Potty Training Anxiety

Hi Jill - Here's a link to a post on my blog I did about potty training tips http://www.entrepremusings.com/index.php/2008/03/20/5-pot...

Hope it helps! Good luck.

A.

Send him in with his daddy when he uses the bathroom. Thats how i did my boys. Tell him he is a big boy now and he needs to use the bathroom like daddy.

I know what you are feeling...my little one is the exact same way....We are outside a lot and we have started telling him to water the plants with his special water....I let him know that he sant go in the pool unless he goes potty first because the special water is needed by the plants and or the potty. Hope this helps/ No luck yet with the poty chair, but he sits on it with hisdiaper...Good Luck

Our pediatriccian recommended a 2 week intensive stay home and have your child ONLY wear underwear, no pull-ups. Almost all the moms I know have tried something similar. When he gets wet, have hime sit on the potty and eventually he will hate getting wet enough that he will start wanting to go on his own. However, don't worry too much and don't rush him yet, 2 1/2 is still very young for most boys. We tried the intensive 2 week thing when ours was 2 1/2 (around Christmas) - it didn't really work because he wasn't fully ready. We tried again at 2 3/4 (spring break) and it worked like a charm and he was potty trained VERY quickly after that. Look for signs of developmental readiness physical and emotional before being too intense with the training or you could set him back. Being able to pull down his own pants is one of the clearest signs. This quiz may help let you know if he's ready:
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/pottytraining/l/bl_potty_r...

Also, yes most pre-schools want 3 year olds trained, but many will cut slack for those who aren't 3 yet when they start.

Another "helpful" motivator- the video "Elmo's Potty Time." Painful for adults to sit through, especially over and over again, but my son really liked it and it helped him.

Perhaps try the Peter Pottty, it's a toddler urinal. I haven't started training but plan to this week. As soon as we brought it home my son went right up to it. A lady in his MDO program said her son was fully trained in 2 1/2 weeks(much cheaper than diapers). I bought mine at Walmart, not all of them have then but you can order and have free delivery by picking them up in the store. I paid $21.00. You can also find then online/catalog OnStep Ahead. Good luck.

what worked for me with both of my boys is that i started by letting them teetee outside. I know it sounds odd but it worked then we worked out way up to the potty. I would also throw fruit loops in he potty and told them to shoot them. (the blue ones will change green when they pee on them.) This also works by taking an ice try and make blue ice cubes. Boys are harder than litte girls. I didnt have to do any tricks with my daughter........that said Good Luck!

i know that some people successfully potty train at 2 yrs old or even younger. I was never good at that. My 2 girls and 3 boys were all 3 1/2 when they were potty trained. They decided that they didn't want pullups any more and boom, they were done. Never had an accident. It was just to easy to wait until they were ready. I have a 1 and 2 yr old now and am hoping they are that easy too. I don't know what to tell you to MAKE it happen. If you figure it out, please share. I have NO advice for you. I just wanted you to know that you are NOT alone in this battle. Good luck. As for my 1 and 2 yr old, I will just wait until they are ready and hope they are as easy as the 5 before them.

Try having your hubby take him to the potty. In most cases once they see Daddy go they will want to go as well. I have 2 boys and it worked well for me.

I had the same problem with my 3 year old son. This website was extremely helpful.

http://www.3daypottytraining.com/?PIA66171AYEX

You have to pay $20 or so, but it is sooooooooooo worth it. You get one on one trouble shooting via phone or e-mail. My son was VERY resistant to potty training. It took 5 days instead of 3, but because he was older, like your son, he was immediately fully potty trained. Once he went, that was it. He did it on his own from that instant. The first two days he just held his urine all day and peed on himself at night. Then he got tired of that and decided to go. Believe, it will work and in a few days. Follow the directions exactly. Good Luck!

hi Jill,

go back through some of my replys because i've answered this many times for moms but i'll tell you the big secert is to be consentet with him every 45min to and hour ask him
good luck L.

I agree with Karen, it's surprising that they are requiring 3 year olds to be completely potty trained.

I'm sure your son is picking up on your stress and just digging his heels in even more. You can't make a child eat, sleep or pee/poop if they don't want to. Maybe if you back off for a couple of weeks, get the stress level down (for him anyway) then try again you'll have better luck.

Hi Jill-

I'm probably out of the loop but I'm surprised that they would require 3 year olds to be potty trained. My son wasn't pull up free until he was 4 and my daughter learned at 2 1/2 but at the time she was one of the first kids in her 2 year olds class at preschool to be potty trained. I know there were several kids in her 3 year old class last year that still had pull ups in their cubbies. If the school you have chosen requires potty training, you might want to shop around to find an alternative just in case he's not ready by then. You'll probably get lots of suggestions and hopefully one will work for you, but I know there are preschools out there that do not require potty training at 3 years old and that would be better than pushing it to soon for your son and for you!

Good Luck,
K.

Try to to make it fun.....put five or six cheerios in the toilet and let him try to "sink" it. It worked for a friend's son who told me about it with much laughter.

Hi there. My husband had much better luck than I did. He would have "races" to see who could finish first and try to make it fun. I tried cheerios (that worked for my husband), candy (which killed me but I was desparate), etc. and nothing worked for me. Maybe your husband could give it a shot. We also let our son pick out which underwear he wanted at the store and that seemed to help.

At 2 yrs and 3 months my son (now 3) was almost potty trained, which I thought was great, but when our 1 yr old came along he definitely digressed. I just decided to wait a few more months which was less stressful for everyone. We also had zero luck w/ several different types of potty chairs and fancy seats. He finally settled on a plain white potty seat (the cheapest one of course) that just goes right on our regular toilet seat. He started out peeing while sitting down and then starting using a stool to pee standing. Now he's tall enough and doesn't need it. I also didn't pressure him about going, which seemed to help enormously, and I didn't guilt-trip him when he would have an accident, which also was a huge help.

I think that going straight to big boy undies is helpful so they can feel it if they have an accident. He only used training pants at night for a week or two. I do think most boys are harder to potty-train than girls and just take longer.

Hi Jill,
How critical is it that your son begin preschool in Sept.? Is it something he wants to do? Sometimes children are not ready physically to control their bladder muscles. Sometimes their passive aggressive muscles develop first. ;) If he senses that you Really Want Him to Go to preschool or potty, perhaps he is challenging your ability to make that choice for him. He has the added challenge of having a new baby come in and disrupt his being an only child. Some children think when a new baby enters the picture, they are being replaced. Are there any other boys that he could play with who are potty trained so he could witness their ability and hopefully try to mimic? Relax and tell yourself it is no big deal in the long run. In a year this likely won't be the issue.

I'm not sure if this will help but shortly after my son turned 3, I let him go around the house on the weekends without a pull-up on. The reason I did that is because I figured out that with the pull-up on, he didn't realize that he needed to go to the bathroom. It was a great help and he was completely potty-trained within a month.

First of all if his diaper is dry in the morning, then he is ready. You pick two days that you are going to concentrate on Potty training only, and will be staying around the house. Make sure he wears only big boy undies only during the day. Set a timer for every 15 minutes and take him to the potty...ask him to "try" to go...if he goes he gets a little treat, like a story or a hand full of m&m or 1/4 of a candy bar...something that will leave him longing for more. Day two you can set it for 30 -45 minutes depending on how he did the day before. Devote two days to this and it will all be behind you soon. Give good attention only no negative attention. If he has an accident he won't like the feeling of it as he will be in big boy undies. Also don't stress about it...your anxiety will paralyze him. Look at it this way...he won't graduate high school without being potty trained...and that alone comes all too quick. Hope this helps! God Bless

I'm on the tail end of potty training and I have wanted to give up so many times, UGH! Do you have him in diapers, pull-ups, underwear? I had mine in pull-ups, but still wasn't getting anywhere, so I put them in underwear. I wear a stop watch and every 35 minutes, (it was 30, but I'm trying to extend the time), I put them on the potty. Yes they have accidents from time to time, it is to be expected, I try to be patient and reassure them that accidents happen and remind them they are to use the potty. Our Skittle incentive has ceased to work, so I graduated to M & M's, which they love. For poo poo, I take them to Target and let them pick out a toy under $10. So far it is pretty successful. I'm training twin boys, almost 3, and one of my son's tells me " I don't have to go potty", so I let it go, then he pees in his underwear. I get so exasperated with him that I have started to just sit him on the potty until he goes. If he starts to cry and get real upset, I tell him if he pees in his underwear after he has refused to use the potty I will put him back in diapers. I feel like I'm also pressuring to much. I guess a lot of it is trial and error. Good luck!

I have to agree on the commando method!

Jill,
I know potty training can be difficult but have you considered the possibility of your son not being ready yet. There is no magic age to potty training a child. The younger we train the better it is for you and the child. Unfortunatelly not every child is the same. It sounds that your child is not quite ready yet. Give him time and let him see the brother using the "potty".

Good luck,
Elisa

Dear Jill,

Have you had your hubby try to take him to potty? And make it a big boy thing. That helps some times. I personally don't have any boys but a friend who has three said that helped all three of hers.

Cindy

I credit the video "Potty Power" with potty training my daughter. It has cute songs that really motivate kids to potty train. One day my daughter handed me a pair of panties and said "No more diapers for me," which is the name of one of the songs on the video. Unfortunately, you can't push him if he doesn't want to, but this video might help.

I also just noticed that you have a three-month-old. Kids do regress when a new baby joins the family. They want to be like the baby that gets all the attention. My four-and-a-half year-old still sometimes says she wants to wear diapers (she has an 18-month-old sister) and she potty trained two years ago.

Hi Jill,

My daughter really got into a video called "Potty Power" that we found on the internet. She loves to tell me now -- that she has "Potty Power!" I also had a book that we would read together. In the beginning to get her introduced to the potty we would just practice sitting on it twice a day. When we finally decided it was "time". We took the diapers away and by day 4 -- she didn't have any accidents! Good luck. I know it is a stressful time.

-M. in Cedar Park

Dear Jill,

I am going to pass on the way my nephew was potty trained. He went to day care at the college where his Dad was a student. His Mom was working.
The Child Development students worked in the place, and they never put him on a potty seat, potty chair, or any of that. They picked him up, set him on the adult toilet facing the lid. He was backwards in other words. They placed his hands on the lid where he could hold on and he was secure. It worked for him. He made a great transition from pull ups to the potty.

You probably already knew this, and no doubt, have already tried it. Apologies if I have repeated. If you've never given this method a shot, well then, maybe it will be helpful.

Best wishes,
R.

if there is an older kid around that can show him big boys use the potty thats usually a good trick. they always want to be cool like the big kids!! good luck.

have you tried putting little pieces of cereal in the potty, so he can aim at them!!

I had a daughter first, then my son. My daughter was a breeze to train, and my son, a terror!!! So, I enlisted dad's help here. When dad needed to go potty, he would take our son and teach him tricks like hitting cheerios in the potty. He also had a target painted into his little potty chair. Now being the competitive person he is, it became a game for him to go to the potty to hit the cheerios, but it worked. Good luck!!