Late potty trainers...

mom2ll

Luca was 3 on Feb 5.  He has NO desire to use the potty.  He has peed in it 5-6 times over the past 6 months, but just won't do it regularly.  I can't even get the kid to wear a pull-up.  I screams "I wear diaper"...  If we ask him where we go pee pee he says "in a diaper".  I've bought him a fancy potty and let him decorate it with stickers, let him pick out "big boy underwear", bribed with candy, treats and toys...  please tell me I'm not alone.  He just doesn't want to do it.  He screams if we even ask him to sit on the potty.  If we force him to sit there he won't go and then will wait until we put him in the bath or back in a diaper....  I realize he will use the potty before college, but I'm thinking High School might be a stretch right now.  Anyone else?  What did you do to finally make it happen?

TexasSmith

Have you tried just putting him in underwear and seeing what happens? I know boys and girls are very different with potty training, but that is what worked for Natalie about 4 months ago...just cold turkey in to underwear and she was fully trained in 2-3 days.

Good luck! I know it is stressful and frustrating.

savannah11

*signing in*.  O had zero interest in the potty at 3 and we kind of forced it on him.  I was beyond over wiping his butt.  In hindsight that wasn't the best idea.  I think it took us twice as long because we didn't let him go about it at his own pace.   I'd say he finally got it down between 3 1/2 and 4.

Oh, and we tried that 3 day no more diapers training.  Hahahahahaha.  Yeah, did not work for us.  None of the gimmicks worked.  He had to get mature enough to decide on his own that he was ready.  He also had to learn how to control his bladder which seemed to be the biggest problem.

 Anyway, he's 4 now and we still have some struggles.   I no longer worry about him peeing in public but he'll do anything he can to not have to stop playing.  I don't think we'll be 100% accident free until he's old enough to have friends make fun of him.

kvinh546

I haven't officially started PTing with my son (2 in Feb), but my friend who's son turned 3 in August, said this book worked really well for him.  I'll probably look into getting it soon.    If you end up getting it let me know what you think!

Potty Training Boys the Easy Way: Helping Your Son Learn Quickly--Even If He's a Late Starter by Caroline Fertleman and Simone Cave

 

AggieDee

Jackson has zero desire to be potty trained.  He will go once a day right before getting in the bathtub but that is pretty much it.  No gimmicks whatsoever have ever worked on him.  Pedi is not concerned and said one day, he will wake up and just declare that he is done with diapers.  I really hope that flippin day is soon.  There is another girl in Jackson's class that is a week or so younger than him and she is the exact same way.  zero interest. 

mom2ll

TexasSmith:

Have you tried just putting him in underwear and seeing what happens? I know boys and girls are very different with potty training, but that is what worked for Natalie about 4 months ago...just cold turkey in to underwear and she was fully trained in 2-3 days.

Good luck! I know it is stressful and frustrating.

He won't even allow us to put underwear on him....  I'm talking full on kicking and screaming he will not let it happen.  If we do get them on him, he takes them off pants and all...  I guess he just isn't ready.

IMFun

Have you met my son?  He was not potty trained until 3.5 and I literally took his pants off.  At home, as soon as we got home from school... no diaper, no underwear, no pants. 

I looked him in the eye and said big boy's go to the potty on the potty.  We don't pee or poop in diapers or on the floor.  And let him go.  He will have a potty incident but he won't poop on the floor.  

Now, Joe does still go to sleep in pull ups... but we are weaning off of that too.  

Literally... take his pants off.   

good luck.  

WorkingMomofTwo

Mine is 2 and was doing good for a little while and now he just tells me when he's made "ca-ca" or "pee-pee". I thought I was alone!

Weezers

DD is only 2.5 but we're going through the same thing. We weren't pushing it since we didn't want to worry about regression with a new baby. A few weeks ago she asked to sit on the potty and she peed!  It was all her idea to do it and we were soooooo excited ... but that was it. Just that one time.

She will agree to sit on the potty sometimes and try but she really has no interest in it (except for the toilet paper). She usually acts like she's scared of Pull Ups and refuses to put them on but sometimes she'll ask for them. But then she pees in them and doesn't seem to mind sitting in a wet Pull Up. We tried big-girl panties once when she asked for them, and Gerber training pants, but it was the same result - she peed and didn't tell us, and just sat in it. I guess that means she's not ready.

According to my mom I was the same way. She said I told her I wasn't going to wear panties, and I could pretty much change my own diaper when I was little.  I got over it eventually

nvp05

Has he seen other kids go potty at school? Maybe if you're at a playdate he could watch his friends use the potty? That seemed to really help Rena. Her little BFF is the same age and was trained a few months ago. She would come over to our house and use the potty and that got Rena really interested since she wanted to be like BFF and wear princess panties.

We just used the 3 day cold turkey method last weekend and that worked much better than I thought. It's still a work in progress but I'm happy since I also thought she would be in pull-ups forever!

OSUx2

It might also be a control issue on his part.  My mom tells the story that I was near 4 when I finally PT b/c it was all about control.  I knew what needed to be done but wanted to (finally) do it on my own terms.  I fully expect DD to be that way.  She has zero interest in PTing and so I am not even bothering with it.  She has a potty but it is more of a "toy" to her right now.  I am sure it is frustrating but he will do it when he wants to and is ready.

BritanyV

I'm right there with you!  He'll be three in July and I'm stressing because he can't go to MDO/Preschool in September if he isn't potty trained or they will put him in the 2 yr old class.   

houstonkdw

I will be honest, I didn't even try with Kohen until he was 3 and a half.  We started with underwear on during the weekends so I could watch and time it better.  Kamryn was easy at 2 and a half but you know how it goes with boys   I wouldn't worry.  For Kohen it happened FAST.  I never forced the issue and I would say within 2 weeks he was done.  Kamryn took about 3 months.

rayskit10

Truitt didn't potty train until just after his 3rd birthday. Most boys don't until 3-3.5 anyway. Luca is still well in the realm of normal. I just had this discussion with Mathis's teacher yesterday, in fact (not about you, but we were talking about Mathis and Tru and their potty habits). She has been an Montessori infant teacher for more than 15 years and I truly trust her opinion above anyone else i know, including my own family.

She said don't push it. The more you push, the harder it is. She said when ppl try the 3 day method and it doesn't work, that will set you back even further.

My advice based on my chat with her- in the morning, put out a diaper and some underwear and tell Luca "you have both of these, which would you like?" He will pick the diaper but he will feel in control of his choice and with gentle encouragement over some time, he will try the underwear. If/when he pees in the underwear, don't blame or scold him. Tell him "good try. It's for big boys and takes a while to learn. You are getting bigger and when you are really big, it will be easy for you. Let me know when you want to try again."

Frankly, have a PT kid isn't all it's cracked up to be. As I'm sure SAvannah will tell you, even when they are PT you're still wiping their asses. Most boys need help wiping until they are 6 or more, no matter how long they've been trained. I swear, I might as well wipe DH's ass as well. The stress of forcing training on a kid who is not ready and then dealing with all teh clean up and issues is way harder than just keeping him in diapers for a little longer. And I agree with PP, there is probably a battle of wills going on. One thing we cannot control is their bathroom habits and they know it. 

IMFun

houstonkdw:

I will be honest, I didn't even try with Kohen until he was 3 and a half.  We started with underwear on during the weekends so I could watch and time it better.  Kamryn was easy at 2 and a half but you know how it goes with boys   I wouldn't worry.  For Kohen it happened FAST.  I never forced the issue and I would say within 2 weeks he was done.  Kamryn took about 3 months.

I couldn't agree more with both Houstonkdw and Rayskitt...  I think too many mama's out there rush it and then end up fighting the battle for much longer.  I had to PT Joe because they wouldn't move him up to the next class until he was full time PT'd.  But he was also full on 3.5

hang in there.  It will happen.    Luca is totally normal.   

CallMeKel

rayskit10:

Truitt didn't potty train until just after his 3rd birthday. Most boys don't until 3-3.5 anyway. Luca is still well in the realm of normal. I just had this discussion with Mathis's teacher yesterday, in fact (not about you, but we were talking about Mathis and Tru and their potty habits). She has been an Montessori infant teacher for more than 15 years and I truly trust her opinion above anyone else i know, including my own family.

She said don't push it. The more you push, the harder it is. She said when ppl try the 3 day method and it doesn't work, that will set you back even further.

My advice based on my chat with her- in the morning, put out a diaper and some underwear and tell Luca "you have both of these, which would you like?" He will pick the diaper but he will feel in control of his choice and with gentle encouragement over some time, he will try the underwear. If/when he pees in the underwear, don't blame or scold him. Tell him "good try. It's for big boys and takes a while to learn. You are getting bigger and when you are really big, it will be easy for you. Let me know when you want to try again."

Frankly, have a PT kid isn't all it's cracked up to be. As I'm sure SAvannah will tell you, even when they are PT you're still wiping their asses. Most boys need help wiping until they are 6 or more, no matter how long they've been trained. I swear, I might as well wipe DH's ass as well. The stress of forcing training on a kid who is not ready and then dealing with all teh clean up and issues is way harder than just keeping him in diapers for a little longer. And I agree with PP, there is probably a battle of wills going on. One thing we cannot control is their bathroom habits and they know it. 

 

As always, your posts crack me the heck up! LOLOLOLOL