Potty Training - South Fulton,TN

I have a boy almost 5. We had a hard time getting him trained also. We tried giving treats when he went in the potty. Hersy kisses and many other things. I did get to where he would to just to get the treat. But, he did have many accidents. He finally around 4 started going pee in the potty, but wouldn't go poo in the potty. He pooped in his pants way into last summer. It was not until the fall when I stopped putting pull ups on him and started to using underware that he finally got tired of it. I even made him clean up his own pants. One day he all of a sudden started to going poop in the potty and never goes in his pants. It took till he was 4 1/2 before he finally started doing it. It is not that they can't, they just have to make up their minds to do it. As a friend told me, "I promise he will not go to school doing this". I know there were times when I thought he might. But, she was right. Don't worry about what other people think. Each child is different and has their own time table. Good Luck!

'Tis the season....warm weather and being naked may help to initiate him to go when in the home. Also, many new mom's are using a reward of M&M's after (one) each successful entry into the potty! Good luck, and don't worry about what other's opinion's are, you're trying and it'll all work out. I heard Roseanne say once "don't potty train 'em, when they go on their first date and poo in the car, unwanted females will run away"....just a joke to make lighter what so many families go through with the whole potty experience.

Don't worry about what people think; it's totally normal for boys to take longer to potty train. He won't go off to college in diapers, I promise.

Try bribery. Worked for my daughter! Tell him you'll give him 3 jellybeans or something for peeing in the potty. I guess that only works if candy is a real treat, so hopefully he's not eating much.

Back off. The bigger deal you make about it, the more control he has. Don't mention it for a few weeks and see if he changes his tune.

Good luck.

ahhh... sooo many potty training questions lately. He'll get it, on his time. Don't worry. The day will come when he'll decide he is ready, and well, he just will be. In the mean time, encourage the potty use, but don't push it. Just try and back off a bit and before you know it he'll start. It'll all be all right. All kids develop a little differently. My son "got" potty trained shortly before his fourth birthday and when he decided he was ready it didn't take much before he was completely out of diapers. That's not to say that we don't have the occasional accident, but that is to be expected. I had the same thing with my daughter and am now entering into this phase with my youngest son. I tried WAY too hard with my oldest and it was a struggle and became a control issue. I learned from that and now just go with it. He'll be fine and I would be willing to bet he'll be "trained" before he's four.

I am so there! I too have a stubborn 3 1/2 year old son. I told him last month that only babies pee and poop in diapers and pull ups, so we rounded up ALL his pull ups and took them to the church nursery. No going back! I also make him clean the messes up when he decides to play instead of going to the bathroom (the undies, carpet, toilet, himself, take the dirty clothes to the washer and then he takes a shower.It's a slow progress with boys. Someone suggested spraying him off with cold water everytime he messes. I also found my son's "money" M&Ms! everytime he does go on the potty I give him a few M&ms!

You can still put him in preschool or Mothers' Day out. Peer pressure works good with some kids!

Good luck, I know exactly how you feel!

D.,
There is no trick to getting your child to use the potty. It happens when they're ready. I've heard many opinions on when to do things and how to do them. But I've always, consistently heard that we should NEVER force them to go. That will make it worse. I had a similar problem with my son a couple years ago. We moved from one state to another in the middle of potty training. He was the same age as your son is now. I could not get him to go in the potty. I tried everything from rewards to making potty time like a game. Nothing. I started to put the potty out in the living room, off to a side, and letting him watch TV while just sitting on the potty. Not expecting him or pushing him to do anything. I just asked him to sit in the chair and if anything came out, we would celebrate. The days passed- then one day he screamed for joy! His "pee" went in the potty! After that, he was sold. TRUTH: When he's ready, he'll go. Just keep encouraging, let him do other "big boy" things, showing him he's growing up and he can do big things now...like potty! Have fun. He'll be going before you know it.

D., have you tried cheerios and asked him to hit the cheerios with his pee?

Kids will potty train on their own schedule for the most part. You may never know, one day he'll take off his own diaper and start peeing on the potty. Have you transitioned over to pull-ups? When we transitioned over, it helped my daughter recognize the signs of needing to pee and poop. When she finally got it about 3.5 it was great. She wasn't night trained until almost her 5th birthday though. One night, she just got it and there was no looking back.

As for daycare, they will not put him into a room with children his own age if he is not potty trained. He would go into a room that would help with the training. Peer pressure is a wonderful thing when it comes to potty training! :)

Good luck.

D.,

Does he wear pull ups? I found pull ups to be a handicap for my son. It did not inconvience him if he soiled himself. He could get his pull up changed and be on his way. We used pull ups one week during our potty training. I started using underwear and he was trained by his second birthday. It took a total of 2 weeks. You can try awarding him with a sticker chart too. He gets a sticker each time he potties and after 5 stickers he gets a $1.00 prize of his choice from a prize box. Sometimes that helps in my pre-school classroom. I have never heard of a preschool who requires them to be potty trained. I work for Head Start and sure we would like for them all to be potty trained it is easier in the classroom but it is not a requirement and we do not turn children away because they are not. Maybe you can check for the Head Start program in your area for preschool for him. Good luck. M.

If I were you, I would quit all together. I would give it a rest. Don't ask him to go to the potty and just do the diaper thing. In about a week, 2 weeks, or 3 weeks (use your judgement), I would start back again by start asking him if he needs to go potty. I would let him follow me to the bathroom and his dad so he can see that big people use the potty. Also if you are using the big potty, he may be uncomfortable with that (it certainly looks BIG to little eyes) and you may want to try letting him sit to pee on the little chair potty. You can determine that by just asking him what he would rather have. He will probably tell you. If he wants the big potty then just kind of help him. When he goes just a little bit, make a BIG BIG HUGE deal out of it. Clap, tell him what a good boy he is, give him a treat... whatever it takes. I wouldn't put cereal in there. I would just let it be natural.
Also, after you give it a rest and then start back, you may want to put some heavily padded underware on him instead of diapers so he can feel the wet and not want them to be wet, which will in turn make him want to pee in the potty so he doesn't have to be wet.
You will have to be consistant with it,... I mean don't miss a lick and don't go anywhere for a week or two. Stay home and dedicate that week or 2 solely to following him around the house and asking him if he wants to go to the potty every 15 minutes. SERIOUSLY!
Good luck I hope you get potty trained really soon.

Also, I am in Murfreesboro TN which is outside of Nashville. I see you are in South Fulton. I was raised in the Hickman, Fulton, UC area. What is your last name and what was your name before you married. I may know some of your family.
That is so cool to run into someone close to where I was raised.

Hi D.,
I am actually potty training my son right now. Following the pediatrician's advice, we went straight to "big boy underwear", and it was a mess for the first week, but worth it. We used the potty chair exclusively at that time. Once he got number 1 and number 2 down, and was able to get the process down, we introduced the little transitional seats (about 8 bucks I believe) that you set on the regular toilet. This way, he still had the handles on the sides, like on his potty chair. We kept the potty chair for a while too (one was upstairs, the other downstairs). It took a few tries to get completely comfortable on the new seat, but it was faster than getting used to the potty chair in the first place. We then did the transitional seat in the second bathroom. Finally, we removed it in one of the bathrooms (again, once he was comfortable) then in the second one. He can now stay seated on his own in a normal toilet. As far as standing up method goes, my husband will tackle that one soon enough (my son is two...)
Good luck!

If you always go to the bathroom with him, maybe when he says "I can't" it's because he has a shy kidney and can't pee in front of someone. Leave him alone in the bathroom for a few minutes and tell him to come and get you when he's done.

What worked for my little brother was telling him that the bigger boy (five) next door never had to quit playing to get his diaper changed because when he needed to potty he just went to the bathroom by himself and then went right back to playing. WOrked in just a couple of days.

Hi D.,

I know you are worried...we were too as our grandson will be four in August and he was not potty trained as of two weeks ago. Then he decided he would go to the bathroom on his own and has done so for a week now. Some times these little guys just have to have time to decide to do this I suppose. Thus, just give him time....my daughter-in-law did post a chart in the bathroom and he was told he would get a sticker everytime he went to the potty. Good luck!

L.

Hi D., Here's a thought...set a date on the calender, circle it real big; then count down the days till he is a big boy and goes potty in the potty. Don't give him an option, let him know this is just how it is. Don't ask him if he needs to go, say.."It's time to go potty." Take him or tell him every hour on the hour-It's time to go potty-and he will train himself. The bottom line is he knows what to do, it's a matter of him making up his mind to do it. When you really realize he does know what to do, you will not accept no for an answer. This is an area you have to be firm in. You have to win this battle. Believe it or not, there are Kindergarten rs who still have accidents regularly. Before you doubt what I say, I have 3 kids- 2 girls, one boy- and also have successfully potty trained my autistic nephew, and countless others. Good Luck! Be Strong!

Went I potty trained my son he was hard to train also,this is what I did we turned him around backwards on the big potty like he is riding a horse. He would was the water and saw when he went it wasn,t going to hurt him at all he would then flush and thought he was a big boy. You can also try doing the stickers for a while since he knows when he needs to go. Let him put up gold stars on a chart after so many get him a special treat it doesn't have to be large maybe let him pick a book, or special movie take him to the bakery for a large cookie. Just a little something to say he did a good job for that week.

D.,
My son was 4 before he got the hang of it but when he did it took no time. My daughter was almost 3. With my girl I bought a calendar that had the large pictures she could color. We put it on the frig and everyday she put a star sticker on that day every time she peed and a bear sticker every time she pood. She was trained in 2 1/2 mths. She loved coloring the pictures at the end of each mth. She worked for those stickers. She loved it. Every child is different so don't worry what others think. I'm sure they have some bones in their own closet that stink worse.
A. - Mom of 2 teens

Hi-you could try the Potty Watch. We used it for my 3 year old and it was the only thing that got him to sit on the potty. You can set the timer for 30, 60, or 90 minutes, and when it is time to sit on the potty, the watch plays music. You can find it at pottytrainingsolutions.com and it was only $9.95!
C.

Hey, D.! I'm the SAHM Mother of 4 sons and all 4 were different when it came to using the potty. My Mother trained our oldest while I was caring for his brand-new baby brother. No problems with him. Our 2nd son just told me one day that he was going to wear "big boy underwear" and he did! No accidents! Shock! I don't even remember how our 3rd son did it, but it must not have been too traumatic.
Sons 1, 2, and 3 were all 2 years ond 8 months old when they pottied. Then came #4! When the 2 year 8 month mark came and went without him using the potty, I began to wonder if he'd ever use it. He would use it sometimes, but there was no consistency. Finally, I just quit approaching the subject with him. Maybe once daily we'd talk about it. He finally said that when he turned 3, he'd potty and HE DID! I guess what I'm trying to tell you is what you've heard countless others say...he won't go to school wearing a diaper or Pull-Up. He'll go when HE'S ready. A wise older pediatician once told me that you can't make a child eat, sleep or potty until the child is ready. Relax!! He'll learn! Blessings to you and your family!

My daughter was potty trained by two years old, but we had some problems with her not wanting to go becaue she was always to busy doing other things and would pee or poop herself. Very annoying when you know they CAN help it. I basically told her if you want to go in your pants you clean it up and you dress yourself. Of course I didn't let her sit in it for long periods of time because I didn't want her to get a rash but I made her start to take responsibilty for her own accidents. She got sick of changing her clothes after about two weeks.

Is he still wearing diapers or pull-ups? When my sister told me that her girl was in pull-ups for a year, I went cold-turkey and put my son in underwear. For the first week or so, I would put him on the potty every hour or so. He learned to pee sitting at first (just make sure you have a shield or have him point down) and then we moved to standing. Sure, he had accidents, but after a few days, he realized that he would have to go to the potty or get wet. We used lots of positive reinforcement and praise. We also used treats for the first week to keep it fun for him. My friend told her boy that if he went poop in the potty all week, they would go to Chucky Cheeses on the weekend. Find out what he wants and work from there. Hang in there, he'll get it! I hope this helps! = )

Don't worry so much---he will get potty trained in his own time. My son just turned 4 yrs old 3 weeks ago and he has only learned how to go on the potty when he poos not when he pees. I give him mini m&m's for a treat afterward---seems to work but still dealing with the peeing his pants. Tried underwear under his pull up diapers---sometimes he tells me and other times not---not very consist. I had a problem with being told he could not go to preschool if he was not potty trained----but then I found the preschool "Small Wonders" on Church street across from Indian Hills and they said they would accept him and try and train him with the other children in his class. He only goes part-time 4 hrs on T/Th but it is a good break (he is a momma's boy) and socialization has been great for him. He is extremely intelligent and knows when he has to go for about the last 1 1/2 years----I think it is a control thing with boys and I heard they train later than girls---not all but usually most and the first child is the hardest to potty train also. I have been told by numerous people to not push the issue too much or it will backfire and he will continue to go in his pants to spite you. Just let time take its course and be patient it will happen-----all of us parents are potty trained so it happened for us too!! Understand your frustration b/c I have been their too. I am sending my son to a brand new Daycare called Salem Academy which is opening in about one month and the director from Small Wonders (Jocelyn Hodge) is opening her own center and she works with children who are not potty trained so you may want to look into this school it is right near Scales Elementary on the South side of Murfreesboro. Take care and good luck to you!!

if he is still in a diaper, you can try just putting him in underwear. i think that some people treat using the potty like it is an option, just tell him there is no choice. he will use the potty, or he will wet is underwear, and if he potties in his pants, he will not be able to do all of the fun things outside the house that he likes, because you cant do that with dirty underpants.

dose he have any friends his age that is potty train ?
if so do they were the superman or what ever he like . tell him that he can wear big boy pants. if he gose to the potty .

The other thing that i did was take them to the store and get him his favor kind of candy in mintures and if he goes to the then he gets a treat but this is the only time that he gets that treat it work for me

D., when I trained my little boy to potty I started out him peeing outside. It was super fun for him to go outside and pee on rocks, leaves, and things like that. You might want to try that and then go from there. Especially it getting warm whether. I wish you luck and eventually he will potty train. Look at it this way, it is a phase, he won't pee and poo on his self forever. That's what I tell myself for everything.

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D. I am a grandparent of four. We got our grandchildren a musical potty chair. (Training pants). everytime he uses the chair it will play music. (motion device on chair) And brag alot. Make a big deal out of him using the potty. D. From Palestine, Ar.

Hi D.

First of all every child is different. Stop worrying about other people and their opinions he is obviously not ready I am sure he will let you know when he is. Peer presure is very hard to deal with. Good luck

I have to agree with the other mother, going straight to big boy underwear worked for us. I spent 5 days at home with him potty training. The first day it was 50/50, but each day he improved. We had a few accidents for about a month, but after that he did beautifully. Good luck to you.