My little boy is 4 years old and still in diapers, how can I get him to go on the potty once and for all?

Question

He fights with me when I make him go on the potty. When I do finally get him on there, he just sits there and cries until he is aloud to get off. And then he waits for his diaper to be put back on and goes in it. If I try to put underware on him he just pees in those. I try to reason with him and tell him he will get a treat if he goes but that still won't work. It's also hard when my parents "whom I still live with" give him everything he wants even when I tell them I don't want him to have sertain things. So giving him a treat means nothing to him because my parents already are going to give it to him. I tried to get my parents to cooperate with me and help me to get him on the potty because he don't think he has to listen to me as long as they don't make him. They don't want to deal with his crying so they just don't enforce. I can't aford to move out just yet so in the mean time, I need a solution to get him to listen to me.

Answer 1

Make going potty a game that is fun for him. You can try cheerios he has to aim for or food coloring that will make the water change color when he goes. If he has an accident don't scold, but say oops we'll do better next time. Don't let him wear diapers, but have him run around in cool undies ( they have all kinds of themes) Find the one he likes and tell him not to get "Bob the Builder" or Barney dirty.
Hope it helps and don't give up, every kid will eventually be potty trained.

Answer 2

The key words you said were "make him go potty" DON"T DO THAT!! HE WILL LEARN to use the potty! Just like kiddos won't go to Kindergarten with a binky in their mouth, they won't go to Kindergarten not potty trained. It really does have to be HIS IDEA. My little one is 2 and we have been practicing since she was a year old in clothes just sitting and pushing. Now, she sits and reads a book naked on the potty. So far she has only pooped once. No Big Deal. Try "asking" him if he would like to sit on it today. Again, the next day and so on. Eventually he will surprise you and be a BIG BOY! Good Luck and hang in there!

Answer 3

My son was stubborn about his potty, too, but I eventually got him to use it by leaving it out where he could see it and sit on it without me telling him. Just put your son in underwear (the thick training pants) because trust me by 4, he knows when he has to go. He can cry for a diaper but if he is busy with something he might go to his potty by himself. You nagging him will NOT make him do it. Also, if someone can show him how to pee standing up if he is tall enough, I bet he won't want a diaper ever again! They are fascinated with that. For poop, though, it is harder to get them to use the potty.

Answer 4

tell him he is a "big boy" now and that big boys don't wear diapers, they use the potty. If his father is still in the picture, encourage him to help. Tell him that daddy uses the big boy potty and so should he. let him know that he will be attending school next year and he won't want the other kids picking on him if he still wears a diaper. also i would have started training at a much younger age. the older they get the harder it is to do.

Answer 5

omg 4 years old is way too old to be in diapers...my son was potty trained at 2 and he is 4 now and i cant imagine seeing him in diapers this big...i went out and bought one of those new interactive potty chairs..they are like 20 bucks at wal-mart so when they go pee or poop in it,it triggers a light sensor and plays music and stuff like that so it makes it fun...i also put him in underwear and he only peed in those maybe 3 or 4 times when he figured out i wasnt going to put a diaper on him and he didnt like being wet...its also a lot easier with a man in the house because boys usually want to be like there fathers so if daddy is doing it than it must be cool...try to get your dad to take him potty maybe that will work...good luck

Answer 6

Don't put diapers on him . Buy some regular undies and that way when he does pee it will run down his legs, and they don't like that, and then make him clean up the mess. Then if he does not go to the bathroom on his own you can put him in the shower to rinse him off. Cold water... It may seem mean but it works.

Answer 7

I know this girl that had that same trouble and her son was five. She had to keep a schedule for him and take him all the time and when he soil his pants he got a big time out. Sometimes a spanking (a lot) She just had to tell her parents to keep out of it. They all got in a big fight but once they seen him get kicked out of preschool for it they helped her and did what she wanted them to do. It was a long road but it worked. Just keep on him and don't give up! Good Luck

Answer 8

I had the same problems with my 3 year old. On a day when you don't have to work, and maybe can have the house to yourself, let him run around the house naked. I guarantee he will use the potty. At least it worked for my son. I also have the same problem with my in-laws that you have with your parents, except I don't live with them.

Answer 9

Been there, done that..........and I know it's a tough situation!

First of all, stop making a big deal about it. He can feel your tension, and he is feeding on it.

Secondly, does he have a man he can "watch"? Would your father allow him to be in the bathroom when he goes? Little boys like to act like the grown-ups they see.

Thirdly, he WILL get it!!! Everyone is on their own timetable, Don't threaten him or coax him. Act like you don't care. Keep him in pull-ups, and don't ever let him "see you sweat." I guarantee that once you stop caring, he'll start going.

Good luck getting your own place; you need it!

Answer 10

from personal experience, my son didn't want to either and at the time it was just him, me and his sister. So I found that Silk boxers were the trick with him. He liked the way they felt and if he had an accident in them then he had to wear a pair of regular old underwear. and he hated them. It was the second day of having silk boxers that he never even had an accident and didn't want to wear a gross diaper.