I know this is off topic but I am going crazy with my two and a half year old son. We started potty training this week and he did soooo well the first two days. He had some accidents but he came and told us he had to go several times and went in the potty. Now he has started saying he has to go like every two minutes and when you get him on the potty he says he doesn't have to go. I am going crazy because he acts like he is going to die he has to go soooo bad but when he sits down he won't even sit there a minute before he says he doesn't have to go. I am literally doing this all day long!! I know that I just have to suffer through it and try to remain calm but I want to blow!!! I put a diaper on him and put him down for a nap because I thought I was going to lose it! Anyone out there going through this? Luckily, I don't have any cakes to do today or the men in the little white coats would be taking me away!!

I feel your pain. I have 2 1/2 year old twins with the same issues. I can picture them at their high school graduation, still wearing diapers

toddsgirl, I am so with you. I just got my 3-1/2 yr. old daughter potty trained almost 2 months ago and I empathize and sympathize with you. We worked and worked with her and she was STUBBORN. Finally, we went on a trip and my mother-in-law did it in one week. I felt horrible about it because I felt like a failure because I had worked SSSOOO hard with no results. My husbrand brought up a good point. He said sometime when somebody else presents the idea, they respond better. So, that and the fact that my mother-in-law put her on there without a potty chair so she was stuck and pretty much dug her heels in and said "You have to go for me to take you off."

Good luck. I was there.

Well its been many years since I've had to deal with this, but I can share with you that in my experience boys are tougher than girls! Here's what finally worked with our son (now don't laugh!!):

I tore dozens of pieces of toilet paper apart and drew with a marker a little sailboat on each paper. Then I stacked them in a basket and set it on the back of the toilet. Then his Dad showed him how to throw one paper (boat) into the potty and sink it! Get the picture?? Each time we sank the boat we threw a little mini-party, danced around and carried on like you wouldn't believe. Within a couple of days that part of potty training was done!

Me too! Me too! My daughter is 2 1/2 as well. She goes in spurts so I know she can to some extent I really think she just doesn't try if she doesn't feel like it. This is SOOOO frustrating! My son took FOREVER!! He was over 3 when he finally got trained. Anyway just want you to know I feel your pain and we are inthis together. Maybe we can be a support system to each other? Good luck to everyone!

GIRLS...................BREATHE!!!!!

I JUST went through this with my three year old. I had been sitting him on the potty since he was 18 mo. old. He just wasn't interested. I started again at 2 years. NOPE, not interested! I started at 2 1/2 diligently setting him on it. I also let him roam diaper free in the house (no accidents to report) I did this of an evening and eventually worked up to all day if I didn't have anywhere to go. My son pretty much went diaper free for a month except for at night. Of course I diapered him when I left the house but continued to ask him if he needed to go potty. He learned to "hold it" quite well and had about 8 mornings where he woke up dry. So we decided to try "big boy" underwear during the day and he kept dry. He would come to me to let me know he needed to go and to help him pull down his pants so he could go.

I also put a sticker chart in the bathroom on the wall next to his potty. I had him help me pick out stickers at Party City and I explained to him that he will get a sticker everytime he goes potty in the potty. I also gave him a sticker to wear on his shirt so he could feel proud everytime he looked at it. I eventually worked it down to only a sticker when #2 was put in potty because he was going pee every five minutes it seemed. Kids are notorious for not letting pee pee come out all at once. They'll save it for some reason and go several times in a row.

Now my boy doesn't even want me in the bathroom at the same time when he's doing his business. He says "Mamma, go away!"

I thought he'd surely be in diapers in high school, I really did. I was pulling my hair out and felt like a failure as a mother, I really did but when he was ready, he was ready.

Be patient and keep doing what you're doing. You'll get it. Try putting him on the potty every 18 minutes or so. Tell him/her that "it's potty time" and make it fun if you can with stickers and whatnot.

You'll be so proud and relieved when they are finally potty trained.

Keep up the good work, YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!


Amy

My daughter will be 3 on 2nd Dec. and she is well trained now. I started to train her when she was just 18 months old. But after 2 years she was telling me to go. Of course got many accidents. Now she is well trained. She is a big Dora fan. So I brought her Dora printed panties and told her if you did your poo poo or pee pee in that then your Dora will be dirty and because of Dora she trained smoothly.
Now I have one more to go

Toddsgirl, if your son telling you in every 2 minutes then tell him do it in your panty and see what happen.
Or keep small potty in your restroom and when he is telling that he wants to go to potty then show him his potty and told him whenever you want to go then go alone and do it by yourself, Mom is not going with you.
It just tries. I know potty train is a big experiment thing for us.


Good Luck


Nitu

Take a breath, count, mumble to yourself but don't let the rugrats see you sweat! LOL
I had major issues training my daughter..she was soooo stubborn. What worked for us was bribery..plain and simple.
Ok so I chose to call it rewards. I worked hand in hand with the ped and basically would start by rewarding her for simply sitting on the potty and trying..then once she felt comfy doing that we started rewarding for actual results..I kept m&ms or hersheys kisses on a shelf where she could see them and reminded her frequently that she could have a treat if she did it. I also went ape wild like a lunatic jumping up and down, high fiving, woo hooing and calling everyone we know when she would succeed..She loved getting to call daddy or her nanny to say guess what I did. She also loved that our ped told her if she started going potty like a big girl than she could have 2 pops instead of the usual one she gets when we go there...this was a couple of years ago but she still tells her ped every visit that she goes potty like a big girl just to get an extra pop now
For our son..he trained very fast at under 2..what worked for him was cheerios in the potty..he would take target practice so to speak. Also my husband would go potty with him so that he felt like he was being a big boy and doing what dad was. Think sword fights with the stream

The important thing for us was to figure out why she didn't want to use the potty..sometimes they get scared thinking they will get flushed down the bowl, sometimes the noise frightens them (was the case with my daughter).

hope this helps
Oh and no worries..they will not be heading off to college still in diapers..LOL

Ohhh I totally feel you on this subject... My oldest son was so easy to train...He was going potty at 1. What we did with him was took 3 fruit loops and put them in the toilet. He had to "aim" and "shoot". He was trained in less then a week and we had no accidents. He is 9 now..lol My daughter was stubborn. We tried everything with her. She got to the point where she wanted to wear big girl panties, but wouldn't tell you when she had to go. I put a pull up on her and then the panties over it. Worked like a charm. I told her, "the big girl panties have to stay dry"..after about a week we were good to go Now my youngest who will be 3 in Dec...just flat out refuses to go to the potty. He was my preemie ( 8 weeks early) and boy has he made up for it. He has put the word child proof to the test and has proved there is no such thing. I tried the fruit loops with him..and he says " Eww no mommy, throw in trash can". Go figure. Good luck and remember as my grandmother always says, "He will go when he is ready"

Beth

Ok, I thought I was the only one with a two and half year old not potty trained. It seems the "older" people always think they should be trained when they are 12 or 13 months old. But my theory has always been they will get trained when they want. Before 2 it is not the child who is trained it is the parent, in most cases IMHO. lol

Anyway, I bought a potty when my dd was only 1 and she would sit on it. She eventually even used it a few times. She gave up the potty chair for the big pot but refuses to actually do anything in it. And if we do "potty train" she drives me nuts. Running into the potty every five minutes and then clogging the toilet with paper. Or running to the potty all the time but then wetting her pants. She knows when she has to go but refuses to use the pot. She frequently wakes up dry in the morning. So, I have decided if she wants to wear diapers to her high school graduation, so be it. That will save my sanity. In the mean time, every now and then she gets on the pot but I don't waste my time anymore. Guess I am just lazy. I keep hoping one day she will just figure it is nicer to use the pot than to use a diaper. OK, so I am dreaming.

Wow! what timing. My son who just turned three is fine when he is naked, but if you put a diaper or undies on he wont tell me. The problem is his preschool will not change him now and if he goes again, I have to drive out there to change him. It is as if he knows he has to go, but cant tell me in time. When he is in undies, he tells me as he is doing it. I dont think he is quite ready to handle telling me before. I understand your pain! My two other kids were great, I told them when they turned three, no more diapers and they did it, my life was simpler then and I could stay on top of them more, but with three and work and school and activities, I dont know what I am going to do! I feel your pain!

I totally understand where you are coming from! I have a 3 year old boy that refuses to go on the potty!!! My daughter was so easy...but he is a night mare!!!! Hang in there!!!!
traci

Feel your pain! I have a two and a half year old, not potty trained! I seriously have no idea how we are going to do it, I am scared! It doesnt help that I have a week old as well, so its really diffucult to keep on top of the potty training. I guess it will happen eventually, I wonder if they make diapers for teenagers? AAHHH!!

my daughter,and two of my sons were very easy and all were going potty by about two , my second son however just didn't want any part of it ! I tried
everythingfrom target hitting with cheerios to ''PLEASE BABY MOMMY'L GIVE YOU A DOLLAR!
nothing worked then one day just before he turned three he just went on his own and never looked back. last summer when they came to visit I heard him telling his own two year old ''Big Boys don't PeePee their pants!! And like a good grandma I backed my son up all the way with a story about this little boy who PeePeed his pants till he was three whole years old!!

MominSC hit it exactly "and remember as my grandmother always says, "He will go when he is ready"
My first was easy, my second was more of a handful. I was told by the pediatrician that it doesn't pay to start early unless the child is interested. Some kids just don't get the sensation to go as early as others. My husband and I were banging our heads trying to figure out what to do and all of the sudden one day, I walked past the bathroom and there she was, sitting pretty!

Patience, patience, the time will come.

Kos

I have three children and not one was trained at the same time. I have learnt there is a difference between boys and girls. BUT, they are simillar. Let them be and they will go when ready. My oldest trained by 2 yrs, second trained by 19 mths, my third trained a little after 3 years.

I made it a game in the end with my 3 year old and it worked. When he wanted to win..... he went.

Good luck and don't worry...... they go when they are ready. No two kids are the same.

I meant a five week old baby, but Peaches, youre probably right! Having two is A LOT of work, so it is probably best to wait awhile.

Boy!! What a topic. First I think it is important to note that not every toddler will be ready to "potty train" at any exact age. They are ready to do it when they are ready. Some later than others. I spent a lot of my thirty years of nursing dealing with pediatrics. Many of the suggestions are excellent and will work but just know that not all children are created equal and you can't expect your child to be ready at age 2 just because Mrs. Jones' child was. Continue to try, encourage and praise. Do your best not to be negative. As I say this, I have to say I was very fortunate. My first was going on her own at 20 months and my second at about the same. The only thing I recall doing was having a potty chair available in the bathroom and they use to enjoy "joining me" during the day. Honestly. I didn't go through any "training" per say. Even after a major hospitalization at age 2, my youngest regressed only during hospitalization and was back to the pot in no time.

I just seen the other day when I was at Wal-Mart they have a singing potty. When the child goes potty, it plays music and then you can record a personal message, like mine would be..."Good Job Ethan". Something about having a potty that plays music is kinda freaky, but hey whatever works...LOL Sometimes I think Ethan just sits there to watch my expressions. He will sit there for like 5 mintues...and this morning when we went in...He grabs the newspaper....LOL So at least he is making his situation worth his while I guess....But all in all the key word is patience. It will happen...when you least expect it. It's almost like when they say their first word..and then you try to get them to do it again for someone else...they don't do it cause you want them to.

Beth

Thank god i'm not alone in this my 2 in a half
will not for the life of me go in the toilet.He will
go in buckets and shoes but not the toilet.
I put a diaper on him and in 2 secs he's naked.
This morning he finally used the toilet.Lets hope
he keeps using it.My other 3 were so much easier
to potty train.I guess the last one has Drive you Totally
insane.

I am going through the same thing with my 2 yr son. He has been doing good lately and I even got the nerve up to take him to town without the diaper on. The only time he wears diapers is to bed. If I put a diaper on him too early in the night, He will not go to the bathroom, but he will pee all in his diaper. So what I learned is to put underwaer on them and let them go. Good Luck

We started The Duke on the potty at about 1 1/2. We used the Dr. Phil method of focused, one-day training and it worked fine. That's right, potty trained in one day. He uses a combination of reward, praise, and most importantly muscle memory. You can find his method pretty easily on Google. It was funny to see the look on peoples' faces when such a little guy says he needs to go potty, goes and does it, and comes right back like no big deal. Just a few weeks ago I taught him to go #1 standing up like a big boy. We use a little step stool. We don't even have to go with him for #1 any more...at 2 years old. I'm so proud!

You should be proud Boyd....do you want to come over here and potty train my twins????

It took longer to potty train my son than my two daughters, just be patient, they will go when they are ready. My son was doing well for a little while then he regressed, then he got back on track. He likes batman so we bought him batman big boy undies and told him, don't pee pee on Batman, it worked, nowhe is fully potty trained.

Any pointers to knowing when they are ready????

My youngest wouldn't go at all!! We tried to get him to go so many times! But, he never would. When he was 1 week away from his 4th bday, yes 4TH!!!! I told him that he was going to use the potty & wear underwear and that is FINAL!!!!! He started going right then & there and had only one accident in the first two weeks!

So, I'm gonna suggest that maybe he's not ready.


My older son took right to it at exactly 3 yrs old. I guess he was ready then. I had tried him earlier and he acted like he had to go but never would, so...I'm wanting to tell you that it's not that big of a deal. Give it a go for a week or so and if you're having no luck at all, perhaps he's not ready.

good luck to you!!!!!!!!!!!! (and your son, lol)

I remember thinking my oldest would never get married because he'd still be in those diapers! The pediatrician reassured us (many times ) that he would do it when he was ready. But it can be really frustrating when it seems like every other child was trained at 18 months or so. My son ended up being potty trained shortly after he turned 4. One day it just clicked and we had only an accident or two and hes been diaper free since!

Our middle child was 3 before she was fully potty trained. She trained younger but it took a lot of accidents first. Now I'm getting the pressure from family/friends about our 18 month old. I know she isn't ready. She is a handful and already seems to do what she wants only when she wants to. I might just be posting a similar thread in another 2 years!

Good luck to you - he'll get there when he is ready

I think 99% of us think that our kids will never get this potty thing while we are going through the training process. The truth is eventually they get it some at 18 months some at 4 years old. Our daughter was much easier to train than our son but they both got it eventually, just have to stick with it and resist the temptation to put them back in diapers/pull ups. Hope it help and hang in their - i guarantee that your child won't be wearing diapers at graduation!