Potty Training - Greeley,CO

We just potty trained our oldest son (he'll be 3 in Sept.) and it was a process for sure. What really helped was that we stayed home for a whole week and worked on going potty in the bathroom. Prior to that I had let him have "nudey time" when we were home (I have a 3 month old) and told him that if he needed to go to the bathroom he would have to use the potty chair - I had several throughout the house and made sure there was always one in whatever room he was playing in. Aside from teaching him to aim down, we didn't have any problems with this. Once he got a handle on where we go to the bathroom we switched to pullups - big mistake, he immediately started going in them instead of on the potty chair - so we switched to underwear and had a bunch of accidents but since I was staying at home it wasn't that big of a deal. Now we do pullups only at nap and nighttime.

For the first two days I kept him loaded with juice and water and lots of salty snacks and we took potty breaks every 45 minutes or so. Then on day 3, 4, and 5 I resumed regular drinks and snacks (he usually only gets one thing of juice and fruit or veggies for snacks) and continued with potty breaks, just going every hour or two depending on how much he drank and when he went last. By day 6 and 7 I pretty much learned his signals and would take him to the bathroom to go when he needed to and it eventually clicked with him so now he tells us when he needs to go MOST of the time.

Hope this helps - feel free to message me if you have any questions :)

Mine too! Mine is just stubborn and likes to have control...the good news is I believe we are close to a break through (I am pregnant again and have been sick, so I haven't been working with him like I should). What is working and not working for you? Because I know for me it feels like we take two steps back for every step forward!

Me too! You're not alone. What has made the most difference, and seems to be working, is (1) letting him stay with Grandma, who was insistent that he use the potty; and (2) having him wear underwear instead of pull-ups. There are still a lot of "accidents" - that don't seem to bother him in the least - but he's starting to use the potty now much more than he used to.

This question is really too broad for an answer that will fit on this site. There are many good sources of information on potty training. Look thru the books at the library, a book store, or Amazon or Borders on line if you want a book. For information, google potty training for excellent information on the Internet.

If you've been trying to potty train and it's not working, let us know what you mean by potty training, what you've done and where he is in the process. Do remember that toddlers' bodies are able to retain urine before they're able to retain feces. For most toddlers, they first learn to retain urine during waking hours and then later during sleep. Then they are able to retain both urine and feces while awake, urine only at night and then both urine and feces at night. 3 1/2 is still young enough to not be completely potty trained.