Potty training advice

[UofLCards]

My son is a stubborn little thing. He turned 3 in September and we began a process of potty training. At his old daycare he went to the potty a few times but ever since then he absolutely refuses to pee on the potty. Advice that we have been given include putting Cheerios in the toilet and telling him to aim, or making bubbles, or rewarding him for completion or rewarding ourseleves when we pee. None of this works. At his curren daycare, he just stands at the toilet and cries for a few minutes or he'll turn around and pee on the floor. As I type this, his potty training day has went the following. Pooped in his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse underwear at 11. Peed in his Incredibl Hulk underwear at 4. Ran into the bathroom to fart on the toilet and then would immediatly leave. THen he proceeded to poop on the kitchen floor, decided that he did a bad thing, and decided to clean up the mess with his a paper towel. Now there is s!$#%! everywhere. Any idea as to what to do with my little creature?

[Chef Matt]

Re: Potty training advice

Oh Boy, have I been through this....

We waited till around 3 to train too. My first son was easy. With #1 we started (sounds strange but it worked) with going outside. I mean who doesn't like peeing outside.

Spoiler

...ahem OT reference...

but we started there then we showed him how to go in the toilet and threw fruit loops in for him to aim at.

For #2 we put a toy on the back of the toilet and told him if he went he got the toy. It was a Yoda action figure, an absolute must have toy on his part. He went, he got his toy and we never had another problem with him.

For my 2nd boy however he was a handful, as is yours. None of the previous tricks worked so we waited and kept him in diapers a tad bit longer than most kids. We also got him training underware for around the house. For peeing he just eventually started going in the toilet because he didn't like being wet with those training underware.

For #2, everytime he gave "the look" we put him on the pot and attempted to bribe him. Eventually it finally took and like my first son it was a one shot deal.

The one thing to remember is, while it may take a while, your son will not go through life not knowing how to use the restroom. It just takes a little patience, and a good eye to know when he's about to go.


Edit, oh yeah and in the meantime keep some of the "large adult-size wipes" and a box of disposable gloves on hand for those messy times.

[Bellsprout]

Re: Potty training advice

I believe when your baby pees in the house you rub their nose in it, slap them on the bottom, yell "NO!", and force them to go outside.

Then maybe buy them a bone to chew on.

[Bighoff]

Re: Potty training advice

While it seems you're past the point I'll let you know what a friend did with his boy, he used the cartoons undies as incentive. He tacked up a pair over the toilet so that the little guy could see what he'd get once he's using the toilet.

[JohnnytheSkin]

Re: Potty training advice

We went Lord of the Flies-style and had my son just be naked all day. We confined him to his little "potty mat" (you know, the ones that won't soak through and stuff) and said if you want to go to the bathroom, you'll go to the potty. Sure enough, a few hours later, home boy is rushing to the bathroom and things are great.

Something about pissing all over yourself and your toys kind of discourages those kind of accidents, you know?

[Feared]

Re: Potty training advice

I knew this one mom who absolutely got fed up with her little boys peeing all over the bathroom floor, because they couldn't aim their "water gun".

So she took a stand and forced her boys to Sit down on the toilet when they went to pee, sure fire way to make sure it gets inside the boil and you have no leaks.

[Qb]

Re: Potty training advice

We're going with sticker charts with a small "potty prize" when they're full. She'll be three in April and we're making progress, but not quite there yet. She telling us she needs to go more and the stickers/prizes aren't as much of a focus, which are both encouraging.

I'm intrigued by Johnny's idea, as I'm not big on the getting a reward for doing what you're supposed to do method. But she's still young and my wife would never go for it.

I am however starting to toughen up on my daughter not listening. The "she's just a baby" or "she's only two" crap my wife pulls isn't going to cut it. But I'm still trying to find a diplomatic way to tell my wife that treatment is why she [my wife] still can't take feedback constructively or follow directions.

[mgoblue]

Re: Potty training advice

We went Lord of the Flies-style and had my son just be naked all day. We confined him to his little "potty mat" (you know, the ones that won't soak through and stuff) and said if you want to go to the bathroom, you'll go to the potty. Sure enough, a few hours later, home boy is rushing to the bathroom and things are great.

Something about pissing all over yourself and your toys kind of discourages those kind of accidents, you know?

My girlfriend's brother did this with both her nieces...they called it "Naked Weekend" or something similar...Worked well for them (from stories I heard, I didn't know her back then).

[OSUFan_88]

Re: Potty training advice

Do you have any nieces or nephews? That's what my mother did with all of her children, had the others teach them how to do it. Something about how kids can relate to each other.

[JohnnytheSkin]

Re: Potty training advice

I am however starting to toughen up on my daughter not listening. The "she's just a baby" or "she's only two" crap my wife pulls isn't going to cut it. But I'm still trying to find a diplomatic way to tell my wife that treatment is why she [my wife] still can't take feedback constructively or follow directions.

My wife is doing that with my son, now eight, during his hockey games. He's the goalie on his team and I get on him a little after the game if he's out there lazying about, not in position, not hugging the post, etc. (I don't care about the goals against or anything, I just want him fundamentally sound) and my wife says "he's only eight" or "he's just a kid".

[Dirty Turtles]

Re: Potty training advice

We've had great success with our 2 year old by having him come to the bathroom with us. He loves to mimic me anyway, so when I go to the bathroom I ask him if he wants to come along and he usually follows. Even if he doesn't go, he at least gave it a try. We don't plan to seriously potty train him until he gets slightly older.