Nudge Toward Potty Training

Updated on February 23, 2016
A.Y. asks from Helena, MT
8 answers

I have 5 kids - all boys. My first 3 boys all potty trained completely around 2 1/2 years old. I know that's really good. But, here I have child #4 who just doesn't want to do it and now I'm at the point where I need a few ideas on how I can nudge him properly where he will desire to do it. I know you can't fully potty train a child until he's ready, but he's almost 3 1/2 - he can pee on demand but only when we encourage him to do so after taking his diaper off for a regular diaper change. He hasn't really pooped on the toilet yet which we have tried to encourage. The reasons I'm really wanting to get some ideas is I just found out that I am pregnant again with baby #6 (100% surprise while using birth control) and I would really like him potty trained months before the new baby comes so that I don't have 3 in diapers. We've already done the bribing stuff with treats and such but it doesn't seem to make him WANT to do it. I'm also wondering if anyone has ever just tried putting their child in underwear for a week or two (of course dealing with a lot of accidents) and had that turn out as a positive experience in the end. PLEASE HELP - Any positive suggestions will be appreciated since we're already struggling with affording diapers for 2 children.

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So What Happened?

Thank you all for your advice and encouragement. After buying the thicker underwear, printing a Dora chart and pulling out a variety of stickers.....I am happy to say that my son is past the most difficult part of potty training and is on his way to being accident free.
Day 1 - 3 accidents.
Day 2 - 3 accidents.
Day 3 - no accidents.
Day 4 - 1 accident.
Day 5 - no accidents.
SO HAPPY about this. And, this also includes 2 nights completely dry and sleeping in underwear. Even though there will still be random accidents and the need to constantly be checking on him for a while - I'm so glad to say that I've successfully potty trained 4 boys. SUCCESS!!! Next step - convincing him to always use the big toilet instead of his little potty :-). Thank you!!!!

Featured Answers

C.T.

answers from Santa Fe on

My first...my son...had no interest in potty training. But he suddenly wanted to at just over age 3 1/2 and then he did it very quickly all on his own really. What happened was I took him to visit some preschools because I was trying to decide where he should go. At one of them he saw this rice/sand table with some kind of toy where kids could scoop the rice into a thing where it falls through many layers and makes a wheel go round. He obsessed over this. He reeeeaaally wanted to go back and play with it. I told him only kids who are potty trained are allowed to go to that preschool. Well suddenly he was very motivated!

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M.G.

answers from Portland on

yes. I put my boys in training pants. They were just super thick kind of waffle texture undewear - lots of padding in front. When I knew they were ready (just before 3) and tired of it all, I just stuck them in it. I kept pants off. Kept them on our main floor (easy to wash floors) and just kept a potty nearby at all times. The first time they wet themselves they knew they didn't like the feel. So next time they started to get wet, I quickly pulled them down and put them on potty. I was ok with a bit of mess if it was very shortlived. It was. They got it very quickly.
That's how I trained all my kids. We did it at the same time they did overnight - all in one go.

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S.E.

answers from Wichita Falls on

My kids wouldn't potty train until they found out that they could stay with their grandparents overnight once they were (my parents don't do diapers). Some kind of big reward (or least big to them) that only potty trained kids can do works for some kids.

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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

I just put my boys in underwear and got rid of the diapers. It was a messy couple of days and occasional accidents for a few weeks, but that's about it. That's what most people I talked to did.

My oldest was about 2 months shy of his 4th birthday, and my youngest was about 4 months from turning 4. I understand your desire to have him trained. Just wanted you to know that it's ok that he's not trained yet.

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D.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I put my son in underwear when he was 22 months of age and he was fully trained in a week. Took him to the toilet whenever he woke up, after eating and if we noticed he hadn't been in a few hours. That was it. He had absolutely no signs of 'potty readiness'. I had never even heard that (remarkably silly) term. He was rarely dry in the morning, never had any interest in the bathroom or diapers. Of course you can potty train a child who is 'not ready'. The rest of the civilized world does and looks at Americans like we have 3 heads for having 3 and 4 year olds in diapers.

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S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

i can see your dilemma, and appreciate your urgent desire to 'nudge.'
i dunno. i guess some parents have success with nudging, but from all i've seen and learned about kids, if you really want them to train quickly and successfully you bite a pillow and let them work out their own timeline.
you've still got a lot of time before the new baby comes. he'll almost certainly want to do it himself in that time frame. i think the risks of tension and distress that will come from forcing it will almost certainly outweigh the likelihood of him still being in diapers when the new one arrives.
you've already pushed him, rather a lot. i recommend that you counterintuitively back off.
khairete
S.

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C.S.

answers from Miami on

My 2nd boy was totally potty trained for pee by 3 but didn't poop on toilet until he was 4 and 9 months. He wore regular underwear and would wait until he was home and then hide somewhere to poop his pants. He would sit on potty - didn't seem to mind that but didn't seem to understand how to actually get poop out when sitting. Finally pediatrician told us to encourage him to straddle the toilet and poop that way. That is what worked but Daddy had to show him how to do it several times. He is 5 1/ 2 now and I will tell you no accidents.

They potty train when they are ready - not when you decide you don't want diapers. However, if I were you, I would try no diapers and see what happens. Good luck!

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N.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Well, he's young. I suggest you wait til summer then let him run around commando. With a long shirt to cover the essentials. Let him outside and stuff then when he needs to go he'll be ready.

One thing, it's very hard to train kids during winter. Don't know what it is but even with indoor heat and temperate climates it's just one of those things. You might check an almanac too.

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