years old, and most often sits on hard seats, NOT the couch or softer chairs if there is any suspicion that she might need to go, but is just not willing.

I know she will outgrow it, so I just don't worry about it. Both her older brothers were 3 1/2 when they finally decided not to use their clothes for "going bathroom".
Good luck!