Potty Training HELP - Braxton,MS

he is just not ready! Most are closer to 3 or 3 before being ready for potty training. He will let you know when he is ready. I raised two boys and one was trained by two, but the other one was 3. I am a grandmother of twin girls and they are 3 and just now potty trained.

PUT SOMETHING IN COMODE AND TELL HIM TO POTTY ON IT.make a game out of it,then praise him for hitting it.I know it sounds silly but it really works.

Wait!!! He is just not ready. Give him a couple of months and try again. I promise he wont be wearing a diaper when he starts school.

I have 3 girls, 2 of which i had no trouble potty training at age 2 and 2 1/2. My 3rd however was all together different. I tried EVERYTHING, until i finially quit.. She was almost 3 1/2 when she said, hey momma, i pooped.. She showed me, and from there on, she has been doing it. Usually she asks me, Mom, can i go poop? which is funny to me, but she does it and it works. It took me forever to figure out, she would do it on her own. Their Dr. told me , she will do it, have you ever seen a kindergartener wearing diapers? i was like no, he told me to be patient, she would do it when she was ready, and she did..

when my son and daughter were small ,i used to take them to the bath room and sit with them on the potty and we always took a book .we would look at the book and read while we sat there...sometimes it worked and we would be successful. i would try to do this every couple of hours.i hope this helps .

My advice would be to take a breather from potty training. It is frustrating, I know. I potty trained my son at two, and experienced exactly what you are going through. I didn't have any friends with children at that time, and was on my own pretty much. I wish I would have backed off because he regressed at least four other times up until he was four years old. My friend waited until her sons were three and just took off the diaper, no pull ups or anything. Her sons were trained in a weeks time. I did that with my daughter, and it worked great. So, maybe you could wait until summer and try again. Summer is a great time to potty train. Less clothes to wash if there is an accident. One of my friends potty trained her son by letting him go outside in the grass. It worked for her. It is very hard to be patient. You also could try some positive reinforcement for sitting on the potty. If you're upset about the process, then he might be, too. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Oh yeah, He might be too short to pee in the regular potty and too tall for the trainer potty. I didn't sit my son on the potty, but rather turned him around facing the potty with his knees on the seat. That advice was from my mother, and it worked wonders.

When my daughter was young we enrolled in a parent operated play (pre) school. I was told that children today are "pushed" to early for potty training. As my daughter approached 2 I introduced the potty and waited for her to be ready. On occasion she would show interest. I decided that she should be trained before her 3rd birthday.
I told her it was time to wear Big Girl panties and that we needed to go shopping. She picked out the panties and a special prize (doll) that she would get to keep once she started going on the potty. She enthusiastically sat on the potty on training day. She quickly grew tired of waiting to go and started to cry. I gathered books and offered to play with her but she would have to sit there until she made pee and poo. Finally she did, we had a celebration , made a poster (I'm a big girl now) and took her photo with the new panties on holding her sign. I told her there were no more diapers, and that was it, she was trained. With little stress, and in a way where she felt proud of herself.
They are only young for a short while. If your son does not seem ready, why rush. You could start to introduce the tools and suggest for awhile.Talk about it and read potty training books.
Oh almost forgot. Once out of diapers, I offered skittles (1 for pee and 2 for poo) as an incentive, it worked very well and of course we brushed teeth after the treat. If she forgot to ask I didnt give any.

Anyway , good luck , remember it aint the end of the world if he isn't out of diapers too soon! Best Wishes, J.

My son is 2 1/2 and he will still pee in his pants instead of going potty. He can hold it for long and will ask for diaper or forget about it and pee his pants. He will not go potty. I am not at all concerned about it (except for the environment, but I mainly use nature babycare diapers to not feel too guilty....)
My daughter was ready early, but I got so happy and we made a big deal out of it to make her proud and she did not want to go potty for quite a while.
So encourage them, talk about it etc, but don't pressure. I think it will just have the opposite effect. I think it's hard for us to understand that this is such a huge step for them and such a big change.

Both of my sons were just shy of 3 when they quickly and sucessfully were pottied trained. My second son did not use even one bag of pullups. He was sleeping through the night dry for a long time before he was ready to go on the potty so no more diapers for nighttime once he went during the day.

For the kids I have known it is about control! Also, some fear - my son kept saying he would fall in.

I teach preschool and I offer Skittles and stickers. (Stickers on a chart so they can see their attempts and accomplishments). If they try - a sticker, if they tt 1 Skittle and a sticker, poop 2 Skittles and a sticker. This works if they want rewards. But sometimes, playing is more important to a little kid than a Skittle/sticker. Many of these kids are 2 1/2 and will go but not consistently. I am happy for them and tell them how proud I am of their accomplishments and move on. If I need to change their diapers an hour later I change their diapers and do not make them feel guilty. Our theme is you can do it!! So I do not force something when the child is not ready.

Again I did not force my boys and once they got they had VERY few accidents!!

Good luck!

best advice I have is to give it up for a week or two then try again. I did this with my oldest and about 5 days later she asked if she could go to the potty & I told her "no, it's only for big girls. You wear a diaper." 3 days after that she was completely potty trained! It may be more of a control thing for him... once he sees that you don't care, he'll give in and move on to something else that can push your buttons! Hope it helps and best wishes:)

What is something that your child loves? With mine, it was going for a walk. So, I said to him, "If you choose to go on the potty, that means you want to go for a walk. If you choose to go in your diaper, that means you want to stay home. It doesn't matter to me. It's up to you." All it took was one time of me taking his sister for a walk without him and he made a different choice the next time. You can't get in a power struggle. Tell him it's all up to him, it doesn't matter to you where he chooses to go. Worked like a charm. Good luck! R.

Boys are much harder to potty train then girls and they won't start until their ready.

With my son, I tried to make it fun. I put a cheerios or a fruit loop in the toilet and told him to try to hit it. LOL! It sounds crazy but it worked.

Just keep in mind, if he enjoys this you will have to slowly ween him off of the cheerios ;-)

It sounds like he wants to please you but he's still kinda confused about how to use the potty. I have a daughter that is right at 2 1/2 years old and is just within the last month or two totally potty trained. I told myself I wasn't going to pressure her until she showed interest, but at 18 months old she wanted to use the potty. Back then she became 100% potty trained for about 2 months...then she started having accidents again. And it took almost a year to get back to using the potty all the time. For me, it was frustrating, but I decided not to worry until she was closer to three. They say it takes boys longer to learn, so hang in there. He's figuring it out...just a few minutes too late. He'll get there.

I had some trouble with my little boy and we used this idea and it worked. We got a stool that he could stand on to go potty and we put cherrios in the pot and told him it was a game and he needed to try and sink the cherrios. It work within 2 weeks he was trained. Hope it helps.

Often children who continue to wear diapers will continue to wet them. My son was completely potty trained by about 2 1/2. I noticed my son, who was still sleeping with me, was always dry in the morning. So I began taking the diaper off at night. He had one maybe two accidents over the course of a couple of weeks and once he saw the upheaval it caused during the night, it must have clicked that you don't want to wet the bed. So he was actually night time trained before he was daytime trained. Then I took the diapers off during the day. It was a little bit more work for a while - like having a new puppy. But he got that too because he could see that it caused me to have to stop what I was doing to clean up. So I would calmly tell him that the next time he needed to use the potty because I don't like to clean it up. The only thing remained was on outings. My mother suggested that I carry a little potty in the car which I began to do because public bathrooms are not fun with toddlers. I like the one piece Baby Bjorn potty. Before long he was completely trained, no battles or anything.

Other cultures who can not afford disposable diapers cannot imagine having a 4 year old still in diapers. I had a neighbor from Kazakstan who began training very early and from I could understand most of all of their children were trained early.

If you make it oppositional and they are in the period where they are declaring their independence, then you will have battles. Good Luck.

Don't push him. That's my best advice. My mother was freaking out from the time he turned 2 that he needed to train NOW. I didn't push it. I just introduced it and made sure he knew the drill and he slowly but surely caught on. When I say slowly I mean he's 3 1/2 now and has been fully potty trained for about a month. I told my mother that when he was ready he would do it and I was right. He started tee-teeing and pooping in the potty within the first 2 days of him becoming really READY to go. He isn't potty trained at night yet so he still wears a diaper to sleep in but it's one thing at a time. Just be patient with him. The more you push the more he'll pull away from the idea. Good luck!!!

LOL, I too went thru this when my son was younger. I finally figured it out, he thought I was punishing him by makeing him sit for a time. So, he was much older when I finally got him to potty train. You may not like my answer, but I would give it some more time until he understands your words a little better and relize it is not punishment to sit on the potty chair. Try again when he is 2 yrs and 3 months, if it doesn't, don't push him but try at the 2 yrs and 3 1/2 month, etc, until he understands. Good Luck Hun.

Hey A. -

WE have four little boys and I have waited with each one of them until right before they were three to even start. The younger siblings have started earlier, but only b/c they want to be like their big brothers. Try not to stress to much about it ... each child is so different and while you probably could make him learn now it may be helpful to wait a month or two and try again. Now for a tip... with our first we would put a few cheerios in the potty and have him try to aim for them. He would be in there having the best time. It is hard when they are small you have to get just the right stool so they are at a good height and it can be messy! I know most people teach little boys by having them sit, but mine thought it way more fun to stand. We gave a small treat for #2's. After they get the hang of it they stop asking for their treat. Hang in there !

Be patient and keep on working with him. He will eventually get it... :). It takes time. Make sure you put him on the potty first thing in the morning and at least every hour. Try rewarding him too, when he does make the first tee tee in the potty. Good luck and persevere!

A., he is afraid of the BIG potty, even if you have him going on a little trainer potty, in the bathroom where the BIG potty is, it can be freightening. He's afraid he will be flushed down. Try bringing him in when you or daddy go. I know, it's not the best scenario, but it works!! Or brother & sisters can also help him learn that the potty isn't so bad after all. He just needs some time to get it. Be patient, he will surprise you some day.

Good Luck!
AJ

I used teh doll method with my son when he was 2 (Potty Scotty). It worked really well! :) If you were going to try the doll method, I would wait 2-3 months (let him use diapers for that time period and take teh potty out of sight), then start over fresh with the Potty Scotty. :)
There are lots of stores that sell them, but I found the least expensive ones on ebay. I plan to use the same method with my daughter in a few months time. ;)

good luck!
M.

It takes longer with boys, first off. Second, have him go to the bathroom with an older male to see how things work. You could also try letting him stand and aim, but it can get messy. He'll think it's fun though. Ultimately he doesn't sound ready to potty train, so it's going to be difficult. You might want to think about waiting. If you push him too hard he will regress.
Good Luck!

Whats the rush? Your stress is just affecting him in a negative way, which just makes everything harder. I also have a two year old, and its clear he isn't ready to train. We bought him a potty when he started appearing interested in watching me and my dh using the toilet, but he just cried when we first sat him on it. So we just let the potty sit there in the bathroom for a few months and he started trying to sit on it all on his own while dressed, imitating mommy and daddy. Now he will actually sit on it in the evening naked while we run his bath water. Sometimes there is a success, sometimes he pee-pees right after we sit him in the tub. He clearly doesn't understand the 'urge' to go yet, so we won't work on 'training' until he tells me he is going potty before or during, not after.
We went in for his 2 year well visit, and the ped said our son's potty behavior was normal, and he didn't expect to hear our son was ready for training until closer to 3.
I suggest you just back off forcing him to sit on the potty for a few weeks, let him watch you and your SO use the toilet, let him help you with toilet paper and flushing, and make it fun. Your son will come around when he's ready. I have several friends who are really stressing over 2 and 3 year olds training, and not getting good results. Those who just let it ride have more success.
Good Luck!

I disagree with your other advice. The modern "wait till they're ready -- age 3 or 4" thinking is really an insult to children's intelligence. Once they are physically capable of something, it's up to the parent whether or not they do it. No one waits until a child is "ready" to clean his room, help with chores, etc., because they'll never be ready to give up play time for responsibility. So, you're doing the right thing in training him, the difficulty is to know how -- made harder by an entire society that says to just wait & let the kid decide. There is help, though! Get the book Toilet Training in Less than a Day. It's super and will save you a lot of frustration (and diaper expenses). I trained my children (both male & female) at 20 months, and though it was a very intense day, it was wonderful and not difficult. They were so proud of themselves. It can be done! Don't give up.

When my son was potting training a neighbor/friend suggested I throw a few Cherrios in first and tell him to aim and shoot. It made a game out of it and he caught on quickly!

The first thing you need to do is RELAX!!! There are two battles you will never win with your toddler - getting him to potty train when you want and getting him to eat. It sounds like it has become a power struggle between the two of you, and guess who's winning? (hint; it's not you!) Back off a little, but keep asking if he wants to use the potty. Some moms use the reward system - they give stars every time their child goes potty on the toilet, etc. Some mom let their kids pick out their own "big boy underpants" (with cartoon characters on them) that they only get to wear if they keep them clean and dry. The point is to STOP making it a battle and make it something he desires to do. He WILL eventually be potty trained, but it will have to be on his own time table. And again - RELAX!!!

he is still young, neither of my boys trained until 3 yrs old and the oldest wet the bed until he was 6 or 7.

Hi A.
I had a son that was not at all interested in learning how to potty but this is what I did. When he had to go and potty ( which this was best when it was not so cold outside) we had a big rock outside and he would go and pee on this rock. He would think that it was all about hitting the rock. (This rock was not big at all but to hear him tell it it was the size of a boulder) and it got him learning the urge to go and to also get excited also. Another thing that we did was on our deck he would learn how to aim between the boards on the sides and learn how to aim at the same time and pee too and not hit the boards . I hope that this helps you. My son is 19 now and he always volunteers to share what his mom taught him.........

Two years old is still early. He may not be ready yet? I would not force it on him and see if he comes back to it himself. In the meantime, you could read books like "Where is the poop?" and "Everyone Poops"- or the Bear in the Big Blue house DVD on using the potty.

My son quit "pooping" in his pants about 2 years old; however, he continued to "potty" in his pants until almost 3. I feel he was way too busy to sit down for very long; but I had better success if I gave him something to "do" while sitting on the pot--that was reading to him! Maybe you could leave a couple books in the bathroom for potty time. Then there is the game boys can play with Cheerios--put the cereal into the toilet and let him have target practice with them! Make it fun for him Mom, but I certainly wouldn't worry about it that much--it'll fall into place for both of you! Good luck!

A., don't worry when your son is ready, he will be easy to train. My son was not ready until he was 4, he is now 39, and it did not cause him any harm. But, my Mother was having a fit. I had a very understanding Mother-in-law and she said "he is not ready mentally" and he wasn't. It has nothing to do with IQ, my son has an IQ of 143.

Hey A.! I have 2 sons, and my good friend has 4 sons. We both say, "Wait!" Boys usually are not ready to potty train until they are three years old. I started to train mine one month after they turned three. They trained in DAYS! We did not use pull-ups. That just prolongs things. Use padded underwear, so they can feel that they are wet. The first day will be terrible, the next day, not much better. But then they start to get the hang of it. By the end of seven days, they were all completely trained. So don't fret! Give yourself and him some space and just wait. It will be so much easier! Good luck! Marsha

He's not ready. Wait till he shows interest. And reward him when he uses it.

Hey A.-- I would relax over a two year old boy. Unfortunately boys are a little slower with potty training, especially if they are the only child. My son was fully potty trained at three and I was told that was normal. He's 12 now and a straight A student and perfect in every way!!
We also put him in a little day care for a few hours a couple of times a week and that helped also. Good luck and remember that this is soooo normal. Stay strong.

K.

I have an almost-2-year-old who is just now starting to show an interest in her little potty. So far we have had 2 "poo-poo's in the potty" but no "pee-pee's in the potty" and overall she still is going in her pull-ups. I have several friends with toddlers who I get advice from every chance I get, so I will pass their advice on to you as well. I also love to watch SuperNanny on television. First, be patient because it will happen one day!
And...Always be positive, providing praise whenever you can. Lots of songs and a sticker (that she can place on the lid of the potty) when he does go in the potty, even if it's just a little and the rest is in the pull-up. Any step towards going in the potty should be fully praised. I have also given my daughter a small toy that she can only play with while she's on the potty so that it will peek her interest a little more. I feel like all she is doing is sitting theire playing with it, but I have been pleasantly surprised to find that she has actually gone poo-poo in the potty whily playing with the toy. A distraction like that might not be the best advice, but it works for my daughter. But, to make a long story short....be patient and positive!!! :)

i say, having done it with a boy before, to wait. boys do better closer to 3. it'll save both of you a lot of stress and high blood pressure that doesn't need to be there. atleast wait until he's really good at communicating.

Sugar, I have two boys. . . and I learned that if you try to train them before THEY show interest, you are wasting your time. Ignore the desire that you have to train him. Don't worry about pressure from others. When you least expect it, he will want to potty himself :)

I have a couple of suggestions. I have had to potty train my two sons, one of my daughters(the other is too young), my step-daughter and step-son. Does your son have anything to do while he is on the potty? (For example: books, toys, etc.) And if that doesn't work, don't push it. He's not ready. Boys are alot harder to potty train than girls. I'd wait a while and try it again. Summer time is easier, some boys enjoy finding a tree while he's outside and going that way. That is what we ended up having to do with my step-son after we tried everything else, I was at the same point you are now. Some people believe if you follow the calendar you can have more luck also. Find a calendar the that has the head, shoulders, and so on. If I remember right, try it from the knees down. I may be werong, if you can find someone that knows for sure, I would.

He's not ready. I have 5 boys and you can not make them be ready just because they are 2. My 4th son was almost 3 when he finally took the bait to wear big boy scooby doo undies. I put them on him and within two days has done. He not only used the bathroom for #1 &2, he didn't wet at night. Now, he's the only one so far that has done the night thing. I have 1 right now who's 2 1//2 and he just starting to warm up to the idea of wearing big boy undies...I haven't worked too much with him because we have had a virus going aroung and I have been up for the last week. I am waiting to add a
stresser after I get a few full nights rest! Here are some ideas that I have used: Peeing on cherios in the toilet, peeing outside, and rewarding after using the potty with a few smarties. I know this is a frustrating time, but you will only get more frustrated if he's not ready and excited about the process too. Good luck! Angie

There is no "magic age" when potty training is supposed to work. It happens when it happens. In raising five kids, every one was different. I believe that the ones I pushed too hard had more problems than the ones whom I allowed input into the process.

Okay well first of all he is two...he doesn't sound ready yet.

T.
http://www.wellnessiseasy.com

Have patience! I have three boys and my first one trained at 3 years old. My second and third was at 3 1/2. Two is kind of young and since you have tried and he isn't wanting to go don't push him or it will be harder later on. Offer him an award (little toy, candy, etc. that is in a dish or basket in the bathroom) and if he goes on the potty he will get one. Is he wearing pullups so he can push them up and down himself? Take him into the bathroom every hour or so and if he likes books have him sit with a book and read with him. The main thing is patience and don't push too hard. It will happen.

It doesn't sound like he's ready to potty train, if you continue to push the issue it will only frustrate you and your son. My son wasn't ready until almost three, but once he was ready it took about 3 days (after weeks of frustration when he was younger). Also, I gave him an incentive (some call it a bribe), when he would potty he would get a chocolate kiss and that was the only time he would get one. Since he loves chocolate kisses it was the perfect incentive.

3 is DEFINITELY the easiest for him AND you. Trust me, it's a lot easier changing diapers for a 2yr old than dealing with a potty trained 2 yr old. If he's not wanting to train yet, don't do it. You'll just be stressing yourself out too much (and him, and it can actually turn around and backfire on you if you're not careful). There was a question about this a few days ago. I wrote a LONG post about my experiences w/ my 3 boys. Please go read it. My boys all potty trained themselves pretty much right at 3, and my youngest is pretty much potty training himself right now, and he's almost 3.

HTH,
K.

http://www.mamasource.com/request/10435720543423430657

Hi there - I have two boys 8 and 5 and I remember those days pretty well. In my experience two years old may be a little young for some children, especially boys. I know there are those children who are completely trained at 18 months but I think they are few and far between if the parents are really being honest. Both of my children were completely trained by about 3 1/2. If he is truly crying then I would put your potty away and wait a few months. Bring it out again and again and if he's not ready then put it back. The worst thing you can do is push him, it won't make it happen any quicker. If your dead set on potty training him now then follow all the "cutsie" tricks like stickers, rewards, and throwing cheerios or gold fish in the potty for him to aim at, then I would sit back and buy lots of extra laundry detergent. Unfortunately, there is little we can do as parents to make it happen, it will happen in it's own time with lots of love and patience from you :)

I recommend getting a good fun book for him to read only when he sits on the potty. I am going through this with my 2yr old son as well. At first, I tried just making him sit on the potty and he did the same thing, just crying and screaming and throwing a fit. He loves Elmo so I found an Elmo potty book that has the buttons that play music and say things that go along with the story. I also got him an Elmo potty DVD. I have also backed off putting pressure on him and just ask him throughout the day if he wants to potty. Since I have done that and let him watch the DVD and read the book on the potty, he has been wanting to go potty. He has even taken to pulling his pants and training pants off and peeing on the floor if I don't see that he is trying to tell me that he needs to go (he's not talking yet due to sensory issues). I praise him lots when he does use the potty and don't put lots of pressure on him through the day if he doesn't want to. He's VERY stubborn, so that sort of approach seems to work better for him. I also created a chart to put on the wall in the bathroom that shows his progress. I got some small cheap stickers at the dollar store and put them on the chart for each time he does what he's supposed to do (sit on the potty, pee, poop, wash hands, help dump the potty/diaper, dry diaper, tell me he has to go). I made the chart on a colorful sheet of construction paper and got him to help me decorate it. I put about 4 weeks worth of spots on the chart and he gets a small sticker for each time through the day he does any of those things. Hope this helps!