When Do They Learn to Hold It?

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I use "Potty Scotty" padded underwear for my son.
Which you can get on sale at Amazon or cheaper on E-bay. Which is where I got mine. They have 6 packs or more.
My son recently made 4 years old.

Pull-ups are expensive and don't hold much.

Next, this is only the beginning. FULL bladder control... takes time. It is NOT per a child's age... it is PER their biological development/brain connections/bladder development/myelin sheath nerve development.
Keep that in mind.

It will vary day to day.
Kids, have accidents. That is childhood. Even older kids in Kindergarten and 1st grade and sometimes 2nd grade can still have accidents. I know.. my daughter did. I talked to our Pediatrician AND my Daughter's Teachers... and they ALL said, it is normal and yes, kids these ages have accidents. But the parents won't admit it. Do keep that in mind.

I ALWAYS also keep in our car, a 'car potty.' If you look on Amazon... input the search word "on the go potty" and you will see it and can read the reviews of it there. A car potty, is a lifesaver. We STILL use ours, at our kids ages... for times we are stuck in traffic, where there is NO toilet nearby, when we are out and there are no toilets etc.
I REALLY suggest you get this. ALL our friends have these in their cars too.

I also ALWAYS keep extra clothing/underwear/diapers in the car, at all times. Per accidents. Because it WILL happen.

When/if he has an accident, yes, don't make a big deal about it. It is childhood. It happens. They do NOT have full "impulse control" developed yet. Scolding/punishing will not help and make it worse and cause stress and anxiety in the child.

Next: for night time... night time 'dryness' does NOT occur and is not fully attained until even 7 years old. It is a totally SEPARATE thing and process. So keep that in mind. It is normal. It is a biological attainment. NOT age related. My daughter was in night time diapers until she was 5 years old. Normal. My son, is still in diapers for naps and night time. Normal.
Just buy some waterproof bed pads, to put directly under him. That is what I do. I bought mine from Amazon. It makes clean up REAL easy. When/if my kids have an accident at night or leak... I simply put another waterproof pad under them, and that's it. They change pajamas and go back to sleep. NO biggie.

all the best,
Susan

He could just get it. He's probably pretty close, and experiencing accidents, as annoying as that is, can help him put together the sensations that lead up to urination. It's a more complicated process than it seems it should be, though, and a few kids won't be able to tell they have to go until as late as 4.5 years.

As they mature, the bladder gradually develops the ability to hold larger amount of pee, the sphincter muscle becomes stronger and is able to hold back the flood, and the nervous system becomes more attuned to body sensation. A little of the potty process is intentional, too: a child has to want to succeed, to pay attention and not just be distracted by other activities. Sounds like your son has the motivation, so a little practice may help him put it all together.

My grandson has been trained for a year now, but occasionally he still gets a "sneaker," where he suddenly has to go, NOW!, and didn't notice any urge 30 seconds ago (possibly because he was simply too absorbed in some interest). So far, no accidents, but one of these times it could happen. No biggie.

Good luck.

You've gotten some good advice so far.
The only thing I would add to this is to try to minimize your trips away from the house for the first couple days. Let him adjust to the underwear and the new procedure for going to potty. Yes, you might have to make a trip out to the store, run a quick errand....but if it were me, the out to eat meals and the ice cream trips should wait a bit and get the success rate up at home before you throw other things in.
His young brain and nervous system will do better focusing on one thing at time. Good luck!

Half-an-hour is good, compared to my second son's experience! When he started potty training at age 2, he was only "holding" it for 10 minutes. No accidents at all on our first day, but he literally peed a tablespoon at a time, every 10 minutes! His doctor said his brain was ahead of his body, so we stopped training and waited until he was holding it longer.

My first son was way too easy. He was dry for a long time, then suddenly his diaper was overflowing. That's when I knew he'd be ready to potty train. But my second son had no such sign. He's taken a long time to potty train, but he's mostly done. He has accidents a lot, usually little pee ones. It's frustrating because he's almost 4 1/2, but what can you do?

One thing that was fun for my boys was putting their potty seat somewhere that was very accessible, like in the kitchen or family room. Then they didn't have to stop playing for very long to pee. We'd empty the cup and rinse it so there were no spills.

BTW, I agree with you about the pull-ups. I hate them I finally had to start using them when we were done with diapers, but he still needs something at night. And he's long ago outgrown size 6 diapers (he's a really big kid).

GM,

Interesting I am now potty training my second son that is now 2yrs, my first is now 9yrs of age and I can not remember how this works. U think you need help I'm screaming for help...HELPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!! I think he will get the regular potting thing down give him about six months and he will be going like a champ! Congrats to you and your undies, no more dirty diapers..I'm so jealous. Thanks for sharing JF

He'll get it! I agree with your cloth pants philosophy although pull ups make it easier when you're out of the house. It takes some time. Maybe start asking him "Do you feel like you have to go? so he starts connecting his feelings with the bathroom. Gradually increase the time increments between trips of taking him.

it's different for different children. When my now grown children were small I read an article the the average child has day time control at 17 months, true or false don't don't but my 3 were dry in the morning and naps time from between 17 1/2 months and 18 months, they were out of diapers and night before they were in the day, but all potty trained before age 2. J. also remember accidents are when the child made every effort to get to the bathroom. but didn't make it. No effort at all is no accident, that's intententional.