How can I get my 3 year old potty trained?

Question

He seems to have no desire or interest in using the potty, although he does understand the concept. He tells us when his diaper is dirty or wet, and even tells his 3 month old brother that he needs to pee/poo on the potty so his butt doesn't get sore, but he won't do it himself. Everyone says he'll do it when he's ready--is there anything I can do to make him ready? We've tried rewards and punishments, but nothing works.

Answer 1

boys usually potty train around 2 1/2 to 31/2. since he knows what he should be doing. try going to the store and letting him pick out a pack of underwear he likes and tell him if he gets them wet or poopy he will have to wear a diaper or plain white underwear you can also tell him(if he chooses a character pair like spider man or something)that they don't like to be peed and pooped on that would make them very sad. if he enjoys stickers make a sticker chart every time he goes he gets to put a sticker on it. put some cheerios in the toilet and let him aim for those.you can tell him he has to use the potty so he can help his brother when its his turn, this might sound mean but when he comes and tells you he needs changed make him do it a couple of times and when he has to do it he might not like to and uses the potty also make a great big deal out of it when he uses the potty and ignore when he doesn't. good luck hope this helps

Answer 2

I understand your difficulty. Is there anything your toddler does on a daily basis, that he absolutely must do? [Watch a certain show, play outside, swim, have a snack or a treat...] I know that you said rewards and punishments don't seem to work, but if you take away a normal "treat" for him and then give it back threefold when he does good, I believe he will get the message. Statements you might use are...

"If you don't go potty like a big boy, we are not going to watch [insert his favorite show here]."
"Do you want some/a [insert treat here] {{My mother used popcicles}}? Well, first you have to go potty like a big boy."

My suggestion is to use "like a big boy" over and over again. Though a toddler's mind seems less complex than a child-adult... they still work off of a basic system, comparison. He wants to be a big boy. If he can start to gain independence andacknowledgement for growing up, he will.

With that being said, also try the unfavorable statements such as...

"You went in your diaper? I guess you're not the big boy I thought."

"Only big boys use the potty."

Etc.

It seems rough, and crude... but he'll get the picture when you talk down to him. After all, they just want positive attention.

I hope I've helped.
Good luck!

Answer 3

The 1st way I got him to sit on his potty was by buying him an Ernie potty time book. Its called TOO BIG FOR DIAPERS. I sat on the big potty with my book while he sat on his potty with his book. Of course I sat on the closed toilet lid, but i think the fact that I was there with him made him feel more comfortable. Then, we went shopping together to find a "buddy". He picked out a little blue carebear. I told him that he has to help me take care of him. So every 2 hours or so I would take him and his bear to the toilet. I pretended that the bear was peeing. He saw that his bear peed in the potty (using our imagination), so he also decided to go. It helped that the bear was wearing pajamas that had the butt flap. My son thinks his tail is what the bear pees with.But this is the best thing that worked. Don't worry. He will catch on. It usually takes boys a bit longer to learn things. As long as you are making an effort.

Answer 4

I just finished potty training my three year old boy/girl twins and my son was much more challenging.
I began by taking them to buy "big kid" undies and let them wear those (we didn't leave the house for a few days). I also set a timer for "potty time" - every 30 minutes or so. I think having the consistent bathroom time helped the most. I also bought jelly beans and let them have one for going tee tee and two for pooping. We don't feed our kids candy, so this was a huge incentive! They are now officially potty trained, although my son still wears pull-ups at night.
It really is up to your child - don't push him or it will take longer and become more frustrating for you both.
Hang in there!

Answer 5

You could try to take away the diapers and put him in underwear during the day and only use Pull ups at night. We did this with our daughter and it did not take her long to start using the potty. We also tried to make it fun for her. We got one of those fun printed kids seats that you put on the toilet and gave her favorite books to look at while she was in the bathroom.

Answer 6

we face that on the 2d. My son nevertheless wears pull united statesto mattress and that i think like it incredibly is only wonderful. he would be 4 in November. i'm no longer worried approximately it on the 2d. he's only at present potty experienced like only over a month now. some mornings he wakes up dry and others he's moist. i haven't dont something in yet differently. He nevertheless is going to the potty earlier mattress or perhaps gets milk correct earlier mattress. i will problem in a protracted time, while he remains donning pull united statesto mattress.

Answer 7

If your husband is home a lot try getting him to ask your son if he needs to go pee too...once he' sees his father being a big boy then he may respond too that and want to be a big boy too,.....it would probably work with you too but since women have to squat for a pee then it might not work as well...good luck girl..i hope you have him potty trained soon...save on diapers eh...lol

Answer 8

Since he is male, everytime your husband or man goes to the bathroom have him take him too. Show him how big boys go. If he can go more often that helps speed it up. 3 is kinda late to start but it can be done. Usually they are ready about 1 yr to 18 months. If you wait longer it is harder.

Answer 9

something my mother always told me to do is make kind of a game out of it for them like throw some Cheerios in the toilet and tell them to aim at it and eventually the catch on and will grab the Cheerios them self's throw them in the potty and aim.

Answer 10

give him a little bit of juice at a time put him in the bathroom every 15 minutes. if he pees give him more juice & repeat. you just have to constantly watch him so you'll know if he's ready and don't give him juice after 7 p.m. so he won't have accidents in the bed.