Toddlers: 24 Months+
RP from potty training: 1000 trips to the bathroom and won't let it out
My DS is 2 1/2 and we've been in underwear for two weeks. He tells me he has to go, we run to the bathroom, then he won't sit. He tells me "I done, I already potty" but he's dry. After an hour or so of this, he gets so miserable, starts crying, I get frustrated because he won't just sit. Then he finds a quite spot and goes in his pants. We've got the insert seat, the training seat, we've gone outside to try to "water the tree", etc and nothing has worked. We've done stickers, running water, leaving him naked, cheerios, books, letting him go sit without me or DH, and still the same pattern happens. I am at a loss for what to try next.
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Re: RP from potty training: 1000 trips to the bathroom and won't let it out
I'd try a break from it, for all of you. 2 1/2 is still pretty young esp for boys so I wouldn't stress. (this isfrom someone with a 3 yr 3 month old boy who just went on the potty for the first time this week. Previous attempts resulted in a lot of crying/whining about how he couldn't do it and not wanting to sit also, as well as wearing underwear & being able to hold it for hours but eventually having accidents b/c he couldn't seem to relax the muscles to 'let it go' on the potty. PTing was not a fight I wanted to fight and have either of us stress over & I have chosen to let him take more of the lead, and this week he has finally started to tell us he has to go & has had several successes. Once he does that a number of times at different times of day, I'm going to go back to underwear but I want to make sure he can actually 'go' voluntarily before going there again).
GL
Or let him pee standing up. There are little urinal things you can buy to hook on the toilet.
I wouldn't go back to diapers but celebrate him telling you, spontaneous dry checks. Keep doing what you're doing and keep it positive. When he has accidents, try to stay neutral (as frustrating as it is) but take him into the bathroom and take a long time to change him, clean him, etc. Use this frequent changing time to improve self help, to help him lear to find the front of the underwear to get dressed (I, regrettably, taught him to look for the "penis hole.").
It doesn't have to be perfect. It's a skill and like any skill they all do it differently. I think he IS ready, but this is a necessary step in his potty journey. My DD#1 did it like most kids. DD#2 asked for underwear but eliminated exclusively in her underwear for 3 weeks, then suddenly was trained with a daily accident for a month and then was done. DS I hadn't planned on training til his sister was done but he woke up one day, stripped and peed on the potty and that was it. Was day and night "trained" with maybe 5 or 6 accidents total in his life- most at night. Every kid steps toward the goal. I personally would not backtrack but be ecstatic for this phase of success.
ETA: I would encourage him to consider going into the bathroom to pee in his pants. Shape hiding to pee into peeing, appropriately, in the bathroom- even if it is in his pants.