potty training a 3 1/2 year old

Dawn - posted on 11/01/2011

One thing I did, whenever my son got into the tub, he would have to pee. I had a big cup handy and just held it up for him to pee in. To this day, Instead of getting out of the tub to go pee, he will pee in a cup on his own. Of course, I am right there and dispose of it right away. (I was one of the lucky moms, my son is 3 now but was potty trained at 2)

Carly - posted on 10/31/2011

Toilet training my boy just about broke me because my mum and a friend were like 'he's ready to go to the toilet you need to train him' I didnt feel that he was ready and persisted for close to 6 months with him weeing and pooing everywhere.

A month before his 3rd birthday in August I put him back in nappies for 3-4 weeks and explained to him on a regular basis that after his party he was a big boy and that big boys wore undies and did poos and wee in the toilet. It was a lightbulb moment (my friends said that this would happen and I was like hmmmm you say that but I dont believe you) His birthday was the end of August and since then he has probably had 3-4 accidents and this is disgusting he watched me do poo's in the toilet (I did say it was gross) but he takes himself off and does a poo too, but not if I ask him he is rather shy about this aspect for some reason. I would suggest putting him back in nappies for a month as I feel I had tried just about everything and I would say that toilet training has been the thing in parenting that has just about broken me :o) get some breathing space back and take the stress out of it. A lot of my friends were like 'you never see a high school student in nappies so they eventually all do get it' I hope this helps

Sakina - posted on 10/27/2011

I'm in the same boat as you.

Jenny - posted on 10/21/2011

Thank you all for the feedback

Kristine - posted on 10/20/2011

My daughter know what quarters are and that she can use them to get candy out of the machine. I started a potty bank for her. We decorated it together and a put about $20 in quarters in a Jar out of her reach. Every time she pee in the potty she got a quarter every time she poop in the potty she got two. When I was almost out of quarters I went to the bank and got $1 bills and my daughter and I counted out four quarters for each dollar. I then took her shopping for some new clothes cause she wanted princess dresses. I also switched her to training pants instead of pull ups or underware. I use potty pattys for boys they are called potty scotty don't let the price fool you. They are well worth it. My daughter was 3 and didn't want anything to do with the potty but knowing she could make money really helped. The potty patty helped to because if she had an accident it was mostly contained. We still had to change pants and some times socks or shoes. My daughter is now 3 1/4 and is doing great pooping and peeing on the potty we have about one or two accidents a week but only because she gets into playing she forgets to go or can't make it in time. I hope this helps. Hang in there Mamma.

Michelle - posted on 10/17/2011

i tried my 1st son around the age of 2 to no avail, i tried for a few weeks and decided to stop. 2 months later he decided that he was ready but only wanted to use the potty chair in the living room, then he only wanted to stand at the big potty (just like daddy) lol. my 1st daughter simply didnt like being wet so she was a breeze. my 2nd daughter, who is very set in her ways, didnt want anything to do with a potty chair, she wanted the big potty or no potty at all. i have a small dora toilet seat that attaches to ours and she uses her potty for a step up. rewards systems can be helpful too. at 3 1/2 he should be able to tell you why he doesnt want to, throw out some suggestions to him(kneel down to his level when you talk to him about it they tend to feel less intimidated!) and try to find out what will help him be comfortable to use the potty. All kids are different and it's usually a matter of finding that little niche. my 3 yr old also likes to have a book (just like daddy lol) trial and error, you'll get there. I would also deal with his fits that he throws, you may feel you are at fault because of trying to potty train him but you're not. have to let him know that that kind of behavior is not acceptable. I wouldnt suggest using pull ups either as they tend to just use them as a diaper. i know you end up cleaning more messes but the effort is worth it. i only use them for night time potty training. I hope some of this helps. potty training is tough business! Good Luck!

Katherine - posted on 10/17/2011

My nephew didn't train until 3. He just decided one day he wanted nothing to do with diapers. Maybe she should back off for a month? It sounds like it's a losing battle right now, and we all know we have to pick our battles ;)

Jenny - posted on 10/17/2011

I have tried cherrios, smarties, m&ms, using the big potty to show him that the potty is a good thing. He wont even go near his potty. he will kick, acream and cry or even pick it up and throw it.

Leslie - posted on 10/16/2011

I have found it is a lot less struggle to get my daughter on the potty if I give her three Smarties to get her on the potty and try. She usually will potty for me while sitting there.

Courtney - posted on 10/15/2011

i found we had the same problem with my son. all we did was change him from pull-ups during the day to underwear. he found he didnt like the feeling of the wet cloth and started using the potty properly.

Katherine - posted on 10/15/2011

What is EVERYTHING that was tried?