My Son Tries So Hard to Potty Train but Misses the Mark!

my advice is to let him go when he initiates it, but don't remind him, or make him go at regular intervals. make it something he has control over. if he goes in his diaper then runs to the potty, congratulate him, make a big deal out of it-- stickers, etc, because he is connecting the peeing with the potty... he's just a little late. i think he'll probably get faster and get it soon enough, especially if he's lucky enough to go IN the potty once or twice.

DON'T put him in underwear till his diaper's always dry. otherwise you'll be constantly worried about it, and you'll not be able to leave the house.

my son also started training early, but it became a real control battle becuase i was always forcing him to go when i knew he needed it but he just didn't want to..... kicking, screaming, wetting his pants......... it took a really long time for him to become independant about going, because i had taken him when i felt he needed to go, rather than trusting him to feel it.

i guess my point is that you want it to continue to be a happy thing that he wants to do, and not something that you make him do because you're worried about him wetting himself.

I went through this with my daughter. She wanted to go so badly at about the same age, but she just couldn't tell until it was too late. I still have a similar problem, although she makes it now there is a lot of yelling and panic. Continue to praise him and do what ever little treats you do. I had to start making sure I asked her every 20 minutes. When she decided she wanted to go to the potty we got rid of diapers except at night, and got big girl panties and made a big deal of them. I told her ever 20 min that she had to go try to potty because she didn't want to ruin her new panties. That got her to go every time I asked her to without a fit. If there is an accident then they feel it a lot more in the underwear than in the diaper and they get that feeling is what that means. You can also try having him teach a doll how to potty. This is a dr. phil idea and it works. I got a potty time elmo that came with a cup, a potty seat, and a diaper and every time elmo drank out of the cup he would have to go potty. I think it gets them understanding that if you drink you will probably have to go soon. Dr. Phil said that if they can teach a doll to potty then they get it a little easier. You might also try this. I had my dad pretend to be barney (my sons favorite at that age) and after he went to the potty by himself the first time he got to call "Barney" and barney told him how proud of him he was and made a big deal of it. You might also try playing the cherrio game. Put a couple of cherrios in the potty and then he gets to have target practice. He will want to go even when he doesn't need to and that might cut down on accidents.
good luck

my best advice get a potty chair that can go in whatever room he's in most and switch to pull ups or training pants, being closer to the potty should help him make it in time and having a pull up should at least keep you from having messy diapers flung to the floor when he rips them off. letting him run around without pants so he can easily pull down his undies to can save him time and help him get where he needs to go before he well goes. good luck.

It's OK that he's not making it in time. He is making the connection between relieving himself and the toilet. That's a start. A good one. He'll get it soon enough. I wouldn't put him in underwear until he's trained though. My daughter is trying to potty train, but it's been very slow. We're not rushing her.

God bless,
A.