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Anyone feel like they waited TOO LONG to potty train?

Crystal318Crystal318 member
in Toddlers: 24 Months+

Ok, please dont ridicule me but......My son just turned three and even though we have a potty, he goes on the potty at school (sometimes), I did not actively start consistently potty training him until last week. (yikes, I know)!

Anyways, I know these all sound like, excuses, and they probably are, but I work full-time, Im a single mom, we dont get him until 7pm and by the time I make dinner, clean up, give him a bath, its bedtime and there goes another night without potty training! We are usually out of the house on the weekends (soccer, parks, festivals, etc.....anything to keep us occupied and out of the house)! Blah, blah, blah......I know. Excuses and totally my fault!

Well, I have decided that it is about time to get this over with and get him out of diapers/pull-ups for good! But I feel like now that is an "idependent" three year old who knows how to (or tries really hard to) "work the system" its even more difficult than it would have been a year ago! 

Now he uses potty as an excuse. He will be in bed and then thirty minutes later act like he has to potty (do I let him?)  What if he really has to go? what if he doesnt?

I am trying a treat bowl and he gets to pick a treat if he uses the potty (stickers, little plastic dinosaurs, candy, etc) but now he just goes and sits on the potty 500 times just to get a treat. He will sqeeze out and ounce of pee just to get a treat. Do I give him one?  How much is pee is enough to constitute a treat?

Anyways, any help that anyone can give about potty training a child his age would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

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Re: Anyone feel like they waited TOO LONG to potty train?

  • sschwegesschwege member
    First of all, I really don't think waiting till 3 is a big deal, plenty of children potty train at this age.  If it makes you feel any better my nephew who turned 3 in July is not potty trained and his mom is a pedi, they just haven't attempted yet.  So really, don't feel like you are doing something wrong because you aren't!

    As far as the bedtime/nap thing, DD gets one chance to come out and use the potty after we have left the room.  I figure if she really had to use the potty she will do it in the first shot and if she's just messing around then 'oh well', I only had to take her once.  I mean if she woke up at 3am or something and had to use the potty of course I would take her, but if it's before she falls asleep and she's using it as a stall tactic, then she just gets one shot.  

    If you think he's only peeing little bits to get a treat maybe you should change it up.  Create a sticker chart that documents how often he stays dry and then if he goes half the day/full day without any accidents he gets to pick out a treat.  

    Good luck!
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  • Crystal318Crystal318 member

    I love the "stay dry" idea! I just might try to use that instead. Thank you!

    And I love that another 3 year hasnt worked on potty training yet....makes me feel better! :)

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  • erbearerbear member
    Three is not old to PT. I trained DD1 a little after three and it was easy peasy because she was ready and then some.

    When I was PTing DD2, I gave her the reward for every bit of pee. It doesn't matter. The reward will get old soon.
    "Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies. God damn it, you've got to be kind." - Kurt Vonnegut
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  • dairygirl19dairygirl19 member

    3 is not old. My almost 2.5 year old has no desire to be potty trained. I asked the pedi he laughed and said, "She'll get it. Try harder at 3. Worry at over 3.5" He also thought 3 was a good age because they're more aware of their bodies reaction/action so it's easier to explain.

    Ditto the pp on the rest.

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  • lite-brightlite-bright member
    No, I don't think we waited too long. We started trying with DD2 before three and it was a disaster. Tried again at three and she just wasn't ready -- she'd go on the potty whenever we put her there, but she would *never* let us know that she had to go. After a week of that, we went back to pull-ups. Three months later, she expressed an interest in wearing underwear and was day and night-trained in a couple of weeks. 

    I've PT'd two kids now at three and it's definitely not too late. If somebody can make it work earlier, great, but we had the best luck with being patient and waiting until they were ready. 

    If he's working the system, you change the system. We went through several "systems" before we found one that worked. Or you decide it's not a big deal and let it go. As long as you keep things positive and you're seeing progress, I wouldn't sweat the small stuff too much. He's not going to expect stickers for going potty his whole life or anything. :)
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    DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
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  • CindyRelluhCindyRelluh member
    This thread made me feel better, because dd is almost 2.5, and has no desire to use the potty!
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  • fancynewbeeslyfancynewbeesly member
    I know!

    We tried underwear today--but she wasn't wanting the underwear on. 

    I also work full time, and lots of people take care of Reese. I think I just need a few days when we are at home--and not busy and going out :)
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  • Crystal318Crystal318 member

    Thank you everyone for your comments/advice!

    Last Monday we officially started PTing. He had several accidents at day care and at home (I would pack like five outfits for daycare everyday last week). By the time the week went on, he came home with fewer and fewer dirty clothes. yay! This weekend I decided to really focus on it and he did really well!  We had one accident friday night (we were at the mall and he peed on me at the Disney Store - HA!), he woke up dry on Saturday, we stayed home all day until about 6:00pm (no accidents) then were out of the house for a while so he did have an accident that night. By the time Sunday night rolled around, I walked into the bathroom and said what are you doing? and He was standing there on his stepstool with his pants all the way down and he said "Im going potty"  yay!!! I didnt even have to tell him!!  We will see how today goes at school but I dont feel as hopeless about it as I did last week so THANK YOU!!!  :)

     

    PS - For those of you with boys....I tried everything! Peeing on Cheerios, sitting, standing, treats, etc. Finally, do you know those toys for Infants that are upside down cone shape and they have the individual colored rings that that go around the base? Well I found one of the rings and asked him to pee through it and it totally worked!!  He stood up and I held the ring and he had to aim through it.  Whatever it takes!!  :)

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  • juliane2004juliane2004 member
    Yeah, I agree that 3 doesn't sound too old. Honestly, for many reasons, we didn't PT our oldest (turned 4 in October) until this past summer, knowing she had to be PT'd for playschool. We haven't don't night training yet, since she's never woken with a dry diaper ever. We just focused on day time.

    IMO, I like that we waited till she was nearly 4 because I knew she was mentally ready for PTing. I knew that she could understand the "need" to pee and how to do it. She was also quite independent regarding wiping (for pee) and washing her hands, which made it easier for us.

    Sorry, no tips, but if it doesn't work now, there's no harm in waiting a month or two and trying again.
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  • juliane2004juliane2004 member
    ETA: I just noticed our kids have the same birthday, eh? October 13? Just one year apart. :)
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  • Crystal318Crystal318 member

    My son is October 14th....but he was born at 12:40am....so thats pretty close!  :)

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  • juliane2004juliane2004 member
    Crystal318 said:

    My son is October 14th....but he was born at 12:40am....so thats pretty close!  :)

    Ahhh, because of our different time zones, there was a point last night that our siggies had the same age for our kids. :)
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  • daniella2727daniella2727 member
    You are doing the best you can - they are not excuses, they are things that make up your life.

    My best advice is to pick a weekend, a long weekend if a holiday presents, and do not go out anywhere - focus on potty training only. It works!
    My Pregnancy Blog: https://waiting4tuesday.wordpress.com/ Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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