Potty training a 3.5 year old?

Answer 1

I have 1 girl and 2 boys. My daughter was potty trained at 19 months. I took her to the store and let her pick out any book she wanted that was her potty book. She could only look at that book when she was on the toilet. Sometimes she'd sit there for 5 minutes but she loved it. My boys were harder they were about 2-2 1/2 when they were trained. My cousin came over he was 6 and my boys wanted to pee in the toilet like him "cause he's a big boy". Also make sure you wake him/her up at night to go to the bathroom it helps get them in the habit of waking up and not wetting the bed.

Answer 2

Use a reward system, NEVER punish them for an accident. Get a calendar and some stickers, when they use the potty they get to put a sticker on that day, either one sticker for the whole day(you determine how many times they need to use it in a day) or everytime the use the potty. Then at the end of the day they get a little treat, a sucker, a little toy or candy. Something that you know they would like. Then you set a goal with them, e.g by the end of the week we want to see 5 of the 7 days with a sticker, or at the end of the month so many days. With this goal there has to be a bigger reward at the end, something that they tell you they want (within reason) and if they accomplish the goal they get the reward. This worked great with mine and it only took a month. Good luck and don't give up.

Answer 3

That child should be ready for preschool, be able to hold a conversation, change his own diaper, and start developing certain critical milestones for early childhood.... but yet he isn't POTTY TRAINED? Wow, you ARE behind the curve. Get with the program and get that kid on the toilet.

Answer 4

All kids go at there own time. Dont listen to anyone that says there is something wrong with that because there isnt! You just need to keep at it and make a huge deal when they go. But to be honest they will let you know when they are ready ( I learned that the hard way and my kid was about 2 and a half). Alsp put them in underwear that way when they pee their pants they will know it whereas with pullups they dont really care. They will realize that when they pee they get wet and have to change their clothes each time. It will be a bit frustrating for you but jsut stick with it, theres not much else you can do

Answer 5

I have a boy and I also had a rough time with the potty training so my Idea is find out what he likes example mine liked jelly beans so evey time he would go on the big potty he got to pick some jelly beans out ot a bag, Also , with my son I took him shopping and let him pick out his own underwear and he loved that and it got him trained!!!

Answer 6

Hello. 3.5 years is a bit old, but not too old to be too concerned yet. There are a few steps that I'm wondering if your child is doing yet...these are sort of steps children go through before going in the potty.

One...is your child recognizing when he/she is wet or dirty? Is he or she recognizing they need to be changed? Maybe even requesting to be changed? If so, great! If not, work on having your child request to be changed...when you notice he or she needs changing, have a conversation about it and try to illicit a request to change the diaper/pull up.

Two...Do you think your child recognizes when they have to go? Do you catch him/her going potty by crouching or looking a little sneaky? If he/she recognizes when the urge is there, that's the next step. If they are recognizing it, try to 'catch' your child and rush him/her into the bathroom. Begin to also have conversations about this. "Oh, I notice you look like you may need to go potty! Come on!"...try to just be normal and calm about it. maybe even a bit excited about it.

If your child is doing both of these things, he or she is probably ready to go in the potty. One thing you can do is take them on a schedule. Take your child every 45 min for example and have them sit on the potty while you are with them...maybe singing ABC's or something with him or her. Another thing you can try is putting underwear between your child's diaper/pull up and his or her body. The diaper/pull up absorbs so much liquid that it's not always easy to feel it...nor is it that uncomfortable. Underwear will absorb the urine and will make it much easier for your child to feel that it's wet...it will also be more uncomfortable. Third...if you aren't opposed to doing lots of laundry, is to just go for it. Take the pull up/diaper off and let your child have accidents for a bit. Most of the time, this will frustrate the child and they will begin to use the potty simply because they get tired of being changed and being wet. Of course, you need to be ready to do tons of laundry and have the time for it...

whatever you do....never punnish your child for accidents and try to 'normalize' this as much as you can. don't make a big deal (unless sucess...then do a parade!), stay calm, and have conversations that help to normalize going potty. Good luck!

p.s. sorry if spelling errors...the spell checker wasn't working for me!

Answer 7

With my 7 year old I had started her around two and she didn't really get it too well until she was around 4....and she still has accidents, which we are working on. On the other side my daughter who is almost 5, I waited until she was ready....which was just over 4 years old,....let me tell you she was a LOT easier to train because she was ready for it....couldn't even put pull-ups or good nights on her after that. She rarely has an accident.....My opinion...it depends on the child. Keep encouraging though without pushing. He/She will figure it out a lot better under less pressure.

Answer 8

It is never too late. Try reading potty books to get them interested. We used a sticker reward chart and that helped. We had the hardest time trying to get my daughter to go no. 2 in the toilet. Finally promising that I would do a silly dance every time she pooed worked. She loves it and I get to look rediculous in public dancing in the washroom.

Answer 9

That child is old enough to have a conversation with! Should be changing his own diapers by now. Really, quit treating him like a baby and tell him what you expect. This kid is definitely behind the curve on potty training.

Answer 10

have them change their own diapers. don't buy pull-ups, just a waste of money. peer pressure really kicks in if you send your preschooler to school in diapers. their friends say 'oooh you wear diapers'. those kids get trained quick. however, most parents run out to get those pull-ups cause they don't want their child to get his feelings hurt at school. odd, they know diapers are for babies, however they can go in their 'big boy/big girl' pants. I have one kid in my class that sings the "I'm a big girl now" pull-up jingle every time she goes in her pants. And for the poster that says 4 is normal for potty training, do you know in most 3rd world countries babies are potty trained around the FIRST b-day ??