Help Potty Training - McKees Rocks, PA

I have potty trained children in a school setting and I have also assisted other parents in home with potty training their children as part of early intervention therapy. You said that everything was fine until he started school... Have you talked to the teachers at school to find out their potty routine? Consistancy is key with potty training. Does the school take the children for group potty breaks? Do the children have to ask to use the potty? Are they assisting the children in the bathroom and to what extent? Did he have an accident at school and get embarassed? I would ask the school some of these questions first to troubleshoot a bit. Parents tend to know when their child needs to use the potty, teachers have a lot more children to look after and may miss the subtle cues a child is giving and if the child is shy he may not speak up to ask. A potty training schedule might work well to avoid accidents until he is back to his old routine again. Set an egg timer and bring him to the potty every 60-90 minutes. And really reinforce the successes, a special toy or treat that is only for when he uses the potty and no other time. Hope this helped.

At this age, kids respond VERY well to prizes or treats. Fill a bowl with all of his favorite candies, small dollar store toys, etc. Everytime he goes on his own, he can pick a prize. With one of my sons I actually put all of the prizes in a pillow case and increased the element of surprise by letting him put his hand in with his eyes closed and pick one. I can remember my boys both having periods where they would have accidents or simply not want to quit what they were doing long enough to use the potty. Whatever you do, don't go backwards and put him back in diapers or pull-ups. It is very confusing to a child to go back and forth. Once you commit to training, stick to your guns no matter how frustrating it gets. The consistency will help him in the long run and remember praise goes a long way at this age.
Good luck!

i'd keep him out of his pants and underwear during the day.. but they say any change in his life style could interfere with potty traing.. my daughter will "pee" in toilet but refuses to poop in it.. we keep a pull up on her when she goes to bed, nothing works.. and she'll be 4 in Feb. my doctor doesn't seem too worried, said when she's ready she'll go...

Just keep trying to reinforce going to the bathroom on the potty. Tell him that big boys do it and if he's in school he's a big boy now. Try rewards too. Star stickers are fun and try to get character stickers of the ones he likes. It could just be the fact that he has started school and it may get better. School is a big change for a kid. Hope all goes well.

My son had problems with #2 in the beginning and then he also reverted after a few months of using the potty no problem. We used the same video both times and after watching it a few times we were right back on track. It's called "Potty Time" and you can get it online. I'm not sure about stores. It's really corny but it worked like a charm for my son, my nephew and a few others that I lent it to.

Here's a link for Amazon to see what it looks like http://www.amazon.com/Its-Potty-Time-Gareth-Thomas/dp/630...

Good luck!

i don't know if this is the case - but depending on how old your other child is that may be affecting your son's "want" to potty train - in other words if there is a baby in the house that can seriously affect an older sibling - because the older child may see the attention given to the baby. - just a thought....

also - you have to make sure you are dilligent about putting the "#2" into the potty from the diaper EVERY time and then make the child flush it (we also always said "bye bye" to it) then you have to do what works - my son wasn't impressed with little prizes - verbal praise and telling EVERYONE (like i am talking we called my parents every time it happened - we called my inlaws - anyone he wwanted to call)

hope that helps

steph w

I was the same way as a child. So I just took all my clothes off before using the potty.

I outgrew this habit after a while. Your son will, too.

I would say it is just a phase he is going through because of starting school. If it helps you could let him run around naked in the house. That's how I started out with all my boys. Also my boys wouldn't poop in the potty until they were about 3 1/2. They say it's a funny feeling for them. I pt my 3rd one now and I just praise him lots when he goes on the potty and ignore when he has an accident. It seems to be working really well he'll be 3 in April and he only has 1 or 2 accidents a day. Hope this helps. Good luck!!