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taking a long time to be able to recognize need to potty?

groovygrlgroovygrl member
in Toddlers: 24 Months+

DS has been a bear to PT...he is 3 yrs 5 months and finally stopped resisting peeing on the potty about 5-6 weeks ago. We have been in underwear the majority of the time (not naps, nighttime or long road trip type things) and if we ask him to go, he generally goes, though fights & screams still about 1 out of 4 times.  We did two 12 hr road trips over the holidays and he had a dry pull up the whole time on both trips, peeing at restaurants & rest stops for us no problem, we were in shock, but clearly he can hold it when he wants. However, he never ever tells us he has to go & regularly still has accidents while playing, sometimes right after we've asked him to go and he resists us & cries & insists he doesn't have to go...he had 2 accidents today at daycare & they have regular scheduled potty breaks, he doesn't have accidents 3-4 days out of 5 usually b/c of this. He told the teacher "I was just too busy..."

 DD was sooo easy (they're twins & she PTed at about 2 1/2) and I knew he was going to be a challenge but I'm just curious if it is normal to not be able to recognize that he needs to go or address it after 5-6 weeks of PTing? He is sort of an easily distracted, hates to stop playing, doesnt like change in routine/transitions, etc kind of kid so I guess it is not really surprising, I just don't know how long to expect this to go on (having to remind him every hour or 2 to try to go).  I don't even have any goals for pooping on the potty at this point....

thanks for any reassurance :)

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Re: taking a long time to be able to recognize need to potty?

  • LSU628LSU628 member
    I wish I had answers for you, but DD is the same way. She won't stop playing to go, even though she knows when she has to go. Her teachers and I have learned her cues and can get her to the bathroom on time most of the time, but she won't initiate it 9 times out of 10. And of course, when we were finally making progress her brother was born and we are completely back to square 1.
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  • JulySpark05JulySpark05 member
    I just have to say that I was coming on here to ask the same thing! We've been potty training with pull ups for the past 2 weeks and most days, she stays dry. As long as I can see her poop cues, she'll poop on the potty no problem too. Just like your son though, she wont tell us she needs to go so we're constantly at her to go. I put her in underwear this evening and she had two accidents! Even after I kept asking if she needed to go... I hope we can get some answers here but just wanted to tell you that we are going through the same thing and thanks for asking so now I don't have to write a post about it, lol =)
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  • emberlee3emberlee3 member

    Your DS sounds a lot like mine.  He would rather pee his pants than stop playing!  It was very frustrating at first.  We did a lot of "do you want to go potty now or in five minutes?" type of thing to give him some control.  Also, we tried to have regular potty times like they do at school. 

    We had to go cold turkey with pull-ups to get anywhere with PTing.  The pull-up is just too easy.  I think wetness helps them learn.  You could try a pull-up over underwear, cloth trainer, or pad for the bed to make things less messy.

    For DS, the breakthrough was around 6 weeks after he started wearing underwear.  He knows when he has to go and he stops what he's doing to run to the bathroom.  We now only have to remind, cajole, and force him to "try" when away from home.

    DS born 8/8/09 and DD born 6/12/12.
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