Potty Training Boy 2 1/2 - Indian Trail,NC

It is going to have to be at his pace - he WILL get interested, but he is still young (for a boy). Be patient, and don't force the issue or you may create other problems

We did not do rewards or bribes of any kind. Our little guy start potty training after Christmas. So, we skipped the pullups route and got training underwear and regular underwear. We just stored a bunch of books in the bathroom and when he sat on the big potty we read to him until he did something and then gave him lots of verbal praise. (He had a little potty chair but, he didn't want to use it so, we got the ring for 12 bucks at walmart) He started going poop in the toilet right away and we had pee accidents during the day. He would wear a diaper at night but, now he hasn't worn diapers in a few months. He will be 3 next month.

If he has very little interest in sitting on the potty, he's not ready. I know you don't want to wrestle with the pants....but if you force a boy to potty train before he is ready, it will backfire big time!
My sons weren't ready until close to 3 or 3 1/2, and there was nothing I could do to hurry the process.

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Hi T.,
My son willl turn three in September and has been potty trained with no accidents for just the last couple of weeks so it is all very fresh on my mind. We did the M&Ms reward things, one for pee, two for poop. I know not all parents want to give their kids candy but it worked for us. ALso, I don' think my child would have understood the concept for five stickers equaling ice cream.
We started out by always sitting on the potty at certain times, like after dinner when he was about to get in the bath. After a while he got comfortable there and actually peed. We made a huge deal out of it. Then he learned to always go pee at that time. Another huge celebration was had when he pooped and every time he pooped we would sing the Super Duper Pooper song. Once I noticed that he could recognize when he needed to go and make it happen, we went straight to underwear. (I have heard that pull ups will just drag out the process.) When he would wake up dry, we would tell him that he could sleep in his underwear but if he had an accident, he had to wear a diaper. He wanted to be a big boy and not wear diapers like a baby, I also have a 9 month old, and he has done great ever since.
I know all children are different when it comes to potty training but that is what worked for us. Hope it helps.

He will train himself when he and his body is ready. Sorry I know it is hard to wait but he really truly will work it in his time. Hang in there.

I did not use any of the charts or bribes, I do not think any of that really works. When he said he was ready I got my boys undies, and on a set day we started wearing them. The first day we had a ton of accidence, and he was begging for his pull up, but I said no, once you go to big boy pants there is not going back. The next day he had 2 accidence, and than none.

hes still young dont sweat it yet hes not ready

Sorry if you have already gotten this suggestion in an earlier post, but have you tried letting him pick out his own 'big boy' underwear then putting it on him as a certain time every day, saying you are going to "practice" being a like his big brother. Or maybe just letting him run around without diaper or pants. It will definitely make him more aware of the urge and feeling to go. Just make sure you keep a close eye on him (like make sure he's not playing on the bed or couch!) so you can watch for signs (holding himself, doing the 'wiggle' dance, etc.) Also find what he REALLY wants as a treat for going on the potty....in my daughters case, it was 2 chocolate covered raisins every time she peed and 4 when she pooped. She LOVED them and it was the only time she got them. Good Luck!

T.,
It could be that he really doesn't need to go at those times. My boys would generally refuse to try when they really didn't need to go, unless we were getting ready to go somewhere. Even if it is a quick walk around the block, having him potty before "going" somewhere may help out. I would make mine go to the potty before we could even walk to the mail box...b/c in our neighborhood, it would be really easy for the kids to get side tracked playing with others, for a neighbor to stop us and chat, or whatever. It helps that my sons all LOVE to be outside....Basically, whatever it was they "wanted" to do - swing, ride their tricycles, watch a favorite TV show, have a glass of milk....they needed to potty before they could get it. Then after they would drink, I would give them about 15 minutes, we would "see" if the drink had gotten through their bodies and filled up their "pee pee buckets" (sorry that term was coined by my oldest child...that is what he thought his testicles were and since it seemed to work for him....we rode out that game with all three of them) and so they would empty them. Somehow it became quite comical with all three of them to see how much they could empty from their ppbs...but it worked.

On a side note...When my youngest son was in Potty Training, I let "style" go for a while - and instead of dressing him in jeans and long pants with stiffer fabrics....I dressed him in sweats and other fabrics that were easy for him to manipulate on his own....no buttons, snaps or zippers. That helped tremendously b/c he was able to manipulate the clothing by himself.

Good luck!
T.

Yea it is going to be pretty difficult in the beginning, but just keep with it and encourage the rewards a lot more clearer...I love to check out this site called the skinny scoop to get other ideas and suggestions when I get stuck with parenting tips for my LO so check out the link below, its specified for potty training...good luck!

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/potty+training?utm_c...

My son was fully potty trained right before his 3rd bday. He knew what he was supposed to do, he just wasn't ready. We tried the stickers, he didn't care too much for that. He loved to get praised after he went potty. One weekend we just asked him if he wanted to wear big boy underwear, he said yes. We put him in underwear and by the end of the weekend, he was doing great (he had several accidents throughout the weekend but he kept trying). I think it was wearing the big boy underwear that helped him, who likes to sit in wet underwear? :) Once you put him in underwear, don't go back to pullups, he might beg for them. My son did, especially when he had to go #2.
Also, he never used a potty chair, he's tall for his age so potty chairs were out of the question for him. He learned to pee standing and used a potty seat to go #2.
Good luck! And keep being positive for him, it’s frustrating for everyone involved :)

My boy was simply not ready at 2.5 and all the encouragement and rewards and books didn't help a bit. He liked the movies, and he liked the idea of being "big" but he flat out wasn't ready. I wish I could have a "do over" and just give him back the time I spent pestering him about the potty.

The best thing we did was set him free naked in the backyard. He figured out more in an hour peeing in the grass than any book taught him. I know some people will find that horrifying but it works. As for the poop issue, if he's not ready, give him more time. Otherwise you are going to be pulling out your hair every time he goes and hides behind a door and poops, which he will do.

Is there anything in the world more frustrating than potty training???

I was always told that when they are ready, it will happen and this held true with my son. We started trying to potty train at 2 ... that was definitely a battle of the wills and he won. Finally, a month before he turned 3, he decided he wanted to potty and wear big boy underwear. By his 3rd birthday, he was trained - THANK GOODNESS !!!

Just hang in there ... keep up the positive reinforcements, don't let him know you are "sweating" it and just keep "doing what you are doing" .. It WILL pay off in the end. GOOD LUCK !!!

Reward systems can be effective for some children, but for a 2.5yo child, the initial rewards need to be almost immediate. Five successful events, especially right at the beginning of training, is almost like asking the child to jump over the moon in order to win a prize. So it's hard for your little guy to take an active interest in something that seems beyond his reach.

Be aware that your son needs to be not only physically able to recognize the urges in time and hold his pee till he gets to the potty, but he also needs to be emotionally invested in his own success, so that he'll be able to handle this new, and very large, responsibility. He may have the interest, but perhaps not the physical/nervous system development yet, or the determination to sustain the effort. It's great that he's excited, but that doesn't guarantee that he's necessarily ready yet.

Boys typically don't train earlier than 2.5, but are sometimes 4 or older by the time they are actually capable. When they are really ready, the indifference changes into enthusiasm. Training becomes a reward in itself, a new challenge to conquer, just as with walking and talking. The process can be very quick at that point, often only a few accidents over a few days, and bribery is not needed.

It's also helpful to know that night training happens later for many children, especially boys. And poop training is sometimes a separate step, too, because it's a different set of physical signals the child must recognize, bowel movements are more effortful and sometimes hurt, and splashing or "losing part of the body" can become issues for some kids.