Potty training.

follmer20
follmer20 Posts: 129 Member
Okay moms, or dads, I have a stubborn 2 year old (he will be 3 this october) who won't use the potty. He knows when he has to go poop because he'll tell me he's going to hide. I'll ask him if he wants to go on the potty and hell say no I go hide. I tried sitting him on the potty with the iPad, giving him new cars...what can I do to get him to go on the potty. If i sit him on the potty, he cries. I told myself I wasnt going to push him unless after he turned 3 he still wasn't going potty. Should I force it, should I wait? And any ideas on how to get him on the potty?
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Replies

  • SmexAppeal
    SmexAppeal Posts: 858 Member
    **bump** I am going to be starting this journey here soon... so I'm interested in what has been successful for others. Good luck girl!!
  • Iceman1800
    Iceman1800 Posts: 476
    Boys stand to pee, not sit. Get him a little step stool to pull up to the toilet, toss in some cheerios and tell him its target practice. We never outgrow that :)
  • jtgilfoy
    jtgilfoy Posts: 25 Member
    You have the milestone of the third birthday already built in. Just start telling him now "when you are three, you will use the potty because 3 is too big for hiding". He will say no, but just keep doing that. You have a couple months, and by the time it rolls around he will be used to the idea. Worked great for my nephew.
  • Shelbert79
    Shelbert79 Posts: 510 Member
    My 1st daughter (now 10) wouldn't poop her pants for nothing but she didn't stop peeing her pants until she was in 2nd grade, and stopped having accidents all together just last year! My 2nd daughter (now 6) was pretty easy, potty trained over night practially. But when I was potty training my now 4 year old daughter, she refused to poop in the potty, she'd go pee just fine but would rather poop her pants but she was still wearing pullups. She was also having 'hard' poops so her dr recommended softners to help things along and we started putting her in panties instead of the pullups, thank goodness she got out of that by the time she was 2 1/2 (we were soaking underwear quite a bit, yuck!). I only have one more left to work on, she'll be 2 next month, I'll pray for us both! :smile:
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Boys stand to pee, not sit. Get him a little step stool to pull up to the toilet, toss in some cheerios and tell him its target practice. We never outgrow that :)
    She didn't say anything about peeing.
  • flynnfinn
    flynnfinn Posts: 209 Member
    i live in europe and potty training is completely looked down upon here. i am american by the way but i live in europe so i'm doing it euro style as far as potty training. our pediatrician said that kids need to figure it out on their own. and the only way they're gonna do that is if they see the pee. seems silly but it's true. so we waited until the summer months and basically let our son run around naked. we let him pee in the grass, in the bushes, in the driveway...wherever as long as he could see it. my husband even demonstrated once! anyway, that is what my son does now. if we're outside and it's a hot day, he goes outside. if we're inside, he gets his stepstool and goes in the toilet. boys need to stand when they pee. the whole sitting down business is for girls.

    now pooping on the other hand...that is taking a bit more time and practice. my son likes his privacy so he has yet to tell me BEFORE he has to go poop. so lots of times, he will go in his underwear. it's frustrating but it's a learning process. you have to learn how to walk (pee in the toilet) before you can run (poop in the toilet).

    best of luck. patience is a virtue!
  • Iceman1800
    Iceman1800 Posts: 476
    Boys stand to pee, not sit. Get him a little step stool to pull up to the toilet, toss in some cheerios and tell him its target practice. We never outgrow that :)
    She didn't say anything about peeing.
    you are correct. I went back and reread the post. But for future reference, my post helps them with their aim when that starts ;)
  • bonster1983
    bonster1983 Posts: 17 Member
    Is peeing or just pooping giving you trouble? My first child who just started kindergarten today had a lot of trouble potty training. By the time he 3 1/2 he pretty much had it down. Up until this year he always tried to avoid pooping. I think he just hated to stop playing and sit down. I always have to remind him to go poop or he will get constipated from holding it in too long. I let him sit when he was learning or stand it isn't important at this age to fuss over the details. If he needs help peeing try putting cheerios in the potty and having him try to sink them. It helps if daddy shows him how. He started out sitting and decided he should be standing like daddy. At first it is very difficult for some boys to aim so sitting may be easier. Sorry if this was just about pooping, i wasn't sure. I have an 20 month old boy who I am about to start *trying* to train now that big bubba is at school and I will have more time. I know some people who simply stop putting their kids in diapers during the day and make them go potty or be dirty. They clean them every time they have an accident and got thru a lot of clothes at first but it seemed to work well for their girls. Not sure if boys would be any different or not. Good Luck!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    I have two boys. They were both very different -

    Oldest son - Big boys use the potty. Big boys wear underwear. Big Boys get to go fishing on the boat with papa. Big Boys get to go to school. Big boys get to ride the bus. He wanted to be a big boy. He started using the potty very quickly. He was just over three when he started though. Potty training lasted 2 months.

    Youngest son - I don't want to be a big boy. Ok, but underwear are really soft and not so warm. First hundred degree day of the summer he was potty trained (first time using the potty was the last time wearing diapers for him). Potty training lasted 30 minutes and he was 2.
  • bonster1983
    bonster1983 Posts: 17 Member
    Oh and I wouldn't push it big time. Just really encourage it. Don't punish for accidents I think that can make the child associate potty with punishment. I would make them help clean up accidents though. I also bribed with a piece of his favorite candy. He finally quit asking for candy when he would potty on his own and it worth it to get him trained.
  • this^^! we bought disposable targets from babies r us!!! but i will add if he isn't ready, don't push it because all you are doing is frustrating you and him!! lay low, i mean still mention it "hey buddy let's try to go potty before we go shopping" but if he doesn't want to, don't push it and try again in a few months. i started potty training my oldest when he was 2 years and 2 months old. it took until he was 3 and a 1/2 before he finally got it. he just wasn't ready and i wouldn't back down. it really does happen (even though you feel like it will never come) but it has to happen on their own schedule.


    i'm a mother of 4 kiddo's, so if you have any other questions feel free to pm me!
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    Don't force it. It doesn't work. We had to kind of force our son because we ran out of diaper sizes for him. We ended up doing a sticker book and small (cheap) toys. Stickers for going #1 and a toy for going #2. We tried the every 1/2 hour thing, etc. What ended up working in the end was we stripped him down while at home and he ran around buck naked on the bottom. He didn't to have an accident on the carpet, so it would force him to go on the potty. We also put his little potty in the living room (might be gross to think about but it worked!). So he could sit and watch TV if he wanted. Eventually he just got it.

    Now for night time potty training, he kinda did that on his own. Just started waking up dry all of a sudden and that was that.

    Now with his sister...she's just a stinker. She KNOWS she has to go on the potty...she just doesn't want to take the time! But she's getting MUCH better. She's pretty much all daytime potty trained, but not night time yet. We weren't as consistent with the stickers with her though because she seemed to catch on quicker than our son did. Oh...she turned 3 in March.
  • Don't push him! And don't fret about the fact that he will be 3 soon. My son turned 3 in March and is just now starting to regularly pee in the potty. He keeps telling me he is afraid to poop in the potty. He thinks it is going to hurt. I worried for awhile about him already being 3 and not potty trained but everyone, including his pediatrictian, told me not to push him. If your son is like mine, he is very stubborn and strong-willed. Not that those things are always bad, but with those types of personalities, the harder you push the more they resist. All I can say is be patient. He will figure it out. Keep up with the big praises when he pees in the potty and don't get upset with him. (I'm sure you don't anyways.) Its a process and one day it will all click with the boys! :) Don't be discouraged! Good luck!
  • amv1023
    amv1023 Posts: 61 Member
    Don't push it, he will figure it out in his own time. Every kid is different, and there is no magic age to potty train. I wanted my 1st son to be potty trained before my 2nd son was born. He was about 3 at the time, and he had zero interest in the potty. I made him sit on it for a long time with a cup to drink and nothing. I even put the potty chair in the living room so he could watch tv, still nothing. I tried all the tricks and tips from everyone under the sun and still nothing. So I gave up and resigned myself to buying 2 sizes of diapers once the baby was born. One day when he was about 3 1/2 he decided he wanted to try the potty and we had success! After that he just ran around with no pants and would go potty several times a day on his own for about a week. Once I was confident that he would use it regularly I put pants and undies on him and he has been fine ever since. It was really easy when he did it on his own and I made it stressful for both of us in the beginning by trying to force him to do something he wasn't ready for
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    Bump...

    Mine turns 3 in December. No interest in the potty at all... he sure does like his cars pullups though.
  • beernpizza
    beernpizza Posts: 431 Member
    My daughter will be 3 next month and we just now are officially potty trained. Still wearing a diaper at night though, and she hates it. We never pushed her, just encouraged her.

    We were at Walmart one day and she saw Lightning McQueen undies in the boy section and had to have them. We told her she couldn't poop or pee in them and she said okay, and since then she's been trained.

    I guess I'm suggesting letting him pick out his own undies?
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    Mine would pee, but he wouldn't poop. The daycare would send his underwear home with him, and I was getting really frustrated because I knew he knew when he had to go, he just wasn't doing it. Then I read in Dr. Spock's book that you shouldn't get frustrated with them because it's hard for them to let go of it. So, what I did was make up a story. I told him that there's a big poo-poo party where all the poops get together and have a great time, but the only way his poop could go to that party was if he went in the toilet. If you poop in your pants, that poop isn't allowed to go and it will be a sad little poopie. It worked!
  • danifo0811
    danifo0811 Posts: 544 Member
    I also bribed with a piece of his favorite candy. He finally quit asking for candy when he would potty on his own and it worth it to get him trained.

    we tried that and after 3 times of being rewarded she started to say she had to go potty every 5 minutes. she could dribble pee out if she desired.

    potty training has been our biggest headache. at 3 we just put her in panties in the day and dealt with the accidents. she is pretty defiant and the more you want her to do something the more she will fight it. She didn't have accidents while we were out. At home we did and they were usually related to us asking her to use the potty. once we left her alone to decide if she needed to go and trusted her decision, she significantly reduced her accidents.

    now we just need to work on the night time! she has never woken up dry and I swear she has an extra bladder.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Wait till he's ready to do it and don't try to force the issue.
  • TheDrBuchanan
    TheDrBuchanan Posts: 89 Member
    Just wait. My son turned three on June 24 still in diapers and with no interest in the potty whatsoever. The following week, he suddenly started using the potty on his own. Follow your boy's lead and he'll let you know when he's ready for it.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    Don't push. I think 2 is pretty young. My son was 4 before he was fully potty trained.
  • Mama_Mila
    Mama_Mila Posts: 511 Member
    My little man is 17 months old and potties every night! If I had the time to work with him all day, I think he'd be in undies in no time! :)) I'm just proud of that and wanted to brag for a minute ;) I couldn't tell you why he's so good at it other than the fact that my husband and I freak out and get wayyyy excited when he does potty and he gets a special treat so he knows it's a good thing!
  • follmer20
    follmer20 Posts: 129 Member
    Thanks everyone! I'm not pushing it. I'll let him it decide when he's good a d ready. I tell him all the time that he's a big boy and big boys use the potty. He's just a stubborn little boy :-) thanks!
  • Shannon2714
    Shannon2714 Posts: 843 Member
    I have two boys. Both of them were 3 on the closer side of 4 when they were fully potty trained. What worked for me was something that my grandmother recommended and it worked AMAZINGLY. I left them naked. 24/7 (at home, of course) for about 2 days. With our oldest, he's never had a single accident since. For our youngest, he still wears pullups to bed, but during the day he has no problems (He just turned 4 yesterday).

    This may not work for all, but it worked for us, so I hope it helps!
  • StrengthIDidntKnow
    StrengthIDidntKnow Posts: 543 Member
    I wouldn't force it. My daughter was a few months past 3 when she was fully trained and it pretty much happened over night. When she decided she was ready, that was it.
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    i potty trained my 2 boys by letting them run around half naked. we live on a pond, so lots of swimming and playing outside. they got to pee in a certain spot on the edge of the woods and they felt like grownups.

    one time we were in the front yard gardening and someone drove by and apparently called the cops that there was a naked child lmao. the police came and when i told them that it's 'potty training season' they were like oh ok, we got a call so we had to check it out.
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
    Honestly, if they are good with the potty by the time they enter school (which like...every kid will be), there's no need to worry about time schedules. My friend's daughter trained at 18 months in a month. My son has been "training" for 6 months. He's all gravy at home, but he just forgets when we're out.

    Don't worry about it. He'll get it in his own time.
  • Il_DaniD_lI
    Il_DaniD_lI Posts: 1,593 Member
    I bought my daughter big girl undies..she peed in them once, didn't like the feeling, then used the potty ever since.
  • _the_feniks_
    _the_feniks_ Posts: 3,412 Member
    My son is a little over 3 and is just now dropping the kids off at the pool. He has been doing target practice with Cheerios for a little over 6 months. He just had no desire to use it for a poop. I was just patient, as was his mom, and eventually he did it on his own.
  • Marll
    Marll Posts: 904 Member
    Hands down, best method ever:

    http://www.3daypottytraining.com/

    My wife and I had our son completely potty trained at 2 years old in 3 days flat with this method.