Potty Training...HELP!!!

[SanityClause]

I have one boy who just turned two and a 3 1/2 year old, neither of whom are trained. The 2yo seems to be getting the idea, slowly but surely. On the other hand, the 3 1/2yo is a constant source of frustration. We have tried potty charts, videos, books, a special potty, moving the throne to different places, and big-boy pants, all to no avail. I feel like a failure!

Please, oh sages of the board, help me before the rest of my hair turns grey and I have to buy Luv's company stock!:faint

[Cd4u_2]

give him a candy :)

actually, it took my son til he was 4 years old to really use the potty. I had to give up and keep him on pull ups because he just kept forgetting to use the potty. But I do remind him that if he needed to empty his bladder.. (I had to show him a cup and told him his bladder is like a cup.. if it gets too full, it will tell him, but it is a good idea to empty it anyway)

He finally learned though.

[trn2him]

We had my son trained by a 1.5 and through the night by a little after his 2nd birthday.
I did the same thing as you moved the potty around the house, but that didn't work. My husband started taking him into the bathroom with him whenever he had to go and basically showed him what to do. We also put cherios in the potty and made a game out of it. He had to "sink" the cherios, he loved that game. I also rewarded him for going with a small treat, sticker, etc. When we trained him it was also summer and I would let him go play outback with big boy pants on. He hated the feeling of the pee and poop in the pants and before we knew it he was letting me know when he had to go. Warning we had to clean up alot of dirty underwear so keep lots on hand and clean up alot of messes. As for the night time we didn't give him drinks for about 2 hours prior to bed and he didn't like having to wear "baby" pants again so he stayed dry all night. It took me only a little over a week to have him trained during the day, it took longer at night because it took me awhile to realize the drink of water I was giving him before bed was making him go. (sometimes I can be such a ditz).

I hope this helps. I have a few friends who didn't get there boys trained until well after 4 years old. I hated changing diapers so I really stressed the potty thing. I think that is what you have to do, just spend alot of time at it.

[lisaann]

My son didn't get trained until he was 4 years old as well. :hug They are ready when they are ready and not a moment before. :console

[Sealed]

Well, I am in the 'other' camp. I never attempted to potty train my kids.
I just figured that they wouldn't go to kindergarten in diapers!:aha
I was right. Between 3 and 4 all of mine were using the potty.... It took longer for my son than for my girls. Lisaanne is right. They are ready when they are ready! To me the stress of trying to potty training was greater if not equal to changing diapers. Look at the bright side...you can run errands withouth worrying if you will have to pull over to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes! :) Looking back, though, I wish I did buy stock in Pampers!

Hang in there.....this too shall pass!:hug

[C. Little]

Just a guy's opinion......

With all 3 of my sons, we had a big jar of M&M's and everytime they went in their little potty, they got one. Worked great, but you have to keep asking if they need to go.

btw, they use wetting themselves as an attention getter.

[SanityClause]

Thank you everyone, now I don't feel like such a mutant. LOL

If I let him go without anything on his bottom he will mostly go, even #2. We just had a regression last week with him pooing on the floor and peeing on the armchair. Yesterday he was okay, sans diaper, and even #2'd in the potty. Now today it is a diaper day. I tried the pullups and he treated them just like diapers.

Well, back to the war...

[MochaMel]

give him a candy :)

actually, it took my son til he was 4 years old to really use the potty. I had to give up and keep him on pull ups because he just kept forgetting to use the potty. But I do remind him that if he needed to empty his bladder.. (I had to show him a cup and told him his bladder is like a cup.. if it gets too full, it will tell him, but it is a good idea to empty it anyway)

He finally learned though.


Same here, youngest ds just had NO interest, until we pushed the envelope at almost 4 y.o. -- I don't know exactly what we did, but maybe he was finally ready.. I am a firm believer you cannot push this something until they are good and ready.. I know we had the potty party, the begging, the treats, etc. We finally did talk to him about being a big boy and Mommy and Daddy didnt' want to change his icky diapers anymore -- so maybe that is what did it, wanting to please us.. :idunno

:hug It will come, they just all have their own time table when they will choose to do the potty thing.. Don't worry they have to use that potty eventually.. :rolleyes

I'm not alot of help, just wanted to encourage you a bit that you are not alone.. Some kids' are just more stubborn then others.:panic

[MochaMel]

Oh yeah, we had to STOP using all Pull-ups; w/out him feeling wet or it being just like a diaper he would not go potty on the toilet.. I think it just encouraged him to keep using the pull-up..

[Abigail]

I'm not going to be much help...my son night trained way before he day trained. This makes absolutely no sense.

One of my girls was four when she finally trained and it took getting the chicken pox and the discomfort she felt from wetting the chicken pox lesions to get her to use the potty. Sigh.

I agree with everyone else; there's a BIG variation in the age a child is ready, just like every other developmental milestone. This one just affects the parents so directly that it's the one we push for happening sooner rather than later!!

This too shall pass..