Potty Training My Son - Ann Arbor,MI

Don't get tougher. It will backfire on you.

First, let me talk about the morning and wet diapers. Night training is a different thing than day training. You should not be trying to do night training until after he is fully day trained. Plus, he may not be able to night train for a good amount of time. The brain and the bladder have to work together to do this, M.. My ped told me that many kids aren't physically able to do it until after they are 4 years old. So leave his diapers on and don't talk about him being wet when he wakes up. Focus only on day training.

When your older son needs to go to the potty, ask him to ask his brother to go with him to the potty. Is your older son sitting down or standing up? Ask him to sit on the potty instead of standing. After he finishes, then have him ask your little one to go too.

Try for every hour. Don't ask him if he needs to go. He doesn't know if he needs to go yet. Happily say it's time to go to the potty to both of your kids. It's good to do it when you are transitioning to a different activity rather than in the middle of him playing with something.

Don't do anything else at this point. Backing off your night time expectations will help. As he gets used to going to the bathroom, he will gradually figure out what a full bladder feels like. You CANNOT make him feel this, M.. His brain has to "get it". No amount of "toughness" is going to make that happen. And if you get tough, you can upset him to the point that he simply won't go.

Remember, don't even attempt night time training until he is day trained.

Dawn

I found Pull ups not to work mainly b/c they are just like diapers. They absorb so kids don't feel wet. I just took the diapers off during the day and if she had an accident- took her to the potty and went over how it's done. Sticker chart helped too. Also her liking her own toilet and getting to choose one I think gave her a sense of control over it all. I wouldn't worry too much though, they go at their own pace. I know plenty of 3-4 year olds who aren't fully trained yet.

Potty training is one of the most frustrating things. It is something that you simply cannot force them to do.

I am training my youngest. He is also 3 years and 2 months old. He is ready to do it. I decided yesterday would be the day to really start working on it. I made a sticker chart, explained how it worked, then put him in underwear and gave him a big cup of apple juice. He had an accident, which I nonchalantly dealt with other than a reminder to tell me that he had to go next time. Then, he did it! He told me he had to go, and we went up there and he did it. He then proceeded to pee and poop on the potty three more times. I was ecstatic and couldn't believe my good luck. Then nap time came. He was dry when he got up, so I sat him on the potty before leaving to go get my older kids from school. He said he didn't have to go, then peed in his underwear three minutes later. I again changed him nonchalantly. Once we got home, he had three more accidents. He wasn't even trying to tell me he had to go. He was refusing to sit on the potty when I would ask him to try, and all of his enthusiasm from the morning was gone. I was deflated! I was trying to still be upbeat about it, and reminded him about his success from the morning, but he wasn't into it. Today is a new day, and I will keep on trucking but it goes to show that they are really 100% in control of when they do this.

I think you should keep trying for awhile longer. Maybe you could try new sticker chart with an added little prize for when he tells you he has to go. That might prompt him to think about it a little bit. Or suggest a fun outing for when he's trained and explain that it's only for big kids who go on the potty.

Good luck!

Potty training is the worst! I had the same problem with my three year old - she would go when I took her there but she wouldn't tell me when she had to go pee or poop. So, accidents would happen when she was at preschool and when she was with other people besides me who didn't watch her like a hawk and monitor how long it had been since the last potty session.

What seemed to help us was I would tell her, "Tell me when you feel like your body has to go pee-pee or poo-poo and we'll go." And, when she would tell me occasionally I would really praise her and say, "Wow, you really know your body. You felt that you had to go pee-pee, you told mommy and you did it in the potty! That's awesome!" I met with her teachers and they were using the same language and they did a sticker chart for her and she only got a sticker when she was the one who initiated the potty session.

She very occasionally has accidents now but I do still ask her frequently if she has to go potty. I just want to make sure it stays top of mind, especially in the afternoons when she seems to pee with much more frequency. But, she also will go on her own or tell me she has to go and she hasn't had any accidents at school for the past month.

Fingers crossed for you! Hang in there - it took well over six months for me to train my first! I thought I was going to shoot myself. :)