My son wont use the potty...HELP?

Question

My son, who will be 3 next week refuses to try to use the bathroom.when i tell him "Lets go peepee in the potty" he says no and runs.If i let him run around with no diaper he pees on the floor.we potty trained our daughter in a week at the age of 2.What should we do?

Answer 1

You need to give your son some time. Boys usually train later than girls between 3yrs and 3.5 yrs. It is also very likely that he may be scared of potty training because it was built up too much. I had similar problems with my toddler. Things have worked out now and what helped was:

a. Backing off for a while (say a week to 1 month)
b. Getting a few good books for children on potty training
c. Providing incentives like stickers for using the potty

Also get a good potty training book for yourself. I'd recommend the "Everything Potty Training Book".

Good luck and be patient!

Answer 2

You can always try putting the blue chemical in the potty and tell him it's magic water- let him pee and it turns green- you might have to be the example first. Boys are much harder and much later to train. Spend time in the bathroom w/ books or music or special toys that only stay in the bathroom--- favorite candy for one of my children was the winner, a sticker chart for another was a winner, start w/ baby steps---- a reward for sitting is a great start--- does he have his own potty in his own space? Give up for a week and don't even talk about it. Then try just one trick at a time. He may need to learn to sit and pee first before he target practices- my 3 yo daughter prefered the smaller seat on the big potty rather than the potty chair--- she refused to go on them. Get the whole family involved-- let him call Gma and Gpa when he goes all by himself. It just takes time w. boys. Just because your ready doesnt mean he's ready--- Good Luck

Answer 3

Number 1, he is not your daughter. Forget it for a few weeks, then sit down and talk with your son about it.

My son tried hard to get trained about 2 months before his 3rd birthday, he went from a happy smiling kid to a cranky screamer. He could not handle the stress. After abot 2 weeks.

I waited oh about 6 weeks and one day said to him, Matt, I found these pants, they were training pants with plastic pants on them, (this was before Pampers pullups) and said ...These are diaper pants, they are like diapers with plastic so if you have an accident, the plastic is there and they are pants like a big boy. Want to try it? He said yes. He had 2 accidents in about the next 2 weeks and then he was done. Other then at nap time, where we had to wake him up or he did not make it to the bathroom.

He just was not ready the first time. Give him a month, then suggest that if he pees on the potty you will give him, some M&Ms or something he wants but does not normally get. Then give him a few, when he is successful reward him. Don't gt upset if he has an accident, stress will not help. And don't forget it is summer, even older kids will slip up once in a while, forgetting as they play.

My son played hockey with a kid who was 9 or 10, who wet on himself everytime he played cause he forgot. Mom did not give him clean clothes, I found this out when he was in my car one day for a 2 hour drive home and noticed this awful smell.

So give the little guy a break, I know it is tough but he is still little.

Answer 4

I started out by buying a simple white potty that looked the closest to a regular toilet. No bells n' whistles. Then I got her the "Feel N Learn" pull-ups which are great because when they are wet, they feel wet to the child. Then we had a "sticker" program. I would put her potty in front of the toilet and we would both go potty together. Every time she was successful, she got a sticker that she placed on the bathroom cupboard beside her potty chair. That way she was able to see the rewards of her efforts. And I also made a big effort to praise her really dramatically! Then we'd both empty her potty into the toilet and wave and say "bye-bye peepees/poopoos, thanks for coming out!" She'd sometimes just sit on the chair and "pretend" to potty just so she'd get a sticker! But she quickly figured out that she needed to produce visible results... It took about 2 months. Then I took her shopping and let her pick out her own underwear (Dora). She was so happy to wear them and very, very proud. She had a few accidents but I never made a big deal out of them to her. It got tricky when we went out because it's important that as soon as said she had to potty, we had to pull over right away. I was sure NOT to fall back on the pullups just because we were out. It just prolongs the process. She was able to wear underwear during the day and a pullup at night. Then, eventually she lost the nightime pullup and I woke her at 2am and took her to the potty - every night for about a week. And then that was that.

Every child is different tho - the key is to make a big fuss when they go and not make a fuss if they don't. Good luck with it.

Answer 5

We've had the same problem, our 4 year old twin boys are just getting trained. What worked really well for the oldest was setting a timer and telling him when the timer went off he had to sit on the potty. (By the way, we used the alarm feature on our cell phones because that way the "timer" could be in the same room that he was.) At the same time, we went cold turkey on Pull-ups...put him in underwear. Pretty soon he started to know when he had to go on his own and just went and used the potty when he needed to. Took him about a week.

The younger twin is still struggling. Just today he pooped in his underwear (at home, thank goodness) and peed during swimming lessons (outside of the pool).

Two more ideas for getting him to sit on the potty, don't ask him, tell him he's going to sit on the potty (but don't physically force him). I say very matter of factly, "it's time to sit on the potty." (That's why the timer worked for us. It's not the parent telling them it's time, it's the timer. Can't argue with the timer.) Use rewards. Both boys enjoyed the "pee-pee" song we made up. "(Name) went pee-pee in the potty, he is such a big boy." The younger one likes fruit snacks so he gets one almost every time he goes.

Hope this is helpful! Remember, it's a two step forward, one step back proposition!

Answer 6

I'm also in the process of potty training my son. He's 2 1/2. I had the same problem, so I decided to make it fun. While daddy was at work, I let him pee in daddy's shower. I told him it was going to be sooo funny. He really got a kick out of it. Now, I pretty much let him pee wherever he wants as long as it's not in his pants. He's doing wonderful and I just started a week ago. And, after the first day, he wasn't afraid of the potty. Just get him in the habit of going somewhere besides his pants, and ease the toilet. Good Luck!

Answer 7

My son knew if he quit pottying in his diaper, then he would get a BIG toy if he could use the potty for one week. We would take him to Wal Mart and let him see the toy, and explain to him that he had to earn it. It worked after a month of trying and "teasing" him with the toy. He also got to put a sticker on the potty each time he used the potty successfully. It did make a big mess to clean up after training was over, but it made it fun for him. Good luck, and IT WILL HAPPEN, be patient!

Answer 8

LOL, sounds just like my little boy. He turned 3 in Feb. We tried everything, he would go but never consistent, and for the longest in the beginning, would not go poop in the potty. We tried this:
If he went potty more than in a pullup all day, all week, we daddy got paid at the end of the week, he could pick out any toy. Make is a toy that is really rewarding, not a little dinky toy. Make a big deal about it!! also, now that he's really good about pottying, I print him out potty charts from www.dtlkskids.com and you can customize them with their favorite characters, and everytime he goes potty during the day, he comes an gets a sticker to put on his chart, and if he has alot of stickers at end of week, he gets a toy.

Answer 9

Boys will be boys! Girls (from what I hear) are much easier to train than boys. He is still young to be trained, all of my boys were 3 1/2 years old before we really started training. I would let them play with the potty chair and encourage them to try now and then, but never push! My now 5 year old was nearing 4 before he started. I was about to pull my hair out getting him to try, then when I gave up he trained himself two weeks later. You will not win the battle, let him go and he will let you know when he wants to learn. Its a male thing!

Answer 10

I know a little boy in our church who is nearly 4 and is still in pull ups. He's just now starting to go to the potty. His brother potty trained much earlier. I've heard that girls tend to train earlier than boys in most cases. In any case I wouldn't fret over it too much it isn't uncommon. One day he'll surprise you and just do it probably. If this is a sign of things to come though be prepared for a stubborn child!