My son will be 3 in early November. He has been out of diapers for one year now. We used the 3-day method when he was 19 months old. He does still wear a diaper for sleeping, but is usually dry after naps (recently). Accidents are rare and typically occur when we deviate too far from a normal day. THE ISSUE: My son will not initiate potty use. He'll be dry if we remember to take him (before leaving the house, etc), but if we deviate too far from a normal day, he'll wet himself - sometimes deliberately? Yesterday (perhaps to get attention) he stood, bent over to look between his legs and peed all over the diningroom carpet. Argh. Should we just continue as is and hope that he'll begin to initiate on his own (it's been a year already, but maybe he's just young still?)... or is there a way I can encourage him to self-initiate that will be fun instead of a battle.
Hi L.,
I haven't been there yet but I have had a lot of advice. I am going to try a rewards chart. I have a 2 year old and as far as I can tell she just isn't ready. There are a few signs that they let off and she only shows one or two. The post about making potty time fun sounds like a really good idea!!
Best of luck,
C.
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www.AtHome4MyGirls.com
I certainly do not have any advice on this subject as my son is 3 and is not potty trained. It has been a long time of "trying." I am wondering if you can share info on the 3-day method?
Hi L.,
I'm potty training right now too and someone told me about an altered version of Minta's marble idea. Instead of giving him a treat when he fills the jar hide a treat at the bottom of the jar under the marbles and then each time he pee pees or poos in the potty, he can take a marble out slowly uncovering the surprise at the bottom.
Good luck, D.
I would use the marble jars with a big treat when the jar is full. Explain to him that he is a big boy who knows how to use the potty and it is his job to get there when needed. He will get two marbles when he goes on his own and you take one for any messes. Then stop reminding him, except maybe before leaving the house or while you are out.
Hi L.,
I haven't gone through potty training yet, my daughter is only 2, but I have heard of giving them a special watch that you program to beep every couple of hours to remind them that it's time to try to go potty. This of course is to be presented as a BIG BOY thing that perhaps he'd really enjoy. I haven't shopped for anything like this yet,but just thought I'd pass on the idea. Hope this helps and good luck!
My daughter was around 37 months when she was fully potty trained. This is how I did it. From 24 months about every 2 months we would try under pants. She would be fine and I would continue asking her-do you need to pee. Well then she would pee her pants and I would say-nope, not going to do this. So just continued trying the panties if she would have an accident I just felt she wasn't ready. A month after she turned 3 I put the panties on her and she started going-without even telling me. Just went to the potty and peed. Have had 2 accidents in the past 4 months-just when we have been out busy and not even thinking about the bathroom.
So yeah I am all for waiting until they are ready-it made much less stress for me. If you are wanting out of diapers sooner-I am not the one to give advice on that, but they will usually let you know when they are ready.
I have more questions than answers, I'm afraid. I have heard of this three day method, but always been a bit skeptical. After reading your post, I'm wondering if that method doesn't train the parents rather than training the child. It sounds to me like that's what has happened in your case and that you are going to have to actually go through potty training him now. I know this doesn't sound encouraging to you, but I don't think it should be a huge problem. I doubt that his peeing on the carpet was as much an attention getting device as it was an indication that he is still figuring it all out. Most three year olds, in my experience, are still in the stage of not quite there yet on simply knowing and going to the potty when they need to.
I think Minta's marble jar idea or some other visual reminder (like a chart where he gets to put a star when he goes potty). Or if your son is more attuned to sound reminders, you can set an egg timer to go off at certain times. He's still young, at this age it's common for kids to be a bit distracted and not realize just *how* much they need to go until they're about to burst! Don't worry, this stage doesn't last forever - if for no other reason that as they get older, they realize it's embarrassing for *them* to have a potty accident when they're at school or playing with their friends ;-)
When we were potty training, my son liked peeing on things. I threw a few Cheerios in the toilet and he loved it. It also helped him work on his aim. We also let him make 'green pee pee' by adding one drop of blue food coloring to the bowl. When we were outside in our backyard, we allowed him to 'water the grass, which he also loved, and my husband and I had a special silly pee pee dance and song that made him giggle and encouraged him to go just so he could see us be silly. Hope this helps.
