Potty training boys 3.5 yrs

Lori - posted on 04/14/2012

My 3.5 year old son has been difficult to train also. He was very resistant to go when I asked him if he wanted to try sitting on the potty and if he said no, he'd start to have a meltdown if I tried. So I let him be for a while and then a couple weeks I decided rather than asking him I would tell him it was time for him to sit on the potty. This has been working better for me as he is not fighting me on sitting on the potty anymore and he has been peeing while on the potty. Not all of the time but it's a start. And definately do your very best to stay positive. If I got frustrated with my son, he would become frustrated with me and nothing is done.



Good luck!!! It's a tough job...and I always hear that girls are easier to train...which is great if I had a girl! :)

Kerry - posted on 06/11/2010

I was very lucky with my son although not at first ! It took a while for him to even consider sitting on the potty, I didn't push it just left it out and kept asking him if he'd like to use the potty, everytime I went to the toilet I told him I was going to the potty and he thought this was funny that mommy went to the potty so one day he must have wondered what all the fuss was and as I was in the kitchen i walked in to find him stood infront of it looking at it. I asked him if he wanted to go to the potty so for about 10 minutes he kept saying no then all of a sudden he said OK so i took off his nappy and sat him on the potty, he found it very amusing and kept looking between his legs to see if he'd been when he did go he got really excited so I quickly whipped on a pair of pants and said ''wow you're a really good boy you can wear pants just like your sister (this could work with a friend or even a TV character he loves) and get rid of the horrible baby nappy'', He walked around with a huge grin on his face and kept asking to go potty after, we had a few accidents and still do on the odd occassion but as long as you stay positive and don't get cross he will get there when he's ready, It took my son only 3 days other boys can take longer or shorter but I promise you he will get there just be patient, read him a story as he goes if it helps but don't take things away it will discourage him and make him feel pressured and punished if he really isn't ready yet, accidents happen in pre-school too just take a change of clothes with you when you drop him off.



Good Luck

Lisa - posted on 06/09/2010

Try to make a game of it. I have 3 boys and I have found that teaching them standing up works best. Put a cherrio in the toilet and have them try to sink it. My boys thought it was a hoot. that or tell them to make bubbles.

Michelle - posted on 06/08/2010

It took me 6 mnths like yourself I had tried everything but in the end I had to buy the plastic covers that go over cloth diapers and he hated them within 2-3 weeks he is almost fully trained. Plus the sticker chart!!

Andrea - posted on 06/08/2010

I would let my boys walk around the house without a diaper or underwear so that they would get used to running to the potty. Most kids are able to feel the need to go a lot better if they're not wearing anything down below. Once they have several days of success with this I would try putting underwear on. See if they can keep the underwear dry and continue to put them on the potty several times a day. They may even start to recognize the need to go and begin to tell you. Once they are able to do this you're on your way to a potty trained child.

VICKIE - posted on 06/08/2010

As long as he is home dont put anything on him. It will be messing but it works in a few days. You always can try just let him wear boxers.

Randi - posted on 06/08/2010

I was lucky. My son was used to having a dry diaper. So when we started potty training he did not like being wet and he was praised as a big boy every time he went potty. I also had him at home with daddy and this helped because he wants to be just like daddy. I do not agree with treats after potty cause then when you are out and don't have one it will backfire. We stressed being a big boy and I told him I was not buying anymore diapers. BTW I went straight from diapers to underwear and skipped pull-ups. I recommend changing your sons diaper as often as possible so being dry becomes natural then putting him on the potty every 2 hours and praising him when he goes. Do not yell or seem discouraged if he doesn't go every time on the potty but seem discouraged (physically- so he picks up on it unconsciously and hopefully he wants to please you) when he goes in diapers. Good Luck

Celeste - posted on 06/08/2010

You know one weekend I stayed home and i would sit my son on the Pottie every 2 hours wether he had to go or not and guess what he had to go sometimes. I would praise him either way, if he went or even if he didn't. sometimes I let him have a little snack, like some grapes or watermelon ( his fav ) I know it may sound time consuming but that weekend he was pottie trainned!!! It's worth the time.

Rejeana Rae - posted on 06/08/2010

This may seem odd but in our family its been tried and it works !
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/blog/2008/...
Good Luck

Terri - posted on 06/05/2010

Our pediatrician mentioned putting Cheerios in the toilet so he could hit them. One of our four kids learned REAL quick when we just put her in undies...she didn't like wet pants AT ALL. Another didn't care. Another (a boy) learned by peeing outside (we live in the country)-he thought that was LOTS of fun :) Another one learned with "potty cookies". We never just gave our kids whatever they wanted...they had to earn it, so this was an easy way for him to get a cookie (they were Oreo's, which I detest, and they haven't gotten any from home since then). Anyway...we had four kids, and we used four different ways. You have to figure out what is important to YOUR son and go with that. Hopefully one of these wonderful ideas that have been posted will work! Good luck, and remember, it is VERY rare for a child to go to school wearing diapers...he WILL learn :)

Missy - posted on 06/05/2010

I tried everything and this is what finally worked. I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of little items I knew my son would like such as lizards, bouncy balls, gum, cars etc. and threw them all together in an ice cream bucket. I let him see it and told him he could pick one thing out if he would just sit on the potty with the lid down and his pants on. He did it very quickly but it worked. Then I had him agree to sit for 30 sec the same way to get a prize. Then we did a whole minute to get a prize. We just had to use tiny baby steps to get some progression. Once he was able to sit that way for 2 min I would have him sit with the lid up with his pants on. Then we did lid up, pants down for a few seconds and then increased the time. Finally we did lid up, pants down, and pee even a tiny bit. It took about a week to go through all the steps but by the time he went through the bucket of prizes he was potty-trained. You have to have some type of prizes they absolutely want-his was gum and snakes esp. I moved throught the steps very slowly and let him get very comfortable with each stage before moving on. With all of the little pieces of candy, gum, and toys I had plenty of prizes. This made it not seem so challenging to him. I would praise him big time for each attempt. Maybe this will work for you. Good luck!

Sandra - posted on 06/03/2010

The best advise I ever got was from a doctor. He told me that the only things a child can control is eating, sleeping, and when they go to the bathroom. They often use it because they can't control anything else in their life. Relax, keeping introducing the potty as a routine and he will catch on (when he wants). Don't make it a power struggle because you know it happens eventually. It's rare that you hear of a child still in school with a diaper. Good Luck!

Lesley-Ann - posted on 06/03/2010

Try drawing a face on a ping pong ball and dropping it down in to the toilet then get your we man 2 aim for the ping pong ball! The health vistor told me this when my son was toilet training xx

Candi - posted on 06/02/2010

OK, so this is a horrible mom trick, but we follow the advice of anotherr mom who loaded her kid's favorite TV sshow and then allowed them to watch it while she did potty time. We don't always do TV (We severely limit how much TV our boys watch), however, it does ensure that the boys spend a certain amount of time sitting on the potty for a few times each day and then they're not thinking about whether or not they're going potty. While not completely potty trained, they're now comfortable using their potties, and one can use the big potty upstairs. When we don't use the TV, we sit down and read with them so that they have several things to keep them distracted and entertained. The boys will demand their favorite books. I've never used a prize box, stickers, etc. They're getting comfortable enough to know that they have to ask to use the potty when they have to go, and even if they don't make it, at least they're getting the idea. Good luck! In one last idea, have you tried doing a potty party? I've heard this is really effective, although we haven't tried it yet. You can look it up online.

Mary - posted on 06/02/2010

Do you have any male figures around that are willing help you or any other little guys around that he can maybe learn from? My boys were over 2 when they got potty trained and I was lost. But I put them in day care (not to be toliet trained) and they were trained in less than a month. The day care workers were willing to toliet train them . For me having them around other children helped. Good luck to you, Kassandra.

Corrine - posted on 06/01/2010

The nursery school thing works! My son was off and on potty training since he was two. He'd show some interest for a month or so and then be done with it. Wore pull-ups first day of nursery school, big boy underwear all the time after that. No accidents, knock on wood. That was last September. Still had to wear pull-ups for going poop but that was the only time, he didn't have any accidents during the nights neither. Once he turned 4 in January told him no more pull-ups, he was pooping on the pot. And he has been ever since. I know it sounds real easy but it truly was. And his teachers told me it would be a piece of cake once he started going to the bathroom with all the other kids. I also believe he was simply ready to be going on the toilet all the time. Hope it's that easy for you!

Angela - posted on 05/29/2010

It can be really difficult if they haven't made up there mind to want to go potty. I let my kids go shopping for their favorite character underwear. When we were training my 2nd daughter when she was 2-1/2, she was doing good at first and then she backfired. I just kept putting underwear on her. It took two weeks of wetting and yes, pooping to understand that I was not going back to pull-ups or diapers. She started understanding that mom was not going to give in and about 2 weeks later she decided that she wanted to be a "big girl!" We praised her every time that she would sit on the potty and every time that she went on the potty. If she went potty, we gave her smarties candy and would tell her that she's a smart big girl for going potty on the potty chair. Just keep praising him and hopefully he'll start wanting to go on the potty chair!

Queenie - posted on 05/28/2010

my son was pottied trained when he was 2.yrs old. i stopped disposable diapers if its daytime..during that time he still don't know the feeling if he will pee or poop.. i just let it happen and later on he was the one going to the toilet

Aliska - posted on 05/27/2010

Do you have an older boy in your family or friends that could act as a role model? Someone young enough that your son will identify him as a 'kid' but obviously well past toilet training. Sometimes kids don't relate to adults as role models as there's so much difference between being an adult and being a kid but another kid who can visit regularly and who is happy to act as a role model in the bathroom might help. Younger kids look up to older ones and an older boy who is happy to spend time with your son and play with him will become a model and your son may want to be just like him including going to the toilet. Good luck.

Janelle - posted on 05/26/2010

Does he show interests in going to the toilet? my son was 3 when he was pottied trained and he showed interests that he wanted to go.so we knew his potty schedule from wearing pull ups some what and it was easier for us to sit him on the potty around that time and it seemed to work.we did that for awhile until he got used to it.we didnt rush pooping.we worked on his pottying.Then after he got used to going to the potty to pee we put cheerios in the toliet for him to aim at to get him used to standing up rather than sitting down.It only took us a couple of months.He went at his pace.And we always praised him alot when ever he sat on the potty wether he went or not.every child is ready at their own pace we just went on what worked for him.

Julie - posted on 05/26/2010

My son took forever! I thought he'd never be trained. At 3 I tried putting underwear on him. He just wet them and didn't care -- he kept on playing and never noticed!! I tried again when he was 4, and that time he was ready. Just keep asking him to go potty, and he will get it! Try not to get too frustrated. I know I did a lot of crying over it and I shouldn't have. He's in kindergarten now and he is potty trained!! yay!

Debbie - posted on 05/25/2010

does he still wear nappy's?? if so buy some favourite character undies. does he go to daycare at all?? if not maybe start him there one day a week, and he may see the other kids go to the toilet and want to copy them. i have three boys, and the oldest two, i started toilet training them when they were around 18mths old. i started with the potty, they played with it for a while, then i would put them on it after taking their nappy off. as they got bigger i used a seat that sat on the big toilet, it had a step so it was easier for them. and my now three year old stands while going, and i have a wee target in the toilet to help prevent sprays over the wall.lol. i also bought a special book(any sort) as their toilet book, they were only allowed to read it while going to the toilet. my oldest still sometimes takes a book with him to the toilet.lol(i think thats a male thing though..lol)