Potty Training for a Stuborn 3 Year Old Boy.

It sounds like you are on the right track if he is going when you tell him to. He might not be telling when he has to got because he doesn't know himself yet. It takes awhile for them to understand what their bodies are gelling them. Give him some more time. Once he feels more comfortable going #1, he will start going #2 (that always takes more time). Don't give up or get frustrated, he will be trained before you know it.

It sounds like he may not be completely ready yet. I have known many boys that have been close to 4 years old before they're potty trained. Maybe take a break from it for a while and see if he decides to start back up with it on his own in a few weeks.

Just keep reminding him. It takes awhile to get into the habit. Be patient - he will get it eventually.

It sounds like he's just not quite ready. Keep it up and it WILL come. As for the poop...my son started potty training at 3 and has done well with it over time. But 6 months later he still will not poop in the toilet. We are battling constipation now...when things are more normal, he will go in the toilet with lots of encouragement. There is something very psychological going on with it. Physically, I think he's amost finally ready. But the emotional part is complex. Everyone I talk to, including people who have been working with kids for years, says it WILL come when they are developmentally ready. We just need to keep pluggin away, and take the pressure off both us as parents and our kids. Good luck!

My three year old boy will be 4 next week and he is barely getting the potty thing. We tried everything. Pull ups, underwear, running around naked, him cleaning up his messes, rewards, candy, gifts, stickers....basically everything I have heard about trying to get him to go in the potty. What happened?? I had to let go or go crazy. I was waiting for the perfect 3 days or so we were not going anywhere so I could let him just run around in his underwear. Well that never happend. We have stuff going on and he is in pre-school. I just had to let it go and one day he pooped in the potty. And now?? He will go in the potty if he has underwear on. I think they just need to be ready. It will happen. I also made sure I say "let me know when you need to go potty" to give him the power. Good luck. I don't know if this helped. Just keep hanging in there with him and don't give up and remember...your sanity is important too.

I was scared of the whole potty training thing, so I did A LOT of reading about it. Basically they all said the same thing, LET THE CHILD LEAD YOU. It can be tough to do, but you just do what you are doing, keep plugging along, remember to NEVER get mad at them for accidents, that can take you a few steps back. I was planning on MAKING my son potty train, because we were going to be moving from the UK to the USA and I did not want to have him decide to potty train while we moved, or have him go back to diapers once we started either. Once you make the decision to stop with diapers, never go back ;). Anyway, our son decided it was time to use the pottty while we were on vacation in Germany, we had to run out and get pull-ups etc etc, the books were right, he decided when, my plans were for once we got home from vacation. It also takes a good year for it to be done with, he is now 4 and is fully done, but we still make sure we have a extra set of clothes with us for accidents, sometimes he gets to busy playing, or is laughing too hard and just has a leak ;)
Good luck!

First, of all, count yourself lucky that he *does* go pee when you ask him to. It might be another year or two before he can "realize" on his own, every time, when he needs to pee. For now, you and his other caregivers need to remind him. Set an egg timer, your cell phone alarm, or some other timer if you need a reminder.

Keep him in training underwear (and plastic pants if you need to) and don't look back. If he poops or pees in his pants, have him clean it up: put the poop in the toilet, rinse his underwear out, clean himself up, and so on. He will get sick of it after awhile and realize it's easier just to go on the toilet.

I personally would not do incentives or punishments at this point. At 3, it becomes a battle of wills, a way for the child to assert their independence and control, and often the parents "lose". Make it a "non-issue", so to speak. Once the spotlight is off your son, he will do what he needs to do. Good luck to you.

P.S. And yes, I agree with the other poster that: (a) boys are NOT, categorically, harder to train; and (b) the later you start, the harder it can be. This is water under the bridge for you, but for anyone else reading, you don't have to wait until the kid is 3 or 4 to potty train. Pampers and Huggies love for you to think that, but kids in other countries are routinely out of diapers by 18 months to 2 years--are their bladders any different? My son is 13 months old. We bought him a potty chair for his first birthday. The first time I sat him on it, I gave him all the milk he could drink, and then sat him on the potty until he went. Then we made a big deal about it, clapping and cheering. It clicked right away with him, and now he is pooping and peeing on the potty every day. He does still wear cloth diapers, but the potty is just part of his everyday routine, and there's no resistance. Unless we are out-and-about and away from the potty, he will hold his poop until he can go on the potty chair.

I definately feel your pain. I have 2 girls and 1 boy. My girls seemed to get potty training fairly easily. My son was last and was a challenge. He was not fully trained until almost 4. He is now 4 1/2 and does awesome. Rarely ever an accident and usually for a good reason. You may need to give it a little more time. I know if you are considering preschool that can increase the urgency but we purposefully found a program that allowed the kids to not have to be potty trained. They would change wet but would call if poop happened. Definately try to stick to going naked or just underwear with no pants when at home. We would use pullups at night or when we went out. Be prepared to clean up alot of wet spots early on and try to figure out his poop schedule so you can keep an eye out in case he doesn't tell you when it happens. I know it seems like he will never get it but he will. My son was pee trained for about 6 months before he was fully poop trained. Good luck.

Don't let others mother influence your self.
Every kid has there own, unique, time. sometime they are not ready. I will definitely not push him/her, I think they can develope ghost about it.
Observe him, talk, get moves, read, but definitely I'll be very sutil for a while.
My dauhgter starts at 4, no complex, no nothing. She was very spoiled, I think, because a lost another one when she was 2. So my situation is not a model. But I definitely not push him/her. Make games, give him a coin or a chocolate or something he really enjoy, everytime you see an effort.
And keep calm and relax. Sometime is to call attention, sometime is just to do the contrary you expect and see who is the stronger.
Keep cool, don't show anxiety, because you can stress them too.
Good luck

If he goes when you tell him to..... THEN HE'S READY! Just keep reminding him its potty time, set a timer, whatever.

I know I reply this on all the potty training posts, but boys DO NOT TRAIN LATER THAN GIRLS! Its an excuse and I get more tired of hearing/reading it every time! My boys were both out of diapers by age 2 with minimal effort on our part. If you wait until they are 3 or 4, it becomes a battle, they can argue with you and it then takes forever.

Anyway, my point is if he goes fine when you remind him its potty time, hten continue on doing that. HE's had the 'luxury' of peeing his pants whenever and wherever for 3yrs... its not just something he's going to wake up one morning and stop doing, he will need reminders.

As for #2, if he poops his pants ,make him dump the poop in the toilet, make him rinse out the dirty undies, make him clena himself up, and make him get himself new clothes.

My youngest is 3, and he's totally independent in the potty, he can get his pants down, go, even wipe, get his pants up. I don't even know when he uses the toilet during the day.

Keep up with it mama. At 3, he knows what he is doing, just be consistent, set a timer if you have to, have him help clean up accidents, and praise him for good work.