What age did you have your kid potty trained?

Question

My boy is almost 3 and he is just not getting it. He is so smart to I don't understand.

Answer 1

Each child develops the ability to use the potty at his own pace. I have 4 children. My oldest was 2 1/2, the middle 2 were 3, and my youngest absolutley refused to potty train until 2 weeks before she turned 5. I have been a licensed home daycare provider for 20 years and have assisted in potty training numerous children. In my experience, between 3 and 4 is the most likely time frame to successfully potty train. But, some kids will approach 4 and older before they are ready. It may be that your son "gets" the idea just fine, but just doesn't want to put in the effort it takes. If he doesn't mind having soiled diapers he will probably not be motivated much. Try a couple of rewards - perhaps a chart where he can put a sticker every time he tries to go potty or a small basket of M&M's or Skittles and he can have one every time he uses the potty. My middle daughter's price was a My First Barbie. She wanted one desperately so we bought one and put it on the shelf in the bathroom. When she used the potty she got to play with it. If she didn't use the potty then Barbie went back on the shelf until she went potty again. With my youngest, we tried every trick I have ever tried and nothing worked. She was by far the oldest I have ever run across before being potty trained. Our pediatrician assured us that she had never had a child go to kindergarten in diapers and we thought for sure our child would be the first since her birthday is in July and we start school in August. My advice, make going potty a "non-issue" with your son. Offer to help him go, but let him lead the way. If he goes, make appropriate expressions of pleasure, but if he doesn't, just tell him that it is OK and he can try again later.

Answer 2

3

Answer 3

I have 2 girls. Ages 13 and 5. The 13 year old was potty-trained by the time she was 2. She had no problems learning and was very easy. My 5 year old is a different story. She was very capable of learning at 2 but refused and from everything I read they say the worst thing you can do is force them. So about every month for the next two years I would re-introduce her to the idea of graduating from her diapers. I did everything from potty-training books, videos and one on one discussions. I was getting worried cause in order for her to start kindergarten she would need to be potty-trained. Finally, just a little over 4 years old, I told her she was a big girl now and no more pull-ups. I took her to the store and let her pick out her own underwear. Then I just stop putting them on her. She knew what to do but just refused to do it and after a few accidents, she finally got it. I praised her every time. It only took a few days. Every child is different but I'm glad that I never forced her. There is a time where you do have to stop encouraging their refusal.

Answer 4

My son is almost 3 and developmentally disabled, so I think this would work for any kid. We took him to the potty every thirty minutes, no matter what. He gave him lots of juice to ensure a full bladder. We put him in big boy underpants with Thomas the Train and Diego and Lightning McQueen from Cars and made a really big deal about it. We made him sit for 5 minutes at a time.

Eventually he started going. When he went in the potty he got skittles and lots of praise. When he had accidents, we made him clean it up to the best of his ability That made him start wanting to go more often. We spread out to once an hour after 3-4 days. We knew he could hold it by then. We continued doing this for two weeks or so (he is in school during the day so it took us longer I think).

Then we took him every 2 hours. We still do this. He is at the point where he will go by himself. The whole process took about three weeks until he stopped having accidents. My child is very intelligent, but he gets focused on what he is doing and doesn't want to stop for anything. We basically had to turn pottying into an event. #2 took a little longer. For that whenever he is on the potty we ask him to push out gas. He gets 1 skittle for that. If he pushes out gas, I'm sure that he can push out poop, so we just sit there until he does and I keep reminding him that he can get 5 skittles if he pushes out poop. He likes the certainty of the reward and he likes to count his skittles.

We don't normally give him candy, so the skittles are a real treat for him. He is at the point now where he doesn't ask for them every time anymore. Hopefully this will work for you.

Answer 5

My oldest daughter was trained w/in a month of turning 2. Seemed like it was no effort at all w/her! Middle daughter: same thing. Within a month of turning 2. And neither of them had any night time accidents either. My youngest was a little more difficult. She was trained, again, at the age of 2. She had the daytime potty down to a science! But at night she needed to wear a Pull up! She wore them until she was almost 6. So each kid is different!

Answer 6

My boy was 4 months shy of being 3 when we finally got him completely trained. Be patient. My little guy was so excited to go to school - - I started telling him that he can't go to school if he doesn't go peepee on the big potty and we told him diapers were for babies and he was a big boy now. Start putting underwear on him - they all HATE the feeling of being wet. When he has an accident, don't change him right away. Give him a few minutes and see how it feels. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't easy. It took many hours of sitting him on the potty and waiting. Just give it time. He'll get the idea.

Answer 7

My son was potty trained by the time he was 2. It took about 3 weeks.
My daughter is 2-1/2 and I have been training her for the past 3 months. She was doing good, at first, but has now regressed.
Just put him on the potty every 30 minutes, eventually he will stop going in his pull-up, altogether. Lengthen the time btwn potty trips...and, then he will start telling you when he has to go.
(I hope), that's my tactic.

I tried putting underwear on her, instead of a pull-up, so she would have firsthand experience of the consequences of wetting herself; hoping that would stimulate the connection btwn the urge to go and the result. That didn't work, but it might work for your son.

Answer 8

I'm having a similar problem. My little boy is 3 and a half. He has been using the potty for at least a year now, but he still has accidents! He has only peed in his pants once in the past 6 months, but he poops in his pants at least once a week. We reward him when he poops in the potty and make a big deal out of it, but it doesn't seem to work. My mom keeps telling me "All children have accidents. He'll do it when he's ready." So, I'm trying to be patient. I also know that he gets distracted when he's playing, and doesn't want to stop to go to the bathroom, so it helps to take them often! Good luck!

Answer 9

My niece potty trained at a little over a year. But with boys they are alot harder. I have a couple of suggestions for you. With my niece we would take her into the bathroom with us and she just wanted to be a big girl like us. But with your son I would let him go into the bathroom with daddy. another one is to get a mini potty and put it in the living room or whatever room you play in most often. Let him see its okay to us the potty, We also sing to my niece silly songs we made up and it took her mind of the whole potty thing.

When they poop on the potty for the first time it scares them so I have found making your hand into a ball and lightly tap there knees. this also takes there mind of the whole potty situation. and then Finally rewards them everytime they us the potty. i.e. fruitroll up a high five or whatever may work for your child.

Good luck!!!

Answer 10

my 1st was potty trained at 3 1/2 my second was just potty trained recently at 3 yrs and 3 mos. so just keep trying they should be potty trained by 3 they say i hated seeing my big boys in diapers. especially when they will be starting pre-k at 4. good luck when he's ready he'll know how to do it.