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304970 tn?1331425994

Potty training my toddler! HELP!

Okay, I know this is the pregnancy forum, but the toddler forum doesn't get as much actions, so I thought I'd post here too!? HELP ME!!

My son turned 3 in January. We have introduced the potty literally 100 times since he was 18 months old. I've really *actively* been trying to potty train him for about 4 months. I am SO frustrated. He cries and yells 'I DO NOT WANT TO USE THE POTTY!" He is a smart child in every other area. Believe me when I say he TOTALLY grasps the concept of using the potty and he is aware of his bodily functions. He just WON'T use the potty. I will have him naked bottomed ALL DAY and he will not have an accident. Instead he will wait until naptime when I put him in a pull up, or night time when he is in a diaper and THEN he will go?! He KNOWS when he has to go, but he will literally hold it for HOURS which isn't healthy either. I am at a total loss and I feel like a total failure. I missed the deadline for pre-school registration because he MUST be potty trained to attend. He needs the socialization and learning environment that pre-school offers because he is bored at daycare.. We have tried sticker charts, prizes, cheering, reading to him, bribing him with m&m's, promising a new toy.. It doesn't work. He is stubborn and I need some advice. Thanks.. Oh, and please no "he will do it when he is ready." We need to have him trained! .
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304970 tn?1331425994
Thanks, everyone. We already tried cheerios, no luck. And the "tee-tee, poo-poo fish" is a cute idea, but that wouldn't work with my son. We use all adult language when we refer to body parts and bodily functions, so I think he would have NO clue what I was talking about. He knows he has to urinate or have a bowel movement, and that he urinates from him penis ( I will explain it is actually the urethra when I think he can grasp that idea,) I think it is cute when other people have cuter names for things, but SO & I agreed a long time ago to just use medical terminology. Thanks for all the great ideas! I guess my next move should be to find some literature involving potty training and give that a whirl. A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR THE SUGGESTIONS!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Along the lines of Mommyjeep, my mother often tells the story of having trouble getting my older sister to potty train. She went ahead and sent her to preschool and my sister never had an accident, etc since she just fell in with the crowd. I'm not advocating lying but if you know he has control and is capable of doing it, I might be tempted to go for it. I can't claim any real credit for potty training our daughter - she started showing interest so we bought her a potty, we encouraged her, etc but it really just happened naturally, largely thanks to the social environment at her daycare!
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Avatar universal
My brother wouldn't potty train, so my mom started making him clean himself after making a mess. In the bathtub using only soap and cold water. I know it sounds mean, but physical discomfort is a good deterrent for bad behavior.
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1790045 tn?1317184484
I know exactly how frustrating it is. But I am glad to know I am not alone. :) my son will be 4 on the 27th and still refuses to potty train. Some days he will tell me and others he won't. He usually goes about 2-3 day doing reallly good then he will stop for months :/ drives me crazy. I've tried all the tricks everyone here has posted and none of them have worked with my kid. I went ahead and registered him for pre-k 4 starting in August and I'm praying he will be potty trained by then. I talked to the woman who will be his teacher and she said to just bring plenty of clothes for him just in case and that after being around other kids that are potty trained he should pick up on it so we shall see. But I've been a stay at home mom with him so he's never been to day care or been around other kids for very long. All I can say is good luck and if you find a trick please PLEASE let me know what it is :)
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Avatar universal
Apparently there's a story book about potty...dunno what its called but its supposed to work wonders. my lil girl is 17 months and just peed in her potty this morn for first time...whoop whoo :-) I know this isn't potty training but its a start and kinda exciting....who ever thought a baby peeing would get us soo excited :-)
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Avatar universal
My son about to be 3 in a week i have the same problem but he was using the toilet and just stoped so when u find a good way i would love to no. He still uses it maybe once or twice a week. But he was doing so good barely even peed in his pull ups and now he just wont.
Helpful - 0
1346146 tn?1299360497
I told my sons there was a tee tee and a poo poo fish that lived in the potty and we had to potty in there so they could have something to eat! Lol i know gross but it worked, also when we were outside(we live in the country) I would let them tee tee on a tree so it could have a drink.  Good luck.
Helpful - 0
1975675 tn?1333316567
My parents taught all six of my brothers with throwing Cheerios on the toilet bowl and telling them to point.. aim.. and fire.. at the cereals. Then they would give them their favorite treat if they did it.
I plan on trying this with my son soon.
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Avatar universal
What I did with my son was let him pick out his underwear sp they had his favorite tv characters on them (at the time it was Thomas the train lol) and (yes it got expensive) every time he had an accident I made him throw them away and put on plain white ones. He told me they were ugly and he hated them! That finally worked for me because at the time me and my hubby werebt together so there was no male influence around.
Helpful - 0
304970 tn?1331425994
We tried the bribing him (no luck AT ALL) and he's not a big drinker (never has been), so that won't help. I was doing strictly underwear but he pooped in them once and I almost puked. I can't handle that... He definitely understands and KNOWS when he has to go and I am not changing ANYONE'S poopy/pee-filled underwear. Yuck. I hope I don't sound rotten, I am just so frustrated and literally feel like we have tried EVERYTHING. We have even tried punishing him, and he doesn't care. AHHHHHHH!! Thanks for the pointers though, ladies. All great ideas!

And Msgorgeous. We are good. We moved across the country (now live in WI from MA.. WHat a huge change) I finally went back to college so I am in school 1 class short of full time, and I am working.. Busy, busy!! And congrats! You are almost half way there! Yahoo!!!!
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304970 tn?1331425994
Yes, his Dad is around and we have tried that, no luck. SUPER frustrating!
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419964 tn?1333301906
Im Doin good 19 weeks with the 1st baby :) I just started coming back to medhelp after a long break, its nice to see a familiar face how are you doin??
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm potty training too! I just started and it's going ok with my son. What I'm trying is this: I got every drink he could ever want, juice boxes, chocolate milk, almost anything and I leave them out for him to go to town on. We sit on the potty every 30 mins to an hour. He gets candy for pee and a match box car for poop. We dont use diapers or pullups, strictly training undies. We layer sheets and mattress protectors in case of accidents so it's easy to just take the layer off instead of making the bed. I have planned a week of not taking him any where, which I know is hard if you work. Good luck!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
This might sound a little silly but if dads around or a close male figure teach him to play sink the cherios by letting him see. Its more of a game then heres a reward. It worked for my brothers. We used to make it so if they sunk how ever many cherrios theyd get candy. I wish you the best of luck. :) lol
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304970 tn?1331425994
How are you!?
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304970 tn?1331425994
Thank you!! I know. I haven't been on here on like 18 months! And those photos are OLD! He is SO big now!
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419964 tn?1333301906
LAURA OMG!! he is adorable hes grown soo much :) sorry i have no ideas on potty training havent gotten that far yet :)

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