I have a 4 year old son who figured out toilet training about a month ago. Well, at least for number one. For #2, he puts on a pull up and tells me when he is done. He holds it in while at preschool. I have tried offering prizes to at least sit on the toilet with a pull on up. He won't even do that. Any advice on how to get this in the right place?
For my daughter it was just a matter of stopping the pullups all together. She would hide when she had to go and then bring the pullup to me for a change when she was done. We finnaly decide we were done. Once the package was empty we just switched to underwear and she started going to the toilet. We did buy cute underwear and tell her that dora or whoever didn't want her to go potty on them and that also seemed to help
Oh my gosh! My son did the same thing. Unfortunately the only advice I have for you is he will do it when he is ready. My pedeatrician literally told him at his 5 year old check up he could not poop in a pull up anymore and he did! I thought it was a miracle because I tried EVERYTHING. I would caution you though, not to keep the pull ups from him because he will become constipated (at least my son did) and that can cause a huge amount of other problems. I promise, he will NOT go to kindergarten in a pull up. I know, I know, I didn't believe it either. Get your doc to tell him to stop....maybe it will work for you too :)
One thing....get rid of the pull ups...he won't like it much with just big boy pants.
We were lucky with my son. At 2.5 I decided I was tired of changing diapers. We went cold turkey. No pull-ups. Those things are a marketing design to get you to keep spending your money. Our generation didn't have Pull-Ups and we're all potty trained, right?
I bought some Thomas the Tank Engines trains and some Thomas tattoes. He got a tatto for #1, and he got the new train for a #2 in the potty. Done in two days. I also kept him in the kitchen with no pants on while we trained.
He got big boy underwear that he got to pick out, but I told him if he pooped in them, they went in the trash and would not be replaced. He had one accident, ever. And that was because we just couldn't get to the bathroom in time, so I couldn't blame him.
Make sure your son is getting plenty of fiber and liquids. You want him to have to go so he won't get constipated. That can cause other issues. As long as he's going at least once a day or so, he's fine. If he doesn't want to go at preschool, but goes when he gets home with no problems (straining, hard pellets, etc), he's okay.
Good luck. It will happen.
P.,
When my son was 3 he had the same issues with going #2, and from what I've heard its a "boy thing" with having a problem going on the potty. I sat down with him and read potty stories, while he was on the potty. My son acted very scared..like he just wasn't able to relieve himself that way on the potty. I explained that the potty wasn't any kind of monster that was gonna eat his back end while he was on the potty..lol. You wouldn't (well you probably would) believe some of the fears little guys have with going to the bathroom. Our saga ended when one afternoon after throwing a fit, becoming constipated for the 3rd time because of holding it in...I sat with my son in the bathroom and told him we weren't going to leave until he went #2 and could be the big boy I knew he could be. He cried, wailed, griped about his legs going to sleep and I continued to encourage him that if he just relaxed and let nature take its course all of the agony (as he saw it) would be over. Sure enough he went ahead and gave in and went. He couldn't believe how EASY it was, and what a big boy he was. Of course this won't work for all kids, but having ran a daycare out of my home for several yrs I have come to learn that if you practice a bit of tough love....you and the child usually get your desired outcome ;) Good Luck!
My son does the exact same thing. He will go for other family members on the potty, but not my husband or I. The thing everyone else keeps telling me is that he will start going when he is ready just like he did for #1. Frustrating, but probably true. Ask him if he is afraid to let it go in the potty. We have found out my son is afraid it will hurt him if he goes in the potty. Also, feed him foods that he will absolutely have to go and then don't offer him a pullup. My mother also had me sit on a potty that had a tray that locked in place and sometimes I would be there for a really long time but eventually got the point!
My son recently became potty trained as well. He was 3 1/2 and was still in a crib (never even tried to get out) and at that time we had just bought a fifth wheel camper and he got to sleep "in a big boy bed" (which was actually the kitchen table turned into a bed) when we got home he told us he wanted to sleep in a big boy bed in his room. We told him that he had to be in big boy pants to get a big boy bed. This was on a sunday evening - I took him to his room and showed him the stack of pull-ups on his dresser and told him that we didn't have anymore so once they were gone, he had to start wearing big boy underwear. That way I was giving him a warning/preparing him for a change. We went to the store and picked out a couple packs of underwear and by the end of the week he was excited to switch. He had 4 wet accidents the first week and none after that. It has been a little over 6 months. For BM's I allowed/showed him how to sit on the toilet facing the tank. It takes away the uneasyness of "falling in", he could rest a book on the tank or roll a car on it and (not to be graphic) it naturally opens your buttocks a bit and makes it easier to go. Hopefully this may help a bit - it was a life saver for me.
I promise by the time he goes to kindegarten he will be going potty the way he is suppose too! I have had 6 kids and they are all potty trained and the first day of kindergarten guess what they went potty!
