My son will be 3 in April and I still cannot get him potty trained. HELP!

Elizabeth - posted on 04/07/2011

First thing you need to know..and I learned this from potty training my children...it isn't up to YOU when he learns to use the potty..it is up to HIM when he will comply with this new rule.

He clearly isn't ready and the more you push the more he will resist to the point where it will become a power struggle.

That said..there are some things you can do to help get him ready.

Potty training has 2 parts..mental and physical.

Mental:

-start talking about it " mommy and daddy and brother/sister use the potty"
"do you know where pee pee goes?" ...let him answer
"do you know where poop goes"

-when you go to the bathroom ..take him with you so he can see that you use it too

-look for signs he is ready...he takes an interest in the potty
-he can remove his pants on his own
-he can stay dry for a few hours at a time

Physical:

- once the mental prep is done and he shows 2 or more of the signs above ..you can start with undies and don't use pullups..they are the same as a diaper but more expensive


Be patient with him..never punish him for having an accident..it is evident that he just is not getting the concept yet. The pediatrician will tell you that the average age which a child is potty trained fully #1 and #2 is 4 1/2 years old. Poop takes a lot longer sometimes.

You may not be ready in time and it certainly isn't fair to put this stress on yourself or on him. I wish you the best of luck.

Candice - posted on 03/15/2011

I have the same problem. My son will be 3, April 4th and he still is not completely potty trained. We started the potty training back in September. Some days he is good and some days he has a lot of accidents. Did you try the diaperless potty training? It's where you have him not wear anything on his bottom half. That is how I got my son started. And if you can, track the times he relieves himself and when it gets close to that time put him on the potty. Believe me I have tried everything too and my son is still not 100% potty trained. Another mom told me to get rid of the pull-ups completely (just use them at nap and bedtime) and when he has an accident, make him sit in it for at least 10 minutes before you clean him up and make sure you tell him that is not where pee and poo go, that pee and poo go in the potty. Some other research I did, said to just stop for a week and then start over again. I haven't done that and I don't think I will do it because my son has his good days and his bad days. He is always dry at night and during nap, which he has been since we started potty training. I just take my son every hour and reward him when he does go. When it comes to the poo poo, he will tell me that he has to go poo poo and he will go into the bathroom, but he usually already started going in his pull-up, but he always finishes in the potty. But it is different when it comes to the pee pee. If he went in his pull-up he won't even tell me. The other mom who responded to my cry for help said it is because the pull-up draws the moisture away from his body, so my son thinks nothing of it. So today I put him in underwear and he is doing good so far. And he even made all the poo poo in the potty earlier. Good luck!!