Tips on Getting a 3 Yr Old Motivated for Potty Training

I tried all the standard "bribes" with my 3 yo child - stickers, reward chart, lollipops (her favorite candy), read potty books, talked about being a big kid, etc. Nothing worked until I offered her a treat she had never ever had before - Oreo cookies - and said she could only have it when she went to the potty. It worked like a charm. Don't know if I just happened to offer them when she was ready to try; I just know it worked. Good luck !!!

My kiddo was big so he grew beyond the size of the potty chair and right to the toilet! Kindercare in my area helped get him trained, but one of the things I did was have him in the bathroom when I went, and tried to encourage daddy to do the same. He learned a lot at daycare cause he was able to see other kids his age going all the time. We transitioned to pull-ups for a very short time so he could practice pulling pants up/down.

One thing they stressed was "make it fun"! So I would "race" my son to the potty when I had to go, and if he "beat" me, he went first. Another dad told me he had "peeing contests" to see who could pee fastest - that TOTALLY cracked me up - they'd pee into the toilet at the same time LOL! They have covers that you can put on a regular potty that make the hole more toddler sized - you could put that in the room where he takes his bath and sit him on it while you get the bath ready - he may go "by accident" and be ok with it. You can call it practicing so he doesn't feel like he's having to do it. My son likes to "practice".

If your toddler is social and would enjoy daycare part time, perhaps you can find one in your area that allows non-potty trained kids. My son enjoys playing with the other kids and learning songs, etc. And as a first time mom, it was SO helpful to be "trained" with him so I could help him learn to potty. Also, sometimes they learn better/easier from someone else (sigh). Good luck!

We are having the same issue with our 3 year old. I have tried everything...putting him on the potty every hour, motivational strategies, letting him go naked...he held his urine for 3 hours and peed as soon as I put a pull up back on him because we were leaving the house. He throws a complete fit if I put underwear on him...I am at a loss. I have tabled the issue for a while seeing as we just made a move to London and he has a ton of transitions going on, but enough with the diapers already!! My daughter woke up one morning at 2.5 and said Mommy I want underwear...boys are sooooo different.

Good Luck, Let me know if you find something that works!

He wont be motivated until he sees that staying dry is more comfortable. At 3 he is old enough to be told to sit on the potty for a couple of minutes every hour. Notice I said TOLD, not asked. You dont ask him to sit in his car seat or high chair and the potty should be treated the same way. Then IF he happens to go in the potty make a big deal out of it. Dance and sing and call daddy. But if he doesnt do anything..oh well..no big deal. Kids his age want to please and he will go once he sees that it is a happy thing to do. I dont like the idea of reward stickers because if he doesnt go, its like he is being punished by not getting a sticker.

We are going through the same thing right now. A couple of things have worked for us, but I must say, my son is still in pullups!

We let him run around bare bottomed as much as possible in the evening, when we're home from daycare. He seems more willing to use the potty if he doesn't have to mess around with clothes. (One of the signs of readiness is able to take pants off and put them back on and he fails that test miserably.)

I tried a reward system... if we put you on the potty, you get an m&m no matter what happens, if something comes out, you get a sticker, and if you TELL us you need to use the potty, and you do and something comes out, you get to go to the goody bag. I stocked an old tote bag with goofy toys from the dollar store and Christmas Tree Shop etc. The goody bag was the only real bribe that worked, and we stopped with the m&ms and stickers. And then we got to the point where he has to use the potty 3x before the goody bag, and now he's sort of lost interest again.

I'm pretty sure we're going to have to resort to a cold turkey approach - ditch the pullups and to to underpants. He doesn't mind a wet diaper, he doesn't mind an accident if he's naked but he hates the wet underpants. The problem is we have every weekend booked from now 'til mid-December, so I'm deferring the potty training boot camp weekend for a bit.

I'm glad you recognize that readiness is important. Every child I've known who was truly ready trained in less than two weeks – and sometimes a day.

And yes, you can help build motivation by reading potty books, watching potty videos, doing potty role-playing with stuffed animals, letting him choose big-boy pants and practice sitting, helping him notice the urge when you see that he's peeing or pooping in his diaper, giving positive messages about growing up and being independent, etc. Keep it positive, and when he starts, he'll have a positive attitude.

Keeping up the motivation when a child would rather be playing is sometimes a problem. Some parents address this with prizes and bribes. With my grandson, we just made the whole trip to the bathroom an adventure. He loved dinosaurs during that period, so when I noticed he was doing "the dance," I'd rush into the bathroom and start wrestling all the dinosaurs out to make room for him. I'd call for him to help me. He could never resist that game. After a few weeks, he was pretty much in the habit of going when he needed to (though he would sometimes wait till the last possible moment).

i just would put them on... if they pee pee.. give him a gold fish cracker or m&m... and each time he goes.. same reward... don't give him these snacks any other time.. just when he goes. I used the seat hooked on to the toilet.. it works best.. good lcuk

Once you feel he is ready, I have always found the rewarding system to be good motivation...here are some more tips and suggestions on potty training that may help:

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/potty+training?utm_c...

I kind of agree with allison. Let him run around the house without his diaper on. I would not wait any longer, it is only going to get harder and you don't want this to be a struggle of wills and hurt egos.

Once he is without his diaper, do it just like a puppy, when he starts to pee pee on the floor, move him to the potty. We kept the potty in the living room for a couple months. He will pee pee on the floor a couple times, but when he can physically see what is happeneing I bet her will start to make it to the potty in time. Then I would get the under pants on, but be patient with that too. My son didn't understand that the underpants were different than diapers. It just took some time...

Best of luck

when I was trying to potty train my son, I always left the bathroom door open and I would announce that mommy was going pee pee. And then, my husband and him would have a 'pee race', (going at the same time in the toilet) I also got him a potty chair and sat it outside the bathroom(we had a gate in front of the bathroom) and we got a urinal because we thought it was neat. For my daughter, I did the same thing with announcing, and I had to potty chair outside the bathroom. I also sat her down hourly to try to get her to go.
One thing that also worked is that we just took the diapers away. (kinda difficult when out and about, which requires a pull up).
Always give your child praises and high 5's. That always work.

S.

If you are using disposables, he is happy wearing diapers because he is not uncomfortable when he wets. Switching to cloth diapers shows him what happens when you pee - you get very wet. Then he starts to realize what it feels like just before that happens. At 3, you don't need to wait for him to be ready. Telling you he has to go is a LATE part of training, not the early sign. You can put him in the multilayer cloth training pants = some come with a waterproof outer layer, others dont' and you can use plastic pants like for the old school cloth diapers. Take him to the bathroom every hour and a half. Don't ask if he has to or wants to go, it's not a choice, it is expected behavior. I did this with my youngest and in 2-3 weeks, he was waiting to go til I took him to the toilet instead of peeing and pooping in the training pants. I just diapered for nap and bedtime. It still took 1 to 2 months after he was successfully going in the toilet (no need for a little potty for a preschooler) before he would say he had to go or just take himself.
good luck

Let him wear diapers till he is ready, the more you push teh longer potty training will take. He will switch over, believe me, you will know when.