Anyone have any tricks on how to potty train a stuborn 2 1/2 year old boy?

Answer 1

First and foremost, don't force it. It's been my experience that boys are harder to train and are usually older. Closer to 3 yrs. old unless they show signs they are ready.

If he wakes up dry in the morning, put him on the potty right away. Give him a cup of water, juice, or milk and sit him down. Yes, I said sit him down. You teach them sitting on the kiddie potty first, then when they are a little taller, the standing part comes in. Take him to the store and let him pick out big boy underwear that "only big boys that go pee pee in the potty" can wear. Take him to the potty about every 30 minutes or so to sit about 2-3 minutes for a few days adding 15 minutes to the time until you build up to about 1 1/2 hr. He'll get the hang of it and start to go when he gets the urge. Keep asking if he has to go as a reminder until you don't have to anymore. I used all in one cloth diapers for training my son instead of pullups. They are less expensive and you still get the benefit of waterproofing to protect clothing. They also resemble underwear instead of pullups looking like diapers. The big boy underwear will fit over them also. Don't forget to give a little praise when they do it and don't get upset when they don't. Just say oops let's get there a little quicker next time and move on. Don't dwell on it.

This is the method I used to train my son in a week and he was 2 1/2.

Answer 2

I agree with the folks who tell you to wait. It would have been ideal to potty train at 2 1/2 for my son, but he really wasn't ready until 3 1/2.

The good news is - once he was ready, he was READY - he's 5 now and has never had a single accident here or at school. He did wet his bed twice after he was trained, but those incidents happened within two or three months after - now totally dry for 1 1/2 years. I'll happen when he's ready.

Answer 3

Yes take the pressure off,, put him in training pants and show him the pottie,, sit him on it and explain,, let him run around wet if he uses the trainers. Next day, put the diapers back on him and take the pottie and put it up. Tell him here is where I am going to keep your pottie when your ready to use it all the time ask for it and I will get it back out. Then don't mention the pottie at all, not on the phone to anyone, not to someone in the house in his presence,, in a couple weeks set it back in the floor without him seeing you do it and chances are he will let you know he is ready now. Worked for both my kids. They don't deal with pressure regarding using it.

Answer 4

Does he like to blow out candles? If so, then light a candle in the bathroom and tell him that if he goed potty like a big boy then he gets to blow out the candle. My son loved that. The only downside is that he was running to the bathroom every five minutes to try to go potty. He now does both in the potty and rarely has an accident. Also if you don't live in an apartment then let him pee outside. My son loved being able to pee on the weeds, trees, and rocks. Of course we live out in the middle of nowhere, too. He still wears pull ups at night, though. He is three, will be four in Nov. Good Luck!!!

Answer 5

Make an activity day.It would be something like this.A big boy breakfast with waffles cut out like underwear.Use positive reinforcement.A potty activity such as potty book and coloring a potty.A field trip to the bathroom to eliminate fears he may have such as the toilet flushing.Make a chart with stickers and when he goes flushes washes hands etc he gets something from "the box" which has stickers apples etc in it.On the trip we flush toilet and make it fun.Then you talk about even though he will be a big boy he will always be your baby.He may fear he won't be the baby anymore.Then use cheerios in the toilet and try to let him hit them kinda like a game.Never punish for not using toilet just say oh WE had an accident We need to really try to make it next time.Also he should be taken every 25minutes to the bathroom just to try.Hope this helps.

Answer 6

He'll get it when he's ready. Just don't force it on him. My son is 3 1/2 and just now potty training but is doing it on his own. Boys usually potty train later than girls do so I wouldn't worry about it just yet.

Answer 7

Patience. If you push to hard, it will backfire. If you let children train themselves, you will also have less accidents later on and they will feel more secure about using the bathroom. Both of my daughters were 3 1/2 and my oldest son was 4 before they were completely trained.

Good luck!

Answer 8

I threw a fruit loop in the potty for my son, and then I told him to aim and shoot.

I gave him a reward afterwards, and eventually, he got it.

Also, though, once a child enters a preschool where all of the other kids are going in the potty, he's going to want to do it, too.

Answer 9

Try this- All kids love bubbles. Keep some dishwashing liquid in your toilet bowl. Tell him "Let's go make some bubbles!" When he pees in the water it will bubble up. My son loved this. Whatever you do, the key is to make it as fun as possible for him. I've also tried cheerios in the toilet water. Good luck!

Answer 10

Put them in underwear. They can't stand to be wet and will train quickly if there is no alternative (i.e. Pull-ups or diapers). Worked like a charm for me, I just wish I had tried it earlier (I started with Pull-ups).