So I know they say not to force them to potty train, to wait till they are ready, but I feel like doing nothing on my part is not helping either. My son will be 3 next month, and he goes on the potty (pee) before his bath every night, but that is it. He refuses to go poo on the potty, and knows when he has to go poo and pee. He hates when I put any kind of training pants or undies on, and whines that he wants the other diaper (normal ones). Is there anything to get him excited about going that seemed to work with a stubborn boy?? I tried stickers and a 'prize', with no sucess! Am I just going to have to remain kick back and wait, I feel like if I don't address it daily he will never do it! Boys I find are so different, he would rather stay in a dirty diaper than even get changed!
Thank you everyone for the great advise, I'm going to let him do it when he's ready and not sweat it!
S.-
If he isn't potty trained by kindergarten then worry. My son would not potty train and then, magically, at 31/2 years he suddenly started using the toilet. I can feel your pain as I went through the exact same thing. Talk to your pediatrician if you are concerned about any physical issues.
I have always felt that potty training was the most frustrating part of parenting
Dear S.,
I know what you are going through! I have a son who just turned 5. He was not potty-trained until he was a little over 4! We tried and tried, but it took him being ready to finally do the trick. Seriously, it's up to them. We did the same "tricks" we did before; but that time it worked! We put him in underwear, took him to the bathroom every 30min. or so; plied him with drinks, and gave little treats when he was successful! I have another little boy who just turned 3, and we're starting with him, but we've learned that THEY determine the timetable, not us. It has to be their decision! Good luck!
DON'T DO IT!! Seriously, if he has no desire you're in for a long, frustrating, messy road ahead. My son wanted to go when he was almost 3 so I started him and now he's almost 4 and I put him back in diapers because I'm exhausted!! Like others said, it is their choice and nothing will change that. I did everything imaginable. Treats everytime he went, I made Buzz Lightyear and Lightning McQueen charts, cool underwear, A new toy if he's dry all day... putting him on the toilet every hour, etc. He CAN be dry all day but just doesn't care! He'll even be dry 2-3 days in a row then 5 accidents the next day. Some kids will use it as a control issue too if they know it's important to you so I think you should just wait. He'll see friends doing it and one day he'll be ready but it will be awful until that day comes. Over a year later I'm still waiting for that day but I'm sure he would have been toilet trained a long time ago if I would have waited until he was really ready. My sister also says to act like it's not important and don't care. She doesn't give any rewards just puts them back in diapers if they don't try hard enough once they're ready to start and both of hers were trained within a few days! Hope this helps.
My son wasn't potty trained until three months after his third birthday. The biggest struggle we had was desire. My son had absolutely no desire to use the potty even though he had all the signs of readiness. After trying and trying and frustrating both of us, I finally let it go. I just let him wear diapers. A couple of months later, he was ready to go to preschool but he couldn't go in diapers. I took him to see the school and meet his teachers and then told him he couldn't go unless he used the potty. The next day we used "Potty Train Your Child in One Day" (it's a book, but you can find the basics at www.drphil.com under "advice"). Once he had the motivation (school) and desire, that was it. He was potty-trained.
So my suggestion is to let it go. Don't even mention him using the potty for a month or two. Then try to find something that will motivate him and try again. He won't be in diapers forever. (Although I certainly understand that it feels that way!)
