any tips on starting to potty train a 3yr old boy?

Question

my son is 3yrs old and is showing no signs of wanting to be potty trained eg, putting potty away when i get it out and fetching nappies. he knows when hes done something in his nappy, but just seems to lazy to want to use a potty! my other children were all done by this age. any tips would be appreciated!

Answer 1

Here are some ways to help potty train your child.. hopefully these tips will help you out.. I worked in a Daycare facility with ages 2 1/2 and 3 year olds.. and it was a little dificult but we did it. It will take time but stay at it.. it will finally pay off..

Let your child practice sitting on the potty or the commode, with or without clothes, to help build familiarity with the new process.

•Be sure your child's clothing is easy to pull on and off.

Avoid buttons, snaps and belts during potty training.

•Praise, praise, praise, whenever the child is willing to sit and try to go.

Remember that sitting for more than 10 seconds is progress.

•Don't expect something to happen every time. If nothing happens, tell them ''That's OK, or ''Good try, we'll try again later.''

•Don't put too much pressure on them by just standing and watching. Be prepared to keep them company by reading aloud or singing a song to pass the time.

•Praise your child for every deposit in the potty chair, especially during early learning stages.

•Remember the toilet seat can seem awfully big to your child.

An adapter seat and a step-stool can make it feel more secure. If you don't have an adapter seat, let them sit facing sideways or even backward for a more secure position.

•Keep toilet paper where little hands can reach it.

•Never, never, NEVER punish your child for an accident. Clean up in a matter-of-fact way, no matter how hard that may be to do.

Remember, they're LEARNING. They won't get it right every time. A child anxious to please may agonize over what they think is shameful behavior because of your reaction.

•Always accompany your child into public restrooms.

Blue & Yellow Make Green
Put a few drops of blue food coloring in the toilet and show your child that the color turns green when he or she pees in the potty!

Books, Videos, & DVDs
Toilet training bedtime stories, videos and DVDs are a fun educational way to introduce toilet training to your child.

Charts & Stickers
Toilet training charts and stickers are great motivational tools. Start by giving stickers for sitting on the potty. After a while, give stickers only when your child uses the potty. Finally, offer a small toy as a reward for 3 accident free days

Phone Call From Superhero
Reward your child for using the potty with a phone call from his or her superhero. Enlist friends or neighbors to play the part.

Good Luck

Answer 2

We had a hard time with our son.

1. Try buying a smaller seat that fits in the seat you currently have on your toilet and see if he would use that instead. Get something he can use as a step to get up there by himself.

2. Start with just trying to get him to pee in the toilet. Toss a few cheerios in there and get him to try and shoot them. Make it a game so he thinks it is fun.

3. Every time his father goes to the toilet get him to go with him so he sees that daddy uses the potty. Most little boys want to do everything that daddy does so this might help.

4. Every time he does something during the day call him a big boy. When he dirties his Nappie tell him that big boys don't do that and get him some actual underwear and only call them big boy underwear. Soon he will make the connection and want to wear them. once he does make sure he knows that he can only wear them if he uses the toilet.

5. The most important thing is to be patient.

Answer 3

You can try telling him that he's getting too big for diapers. Tell him in 2 weeks that he won't be able to wear diapers anymore. He'll wear big boy underwear because he's growing up to be a big boy. Remind him of that a few times daily until the big day comes and then switch completely to underwear. I did that with my son when he was three (he already knew how to use the potty and when he had to go, he just refused to do it) It worked really well for us. I didn't put him in diapers at night though. I tried a diaper at night once after he'd been in underwear for a couple of days because he was wetting each night and I thought it was too soon to expect him to stay dry all night. But it confused him and he had accidents all the next day so I went back to strictly underwear all the time. I stuck it out with the nightly sheet changings and in a couple of weeks he'd wet his bed less and less. Try not to get too discouraged if it doesn't work. Every child is different and he'll get around to potty training sooner or later. Good luck!

Answer 4

wow i feel you, my son wasnt potty trained until 3 1/2. My son also showed no sign of wanting to use the potty. try making a chart, and tell him every time he goes on the potty you will put a sitcker on it and once he gets five givehim a prize, that worked best for me. I didnt usually buy stuff though, I usually made it have story time with mommy, watch movie with mommy, or stuff like that. good luck I am not trying to potty train my daughter who is 2 today, not going so well yet

Answer 5

I feel your pain, my son was the same. I was convinced he was going to start school still in diapers! He was not fully potty trained until he was 3 1/2 (long after most of his friends!). What worked for me was a reward system. He got a small candy treat every time he used the potty. I bought a bag of M&M's and he got one every time he went. A friend of mine used a similar method only her son got a star everytime he went potty then after 5 stars he got 5 M&M's in a little cup and he got to eat them on the couch (which was a big deal in their house! For us, the reward needed to be immediate.

Be consistent, be patient and don't punish mistakes are the big keys to potty training. Hang in there! He'll get it, they all do sooner or later :-)

Answer 6

My son was 3 when I got him potty trained. I had to turn ot in to a game for him to even get interested in the potty. I put Cheerios in the toilet and bet him he couldn't hit them and for every one he hit I Gave him a treat(candy or money). Now I'm doing the same thing with my 2 1/2 yr. old and it's starting to work. Good luck :)

Answer 7

All kids are different! if he's really not ready, trying to force him might just lead to mutual frustration. I'd put it away for a month and try again after Christmas.

I have a 3 yr old boy who always yells "no" when I take him (every two hours) but then his pants are dry and he empties into the toilet. He refuses to (seems unable to) have a BM in the toilet. Doctor at last checkup said that it's unusual for boys to be trained at 3 so he's doing well. For you, I'd say just back off for a few weeks and try again.

Have you tried those pull-ups that have the "feel wet liner"? They are effective for some kids - makes it less comfy to pee in the pants! Didn't work for my first (no difference) but as I said, all kids are different!

Good luck and tip # 1 is BE PATIENT! Potty training takes time!

:)

Answer 8

well first thing. get rid of diapers and if you dont make him use the potty he never willl. go to the store and buy the thick training under wear not pullups. use pull ups for nap and bedtime. make him wear regular underwear and take him every hour and sit him on thr toilet. make him sit there. for atleast five minutes. sprinkle really warm water on his boy parts the warmth will help him go. in the car also use a pull up so you dont have to wash your carseat. if he knows hes doing it he knows he has to go. get rid of the diapers. kids dont like to be wet a few accidents and he will be trained. i have a 3 year old and he trained at 3And a half completely. using regualr undies was what worked. you have to make him do it. he wont just do it on his own

Answer 9

Maybe not waiting for a three year old to decide he's ready to be potty trained? How the heck would a three year old know, and why would a child choose a toilet over pooping in its pants?

I potty trained my brothers, and they were both done by 18 months. Although the first had a squished wee-wee in the toilet seat incident and we have to revert to pull ups for a few weeks and start over.

We didnt 'wait' for them to decide... lol. Thats insane.

We just left the bathroom door open whenever we went potty, talked to them about it, told them big kids go potty on the toilet, not in their pants.

We told them its yucky to go potty in your pants like a baby, and that they would want to be big boys and men and go potty in the toilet. That they were such big boys, and it'd be a shame for them to keep on like babies, wetting their pants...yuuuck.

Asked them if they had to go potty often, made a huuuuge fuss when they did potty in the toilet... talked to them about it constantly, in teh car at the store, where ever whenever. It built their confidence up until eventually they made the choice to go whether they were ready or not. We did away with diapers and went straight into underware. The cool kind with superman and grover. no pull up nonsense.

After that, with a little food and beverage monitoring and reminding them often, and somtimes waking them up at night to pee, they were all nice and trained.

The trick is to not make a deal out of going potty. Its as natural as eating food, or taking a nap. They fall asleep on their own, they feed themselves, they go potty on their own. No 'making' them involved. Kids like growing up if you dont make a deal out of it. especially if they get to grow up.

Same works with naps. "If you're really good, i'll let you take a nap when we get home.." Its amazing how you can encourage your kids to think about their world and the events in it.

Ive nannied too, and aproached it the same way, never had an issue with potty training that wasnt easy to solve with just a no pleading, no nonsense out look. Once kids see it, understand it, and realize its part of being a big kid, they just jump into it.

All they need is encouragement and reminding.

Maybe ive just had a half dozen really easy to train kids.... lol.

Answer 10

They are all different of course, One of mine was around 4 when he got trained. When I asked why he went in his pants he said "I't easy I go in my pull ups" LOL

I used everthing on him, stickers, candies, favorite underwear, telling him he'd have to wear the wet one a little while becasue mommie is too busy to change you now, etc

I finally gave up and just put him in "under-wonders" and let him learn that is is not easier to go in your pants. The whole thing clicked for him when he poo-pooed in pants while we were out. They were his favorite thomas ones and I threw them away. He acted traumatized, but he tried really hard not to ruin another pair.

Figure out something he really likes and offer it to him when he potties. Good luck and keep your patience.